Centron: 2020
(left to right) Meredith Pugh, chief growth and strategy officer; Celine Vita, president; Carolyn O’Neill, chief creative officer
Centron
32 Old Slip, 32nd Floor
New York, NY 10005
Telephone
646-722-8904
Website
@centronnyc
QUICK FACTS
Accounts
Account wins 3
Active business clients 6
Brands by 2019 sales
Brand-product accounts held 6
$25 million or less 6
Products not yet approved/launched 3
SERVICES MIX
HCP 60%
Centron rebranded Leukine to reflect the brand’s momentum and
potential in market.
Patient 40%
Rare disease/oncology/specialty 100%
CLIENT ROSTER
Apellis
Bristol-Myers Squibb
Enzyvant
Epizyme
Karyopharm
Partner Therapeutics
Tesaro (A GSK company)
WINNER
AGENCY ON THE RISE
September 2019 marked the two-year anniversary of the Centron relaunch – and a moment of self-reflection. “When we relaunched the agency, it wasn’t just about positioning and branding in market. Our goal was to create a total agency experience that delivered on our core promise: Simply Thrive,” says Celine Vita, president. “From our office space to our strategic approach and to our operational processes, we transformed every aspect of the agency. As 2019 came to close, it seemed like the right time to check in and ask, as a collective, are we living up to our promise? How is our talent experiencing the agency and what we stand for?”
Agency leadership – Vita, Carolyn O’Neill, chief creative officer, and Meredith Pugh, chief growth and strategy officer – created an anonymous forum for individuals to provide honest and candid feedback. “The feedback far exceeded anything we could have imagined,” Vita says. “The value of creating an agency promise that has real meaning for talent and clients – and orienting all aspects of the agency to that promise – was clear.”
In the words of Centron talent:
“I joined Centron because…I was impressed with the overall vision of simplicity, and the goals for it.”
“Centron is an agency that offers a true partnership, multi-talented individuals, and ideas that are creative and never over-complicated.”
“Centron is a modern and high-science agency with a ‘can-do’ spirit where business/clients/employees are approached with integrity, creativity, and empathy.”
RECENT ACCOMPLISHMENTS
2019 was another strong growth year for Centron, in which the agency continued to build its roster of “sweet spot” clients in rare disease and oncology.
“We have aligned our portfolio with our agency and offering, and seek like-minded clients who truly want strategic and creative partnership,” Pugh says. “We are also very clear on putting our current clients and talent first. We have respectfully declined opportunities because we felt the timing wasn’t right or we did not want to distract from critical client business.”
This philosophy has not limited new opportunities – in fact it has resulted in strong client relationships, organic growth, and significant AOR opportunities, according to Centron executives. In the words of one client, “We value the strategic thinking at Centron, how you help push us to find the best approach, and how the team pulls it through to execution. We know this is the right partnership to get us across that finish line.”
In 2019, business growth included AOR clients such as Apellis, Partner Therapeutics, and Enzyvant, as well as organic growth with clients such as Karyopharm and Tesaro/GSK – all culminating in more than 20 percent revenue growth over the previous year.
“Ultimately,” says Vita, “our greatest accomplishment this past year was the agency experience reflected in talent and client feedback. It’s one thing to define a vision, and another for an agency to collectively live it and believe in it.”
STRUCTURE AND SERVICES
Centron is a full-service agency focusing on rare disease, oncology, and specialty brands fulfilling high unmet need. The agency’s philosophy and approach to partnership has proven attractive to biotech clients, especially those transitioning from clinical to commercial stage.
“Centron leadership and talent have individually and collectively launched some of the most transformative and impactful brands of recent years,” Vita says. “We love nothing more than being a true extension of the marketing team and supporting the right strategy and platform to realize the full potential of brands that are new to market, or seeking to reposition in market.”
According to agency management, Centron services encompass what brands need to thrive: strategic services (comprising medical, digital, analytics, planning, media, and payer); creative branding, ideation, and campaign development; omnichannel planning and end-to-end execution; physician- and consumer-directed content development; and cross-agency integration.
“At Centron, we are passionate about building brands,” O’Neill says. “In 2019, we launched major new entrants in oncology and revitalized an established brand in an unexpected and delightful way. We have a highly successful approach to branding strategy and some serious design talent in house. We are proud of the fresh brand work we introduced to market this past year.”
According to agency executives, Centron also offers a refreshing perspective on partnership, cultivating relationships with technology, development, and media companies in order to provide clients with the most effective and efficient solutions. “We are confident in our client partnerships and seamlessly integrate with their other agency partners,” Vita says. “We will also bring another partner to the table if we feel they have expertise that will help advance the brand. That’s what being an open destination is all about – delivering value for clients, always.”
FUTURE PLANS
At Centron, 2020 is all about the collective momentum and continuing to establish the agency as a destination where talent and clients thrive, simply. “We are proud of how our talent experiences opportunity and development at Centron,” Vita says. In the words of the agency’s employees:
“I am presented with amazing opportunities to grow and learn and work closely with senior leadership.”
“I am challenged every day and am constantly learning.”
“Every opportunity is within my grasp.”
In addition to focusing on growth, training, and development of current talent, the agency’s trajectory will bring new talent and expertise to the agency. “We believe in something we call ‘poly-talent,’” O’Neill says. “We look for individuals who bring diverse experience and skills to the agency. We have writers with strong video editing skills – which elevates the quality of our script writing and production. We have art directors who code, which ensures quality digital hand-off to developers. We even created an animated video entirely in-house last year, which was a seamless, cost-effective, and exceptional work – because the animators actually knew the brand!”
PHILANTHROPY/CITIZENSHIP
Centron leadership notes that citizenship starts within the walls of the agency itself. “We are proud to have built a culture of diversity that goes far beyond an all-women leadership team. This is important for attracting and retaining talent, our shared experience, and the unique perspective we bring as an agency,” Vita says. “We have established a collective vision of how we work together and a commitment to achieving the ‘highest good’ for our clients, brands, and the communities they serve.”
Vita also notes that this starts with the work the agency does every day. In the words of one Centron employee: “At Centron, we do meaningful work that truly has meaningful outcomes.”
