Elevate Healthcare: 2023

Elevate Healthcare

980 Jolly Road, Suite 105, Blue Bell, PA 19422 

215-710-1077 • challenger@elevateHC.com • elevateHC.com

Quick Facts

Accounts

• Account wins: 7
• Active business clients: 17

Brands by 2022 sales

• Brand-product accounts held: 60
• $25 million or less: 25
• $25 million-$50 million: 12
• $50 million-$100 million: 13
• $100 million-$500 million: 2
• $500 million-$1 billion: 3
• Products not yet approved/launched: 5

Services mix

• Marketing communications: 100%

Client roster

• Alexza Pharmaceuticals
• AppliedVR
• Biofrontera
• DePuy Synthes
• EyePoint Pharmaceuticals
• Foundation Fighting Blindness
• Grifols
• Joerns Healthcare
• Johnson & Johnson 
• LivaNova
• Medexus Pharma USA
• Medela
• NORD
• Recordati Rare Disease
• Sentynl Therapeutics
• Thea Pharma
• Tolmar

Finalist

• Agency on the Rise

In referring to 2022, leaders at Elevate Healthcare say, “It was a year that challenged pharma and medical device brands more than ever, proving that what made a brand successful yesterday is not what ensures success today or in the future.” 

According to executives, Elevate believes in the power of finding solutions for clients’ challenges in an increasingly demanding world. “While most agencies’ positions or missions can be fleeting, in 2022, its seventh year, leading independent agency Elevate has continued to focus even more on its mantra of Challenge Accepted,” managers say, adding that the agency is doubling down on what it does best: helping brands with the challenger mindset – which  led to a host of achievements for the agency. 

Recent accomplishments

In 2022, Elevate introduced a new, larger office space in Blue Bell, Pa., which according to executives, is “meticulously designed with a mix of technology and space that makes remote, hybrid, and full-time occupancy all work better. 

Another accomplishment for 2022 was how Elevate continued to attract top talent, managers say, as the agency added the expertise of some of the industry’s most successful leaders and challenge experts to its all-star team, including creative veteran Sam Cannizzaro, who joined as executive creative director. 

Leaders also point out how well Elevate maintained and built on an impressive roster of key clients who appreciate and value the solutions the agency brings. “2022 was again a great example of that repeated trust,” executives say. DePuy Synthes, the orthopaedics company of Johnson & Johnson, which Elevate first engaged with in 2016, awarded numerous new brand assignments, including launch support for the Velys Digital Surgery platform and Ambulatory Surgical Center (ASC) Capabilities group. 

Gleolan’s relaunch campaign featuring glowing monster hands rising from the folds of brain tissue suggests the insidious nature of glioma tumors and quickly evokes visceral disdain, while the headline appeals directly to the surgeons’ intelligence and ultimate goal: “See more. Resect more.”

Managers say other exciting examples of organic growth included rare disease innovator Sentynl Therapeutics, who awarded Elevate launch duties for a pipeline product for Menkes disease at the end of 2021 and then followed with a second – the relaunch of Nulibry for molybdenum cofactor deficiency (MoCD) Type A, a life-threatening ultra-rare genetic disorder. Medexus Pharma tapped Elevate for a global relaunch of Gleolan, an optical imaging agent for use during fluorescence-guided surgery in patients with glioma. 

And finally, Thea acquired the Akorn eye care portfolio and awarded all U.S. marketing of four legacy brands to Elevate, along with the U.S. launch of Iyuzeh for the reduction of IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma. 

Additional new business wins came from Medela, who awarded Elevate a new product launch in the negative pressure wound therapy category, and AppliedVR for the launch of a new FDA-approved immersive virtual reality (VR) pain treatment.

According to the leadership team, 2022 was a year when Elevate’s recognition in the industry also soared. Elevate was named as Small Healthcare Agency of the Year by two leading industry publications, one for the third year in a row. 

Agency leaders say they are just as proud of Elevate’s position as a “Best Place to Work” in pharma marketing and “Best Places to Work in Pennsylvania” for the fourth consecutive year.

“Our work for the Velys Robotic-Assisted Solution was recognized with multiple awards, including Best-in-Show honors; Biofrontera’s Ameluz campaign won for Relaunch/Revitalization of the Year and Best Professional Website,” executives say, adding that Weir and co-founder and Managing Partner Frank Powers were again recognized with several top industry awards, account manager Taylor Myers-Ackerman was named a Woman to Watch, and two of the agency’s up-and-coming employees were named MAHF Future Famer honorees. 

“In and around all this great work, awesome engagement, and terrific recognition is the power of a cultural initiative program that Elevate introduced in the past year,” managers say. “Cultivate combines a focus on driving strong cultural development with elevating interactions and quality of work, identifying, and living into 21 unique fundamental cultural and work traits that make us a better company. The goal is to inspire even better engagement with clients, partners, and each other. It’s been a game-changing experience for many, and clients have commented that Elevate has taken their work and interactions to the next level.”

Structure and services

The Elevate position as the champion of challenger brands remains more relevant than ever,” agency leadership say, adding that the more they preach the approach, the more brands come to the realization that they are healthcare challenger brands. And that is one key reason Elevate leadership believes the agency will continue to see steady growth.

“Elevate’s structure is designed for a seamless blending of client value, strategic and scientific experience, and industry-leading creative talent – all matched to client challenge and opportunity,” managers say. “Our structure is simply about aligning agency resources against brand challenges,” Powers says.

Future plans

Elevate believes its mission and structure are already how independent agencies will be built and structured in the future to remain viable and healthy – and to best serve clients’ needs,” executives say. “The future is simple – to continue the high level of award-winning, effective creative work; continue to increase client engagement; and use our Cultivate program to keep developing our associates to their full potential. The future direction is already set and is giving Elevate leadership the confidence to double down on the ‘Challenge Accepted’ mindset that sets Elevate apart.”

Philanthropy/citizenship

Elevate has embarked on several initiatives to strengthen and reach out to communities it serves through the support of designated employee community days, where employees volunteer their time to participate in community events, executives say. At the corporate level, Elevate supports Leadership Philadelphia, a non-profit organization that mobilizes and connects the talent of the private sector to serve the community, and advocates and invests in favorite animal rights and wildlife funds, including Sheldrick Wildlife Trust in Kenya, the Wolf Sanctuary of PA, and the American Eagle Foundation. And finally, Elevate is a perennial supporter of Bringing Hope Home, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia that provides “Unexpected Amazingness” to local families with cancer through financial and emotional support.

Finalist | Agency on the Rise
Frank X. Powers and Lorna Weir, managing partners

therapeutics
pharmaceuticals
medical
pharma
healthcare
imaging
device
fda