THE PM360 TRAILBLAZER AWARDS 2010
ADVERTISING AGENCY OF THE YEAR WINNER

HARRISON AND STAR

The truly great healthcare advertising agencies are not only clever when it comes to slogans and eye-grabbing graphics—but in finding new ways to reach and understand audiences. By creating a work environment that both breeds creativity and cultivates talent. By going above and beyond reaching physicians and patients, and not just marketing drugs that treat diseases but giving back to suffering patients. Harrison and Star excels in each of these areas, making them truly deserving of the title Agency of the Year.

In the past year, Harrison and Star has launched two key initiatives to better serve their clients in a dynamic marketplace. One of the initiatives has been to integrate their Digital Solutions group into agency brand teams to expand communications and increase brand-building impact via social media, web-based solutions, and mobile media outlets. The other initiative broke new ground in healthcare marketing by being the first to apply customer relationship marketing (CRM) to physician specialists. This new CRM capability helps clients overcome physician resistance to sales calls, capture physicians’ preferences, and create permission-based communication streams that are tailored to their targets’ unique needs.

However, these initiatives would not have been possible without an exceptional staff. Harrison and Star is able to attract, develop, and retain the best talent available thanks in part to Medical Specialists University (MSU), an agency training center. MSU provides staffers with the tools to succeed by offering courses to help master new skills and receive management training. These courses not only impact job performance but also create a rich talent pool of future agency leaders.

Employees are also provided with a workplace that is both fun and invigorating. One prime example is the Battle of Bozos. Harrison and Star and VideoHelper, a media production company across the street, engaged in an escalating battle of blow-up Bozo-the-Clown dolls, in which clowns were placed in windows overlooking the street with messages for their rival clowns across the street. The companies eventually called a truce and celebrated the end of the war with a fundraising party that generated more than $5,000 in donations for the Ronald McDonald House of New York City, a charitable organization that provides temporary housing to pediatric cancer patients and their families when kids are going through treatment in hospitals far from home.

The Battle of the Bozos is just one example of Harrison and Star’s dedication to giving back. Staffers annually raise thousands of dollars by participating in walkathons and other fundraisers for diseases such as AIDS, MS, arthritis, autism, and various types of cancer. Employees even took part in the 250-mile Boston to New York AIDS bike marathon, while CEO Larry Star has been actively involved with the Hyacinth AIDS Foundation (the largest AIDS service organization in New Jersey) for the past 14 years. The agency also looks out for the environment through H&S Green16, a program led by 10 staffers who have helped slash electricity use by 18%, cut paper use by 30%, and eliminate 3.03 tons of carbon dioxide in just three months by encouraging different transportation options. Finally, through the agency’s Caring Hands program, employees give back to the community by volunteering their time or donating items such as cellphones for victims of domestic abuse or backpacks for children in foster care.

It is this blend of innovative vision, strong management, stimulating environment, and heart that makes Harrison and Star an industry trailblazer. —Andrew Matthius

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2010 SUPPLIER OF THE YEAR WINNER

2010 BRAND MANAGER OF THE YEAR WINNERS

2010 INITIATIVES OF THE YEAR WINNERS

2010 PM360 TRAILBLAZER AWARDS PANEL OF JUDGES