A Look at Dentsu's Global Health Offering

Last month, Dentsu introduced a formal healthcare offering, Dentsu Health, that connects expert healthcare marketers to clients. Dentsu Health will be another vertical for Dentsu Solutions, next to Dentsu Creative and Dentsu Media. One of its first client relationships involves working on a Covid-19 vaccination campaign. Getting the "best kept secret" out The offering fits into Dentsu's new U.S. structure, introduced at the beginning of the year. The company is working with the Ad Council and the Covid Collaborative on a national initiative to boost vaccine confidence. "We knew that we needed a truly innovative media strategy that would allow us to deliver on one of the largest public health campaigns in history," Ad Council chief media strategy and partnerships officer Kathy Kayse said in a statement. "Dentsu Health activated the power of their network and came to the table with a robust segmentation approach, helping us to educate millions of Americans about the COVID-19 vaccines." "Across Dentsu, we have always had significant, world-class health and wellness business globally and, while not necessarily known for it, are actually among the top players in the vertical," Dentsu Solutions president Jeff Greenspoon said in a statement. "By creating a new, connected network of health experts, we can activate our deep medical, pharma and consumer-focused capabilities at-scale, in any market, and bring a diverse set of talent together to service clients more seamlessly, igniting innovation and driving more meaningful solutions that will lead to better health outcomes and patient experiences." Matt McNally Dentsu hired healthcare marketing veteran Matt McNally to lead Dentsu Health as president. In the role, he will be responsible for expanding health offerings across the network, driving new opportunities for client and unifying health talent across Dentsu Health. McNally was most recently CEO for Outcome Health, a healthcare technology company focused on connecting healthcare brands and audiences. He previously spent over a decade with Publicis, serving as chief media officer for Publicis Health. "One of the best kept secrets in the industry is the amount of health work being done at Dentsu," McNally told Adweek. Dentsu isn't alone in bringing its healthcare practice closer to the rest of its operations, although its approach of applying it to a holding company appears unique. WPP's Wunderman Thompson hired Audrey Melofchik as CEO of Wunderman Thompson Health. Similarly, Grey, which also has a health unit integrated into the agency, hired Tim Jones as CCO for its pharmaceutical practice last month. "Overall, there will be a more engaged and empowered customer and patient," McNally explained. "Understanding what that means for health and wellness clients is critical." How Health Communications Will—and Should Be Changed—by Covid-19 Unsurprisingly, agencies that relied on healthcare in 2020 are further investing in healthcare marketing services, but McNally said that investing in the space isn't enough. "The health vertical is in massive transformation," he said. "The true investment is sitting down with clients to understand the service model that ... meets their needs and helps them navigate an unprecedented time." He explained that Dentsu's new offering responds to those needs by quickly providing healthcare experts. "The biggest nuance where we're different from other companies is that they have different health practices sitting separately from the rest of their business," he said. "Consumer expectations for how they want to engage with health brands now is set outside of healthcare," he added. "We can bring deep healthcare expertise to clients, but also bring the perspective of [other relevant consumer insights] to healthcare."