Ghg (grey healthcare group)

ghg (grey healthcare group)

ghg (grey healthcare group) is a global healthcare communications company, headquartered in New York, with offices in North America, Europe, and Asia. It is a member of WPP Group, a global provider of advertising, branding, and marketing. IT Works with companies to build world-class healthcare and pharmaceutical brands among medical professionals and consumers, with a transmedia storytelling approach that covers print, digital and television broadcast media, medical education, sales force presentations (tablet PC-based and print) and managed access strategies. Its corporate slogan is "health spoken here.™"

History

ghg began in 1985 when Alan Gross, Jane Townsend, David Frank, and Ronnie Hoffman launched GTFH (Gross Townsend Frank and Hoffman), a professional pharmaceutical advertising and PR agency in NYC. Early clients included Pfizer (Feldene), Merck (Mevacor), and Boehringer Mannheim.

In 1987, GTFH was acquired by the Grey Global Group. That same year, it expanded its services with the launch of Phase Five, headed up by Lynn Vos. Phase Five was one of the first medical education companies, launching the concept of market preparation among the medical community, which quickly became the gold standard of pharmaceutical marketing. An early example was the work done for Merck to prepare for the launch of Mevacor, the first statin therapy for cholesterol management. Awareness of cholesterol was raised among physicians and patients with a comprehensive medical education effort emphasizing cholesterol and diagnostic screening, which set up the introduction of the statin for overwhelming success.

In 1991, the agency suffered a devastating loss when partner Ronnie Hoffman suddenly died of a cerebral aneurysm. Alan Gross and Jane Townsend, who were married, retired that same year. A new management team, lead by Lynn Vos (CEO), Wendy Balter and Barbara Blasso (Medical Education), Cindy Machles (Advertising), and Ilyssa Levins (PR), stepped in to lead the next phase of the agency’s growth. It was then that the agency renamed and relaunched itself as Grey Healthcare Group, or ghg. In 1998, the management was further strengthened when Jane Parker joined as Group President, Worldwide Advertising.

The agency expansion continued, mostly through organic growth, as ghg continued to pioneer the new technologies and approaches to healthcare communications. Notable work included the launches of such blockbuster drugs as Advair (GlaxoSmithKline), Celebrex (Pfizer), and Nexium (AstraZeneca). Capabilities were added in digital media, scientific visualization (with the acquisition of Hurd Studios), DTP/DTC advertising and relationship marketing (with the formation of Avenue Grey), oncology specialty groups (Vogel Farina, Darwin Grey), and contract sales force management (OnCall). Offices were also opened to form an on-the-ground network covering 41 countries across Europe and Asia, to meet the emerging demands of client globalization. ghg was named Med Ad News' Agency of the Year in 2002.

In 2005, ghg as part of Grey Global Group was acquired by WPP Group, the second largest global communications holding company, giving ghg access to world-class resources, particularly on the digital and new-media fronts. ghg has been a pioneer in the use of new media for pharmaceutical marketing, from early work on tablet PC sales aids and interactive rep training programs, to social media and mobile health initiatives.

Today, ghg operates with headquarters in New York and a European hub in London. Clients over the years have included just about every major pharmaceutical company, in every category, including Abraxis BioScience, Boehringer Ingelheim, Colgate-Palmolive, Essilor, Genentech, Johnson & Johnson, Forest Pharmaceuticals Inc, Merck, Novo Nordisk, Novartis, Par Strativa, Roche, OrthoBiotech, Schering-Plough, and Pfizer.

Companies and Services

ghg is comprised of the following companies, which cover the full range of healthcare communication specialties:

ghg advertising US and Global professional and DTP communications for healthcare brands across all media

Avenue Grey Direct-to-consumer communications for healthcare brands across all media

BrandEdge Brand consulting and strategy

Darwin Grey UK-based medical education

Hurd Studios Scientific animation

IMsci (International Meetings & Science) Medical education, thought leader development

OnCall Contract sales force

Osprey Digital sales training, convention engagement, online resources

Phase Five Medical education, scientific platform development, publication planning, thought leader identification, and advocacy development

Vogel Farina Full-service agency specializing in specialty care brands (eg, oncology, infectious disease)

WG (Westaway Gillis) Consulting European managed access consultants

Awards

2009 Awards

Medical Marketing & Media
 Awards

  • Best Over-the-Counter Product Advertisement/Campaign: Crizal TV, “Neither Rain…”—Gold Award

Rx Club Awards

  • Best Poster: Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults—Award of Excellence

2008 Awards

Association of Medical Illustrators (AMI) Awards

  • Hurd Studios for animation titled "Meningococcal Disease: Bacterial Biology Influencing Breakthrough Vaccine Solutions" on behalf of Novartis

CINE Golden Eagle 


  • PSA “X Out Cervical Cancer”

Davey Awards

  • Astellas Pharma US, Inc.: Astellas Campaign—Silver
  • Calpis U.S.A.: ameal bp® Consumer Ad—Silver
  • Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics: Automation Ad—Silver
  • Strativa Pharmaceuticals logo—Silver

Telly Award

  • Osprey Communications for the 2008 Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation (MMRF) Corporate Video—Silver

Medical Marketing & Media
 Awards

  • Best PSA: The Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults

Med Ad News: Manny Awards

  • Best Consumer Site: thinkaboutyoureyes.com

2007 Awards

Association of Medical Illustrators 


  • IEED: Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder—Award of Excellence

CINE Golden Eagle 


  • IEED: Involuntary Emotional Expression Disorder

Cytyc Insight Award 


  • Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, www.AboutHeavyPeriods.com—Gold

FREDDIE Awards: International Health & Medical Media Awards 


  • The Promise and the Power: Prevention in Women's Health—Gold
  • Nicotine: The Physiologic Mechanism of Tobacco Dependence—Finalist

Med Ad News: 
Manny Awards

  • Best Pro Bono Ad: Darfur 2006—Gold 

  • Best Digital Campaign: Cytyc—Finalist

New York Festivals: Global Awards 


  • Accu-Chek ‘Chance Results’ Medical Services Advertisement
—Finalist
  • Caduet ‘2 Proven Stars. 1 Take.’ in Cardiovascular
—Finalist
  • Lumigan ‘No George Clooney’ in Sensory Organs
—Finalist
  • Lumigan ‘No George Clooney’ Direct Mail—Finalist
  • Rapamune Journal Ad—Finalist 

  • Surf Your Turf Interactive Sales Training—Finalist
  • ThinPrep Campaign—Finalist 


Palmarès de la Publicité Vétérinaire 


  • Pfizer/Rispoval IntraNasal: Prix de la meilleure publicité, Trophée Fragonard
  • Pfizer/Convenia: Best Detail Aid: Prix de la meilleure publicité, Trophée Fragonard

Rx Club Awards (Awards of Excellence)

  • Best Consumer Web Site: Allergan, www.wrinkles.com.au
  • Best Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Dulcolax, Calm Night
  • Best Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Dulcolax, Uncomfortable/Comfortable 

  • Best Direct-to-Consumer Advertising: Medtronic
  • Best Direct Mail: Floxin AOM TT Direct Mail: Wave 1 

  • Best Logo Development: CML Alliance, Novartis
  • Best Mixed Media Campaign: Juvederm Launch, 
Botox ‘B’ Campaign 

  • Best Professional Ad: Betaloc
  • Best Professional Ad: 
Medtronic
  • Best Professional Ad: Varilux: Not a Lens 

  • Best Professional Ad: Varilux: Turn Up the Sharpness 

  • Best Professional Ad: Varilux: Cactus 

  • Best Professional Ad: Varilux: Out of the Frame 

  • Best Professional Ad: Varilux Ellipse 360: Fashion 

  • Best Professional Ad: Zoladex
  • Best Professional Campaign: Betaloc
  • Best Professional Campaign: ThinPrep
  • Best Professional Vis Aid: Floxin OE Master Visual Aid 

  • Best Sales Training: Road Rally Interactive Sales Training
  • Best Sales Training: Surf Your Turf Interactive Sales Training 

  • Best Sales Training: Space Race Interactive Sales Training 

  • Best Video: GlaxoSmithKline, Medical Video Production 

  • Best Video: Nicotine: The Physiologic Mechanism of Tobacco Dependence 


2006 Awards

CINE Golden Eagle


  • "Targeting Treatment," Hurd Studios—Gold



Cytyc Insight Award

  • Healthcare Consumer Advocacy, Summit Grey/BrandEdge—Gold

Med Ad News: Manny Awards

  • Best Pro Bono Ad: Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults, "Deaf, Smart and Blind" —Gold 

  • Most Admired Agency —Finalist 

  • Most Feared Agency —Finalist



Medical Marketing & Media
 Awards

  • Best Corporate Advertisement: Jed Foundation—Silver


  • Best Corporate Advertisement: Helen Keller National Center—Gold

  • Best Individual Product Advertisement in Consumer Press: Obagi, [...]—Silver

  • Best Individual Product Advertisement in Business: Helen Keller Foundation—Gold

  • Best Overall Campaign in Business Press: Crestor—Silver


New York Festivals: Global Awards

  • Professional Film/Video: Viramune, Six Degrees of Connection—Gold 



Rx Club Awards

  • Best Campaign: Helen Keller National Center—Silver

  • Best Campaign: AstraZeneca, Not Complicated— Award of Excellence

  • Best Campaign: GSK, Cartia—Award of Excellence

  • Best Dimensional Mailer/Campaign: Daiichi Sankyo, Floxin Otic—Award of Excellence

  • Best Envelope Mailer/Campaign: Rx Club Awards, Concept to Conception—Award of Excellence

  • Best Full-Page Ad: Rx Club Awards, Concept to Conception—Award of Excellence

  • Best Full-Page Ad: Jed Foundation, [...] —Award of Excellence

  • Best Kiosks: Organon, Puregon Children's Laughter—Award of Excellence


  • Best Managed Healthcare Providers: Dilworth Hearing—Award of Excellence

  • Best Magazine Advertising: This is Grey "Global Epidemic"—Award of Excellence

  • Best Multiple-Page Ad: Wyeth, ReFacto Shadow—Award of Excellence

  • Best Newspaper: Helen Keller National Center, Point and Laugh—Award of Excellence

  • Best Patient or Professional Education: Wyeth, ReFacto Shadow Campaign—Award of Excellence

  • Best Poster: Roche Diagnostics, Accu-Chek Chance—Award of Excellence

  • Best Photography: Concept to Conception—Gold

  • Best Self-mailer/Campaign: Jed Foundation, Everyone Graduates—Award of Excellence