Pfizer awards global account to Publicis and IPG—behind one of the year’s biggest reviews

Global products, local connections

The appointment is a big win for Publicis, which has seen a spate of activity of late with its “Power of One” strategy. The holding company, whose revenue jumped nearly 20% last year, was the big winner in LVMH’s North American media review earlier this month.

IPG’s Mediabrands, meanwhile, just won U.S. media buying and planning duties for the direct-to-consumer brands at Bristol Myers Squibb.

Under Panayiotou, Pfizer has also been building up its internal marketing department, which numbers around 1,000 staffers. The company is hiring for four key areas, including UX and design, to improve the digital experience for patients and doctors; innovation, to better integrate new channels such as telemedicine; data science and analytics, to unearth better insights; and media and performance marketing, to deliver the best ROIs and engagement on campaigns using a data-driven approach.

Pfizer is a global company but “health care is a local thing,” said Panayiotou. “So how do we think about products that are global that are made for the world, but connect them the right way locally?”

Pfizer is in the midst of a busy 18 months in which it plans to launch 19 medicines and vaccines, including a dozen new medicines and seven expansions. With its new agency partner, the company expects to be smarter and faster with how it markets such products.

“The Goldilocks element is to really figure out how to do high-tech and high-touch marketing,” said Panayiotou.