Brick City Greenhouse: 2024

Brick City Greenhouse

One Gateway Center, Suite 2600, Newark, NJ 07102

908-867-0200 • [email protected] • brickcitygreenhouse.com

 

Quick Facts

Accounts

• Account wins: 9
• Active business clients: 16

Brands by 2023 sales

• Brand-product accounts held: 22

Services mix

• Professional advertising: 70%
• DTP: 15%
• Corporate communications: 15%

Client roster

• Autism Speaks
• Banner Life Sciences
• BioNADRx Holdings
• Biotronik
• Calliditas Therapeutics
• CG Oncology
• Cooper Vision
• EMD Serono
• Janssen Global
• Krystal Biotech
• Preventx
• RedHill Biopharma
• SK Life Science
• Syndax

Finalist

• Innovation Award

“Brick City Greenhouse (BCG) was founded on the idea of being a brand-first agency that empowers people to create the extraordinary on behalf of our clients,” agency leaders say, adding that many of the employees came from large holding-company agencies and saw firsthand how the bottom line is a bigger driver of agency behavior than doing what’s right for brands. Executives say they wanted to change this paradigm and create an agency model that was truly focused, not just in words but in functionally, on bringing out the best in brands and in the people who support them. 

Managers state that since then, Brick City Greenhouse has strived to create a new agency model for both marketers and agency staff alike. The agency has made several fundamental departures from the standard operating procedures and norms of traditional agencies, freeing staff to create the highest caliber of work and giving marketers a greater sense of partnership and accountability.

According to client Blayne Fleck, director, commercial marketing, Biotronik Neuro, “The overall breadth of experience and ability to execute on a full spectrum of marketing needs has been exceptional. The way they seamlessly integrate into our strategic processes makes it feel as though we are working with an internal team rather than an agency,”

Recent accomplishments

Despite the continued challenges of residual pandemic issues and macroeconomic headwinds, 2023 was a solid year for Brick City Greenhouse,” leaders declare. In 2023, the agency added nine new clients to its existing roster to contribute to a total of 20 brand assignments. This includes two brand launches and one corporate launch.

Brick City Greenhouse also used 2023 as an opportunity to continue to refine and articulate its values of being “Agile, Collaborative, Respectful, Refreshing, and Kind,” managers say, adding that the agency uses these values not only as internal guideposts but as filters for potential clients and benchmarks for assessing the health of current client relationships.

Structure and services

According to the leadership team, “Brick City Greenhouse has stripped away the unnecessary barriers to productive relationships so clients can get exactly what they desire from their agency without all the baggage that comes with traditional AOR models.”

Executives say the agency gives clients more day-to-day, senior-level involvement; a higher caliber of strategy and creative than they get with junior teams at large agencies; improved budget optimization; and faster turnaround times.

To do this, the agency has eliminated the billable-hour model and uses fixed-fee pricing. For AOR assignments, Brick City Greenhouse carves up the scope of work and charges a project cost for each line item. “This gives marketers a greater level of predictability in their budgets,” executives state, “If there’s a change in strategy or some other factor that changes the scope of the assignment, up or down, agency leaders work up front with the clients to re-estimate and change the scope in a way that is comfortable for everyone.

“This fundamental change has led to a whole cascade of advantages for clients. Brick City Greenhouse hires only A-level talent without passing increased salary costs on to clients. These highly qualified individuals are more efficient and produce better quality work, and this structure incentivizes the agency’s teams to be as nimble and agile as possible. And overhead, especially with a fully remote working model that was in place before the pandemic, is significantly lower and allows the agency to keep costs down for clients.”

Managers say because Brick City Greenhouse’s goal is to attract, inspire, and retain the most talented personnel in the industry, the agency has created a work structure “that seeks to empower employees not only to do their best work but to lead their best lives.”

The agency does not use the traditional timesheet model, and allows for complete flexibility in work arrangements, offers a truly remote working structure with its employees spread across 10 states, and provides unlimited paid vacation time. “And, as an added perk, the agency pays for employee health care and supplements the cost for spouses and dependents,” executives say, adding these efforts led to MM+M naming Brick City Greenhouse as one of the Best Places to Work.

“These fundamental differences in how the agency operates allow Brick City Greenhouse to deliver marketing and communication services that are better, faster, and more cost-effective,” executives say.

Brick City Greenhouse offers a full range of professional and DTP healthcare communication services, both in the United States and globally. Competencies span from prelaunch activities, such as disease awareness and launch readiness, to franchise and corporate communications, to LOE efforts both online and off.

In 2023, Brick City Greenhouse also continued to add to its strategic, account, omnichannel, and creative capacity. Managers say this follows the agency’s philosophy of ensuring clients get senior-level, day-to-day attention on their brands.

According to Rossana Ferrara-Pontoriero, who at the time was executive director, marketing, Scynexis Inc., “BCG was our AOR in preparation for our first commercial launch. The involvement from senior-level talent throughout the launch was a main differentiator. They were an invaluable partner.” Ferrara-Pontoriero is now executive director of business development at Scynexis.

Agency leaders say “it’s deeply rewarding” to see the new model they created is increasingly being sought out by both employees and clients alike.”

Future plans

Brick City Greenhouse will continue to hone and refine its ever-evolving model,” leaders say, adding that they want to ensure the agency is always inspiring its clients and employees by exploring new areas to enhance the brands they work on, especially in the areas of AI, omnichannel, and content marketing. In 2023, BCG promoted Todd Greene to senior VP of omnichannel marketing to ensure their clients are getting the freshest and latest thinking to propel their brands forward.

Leaders have found that once clients experience what it’s like to work with Brick City Greenhouse, things grow quickly, adding, “The agency is ready and well-positioned to take on these challenges.”

Philanthropy/citizenship

Brick City Greenhouse is a mission-built agency that has always had a desire to give back to the healthcare community.” leaders say. As part of this mission, every year the agency strives to donate 5 percent of its post-tax profits to health- and wellness-related charities.

According to managers, the agency’s philosophy of altruism and inclusivity extends to pro bono efforts and in working with companies that bring unique value to the medical community.

In 2023, BCG also partnered with Autism Speaks to help with the launch of the Autism By The Numbers database, the largest collection of autism-related epidemiological information ever compiled into a single dashboard and report.