PALIO and GSW to Operate as Singular Advertising Powerhouse Under GSW Brand
Joining Forces Brings Unparalleled Talent Together Under Top Leadership, Drives Scale for East Coast Operations and Expands West Coast Biopharma and Medtech Offerings
RALEIGH, N.C. – January 22, 2018 – Syneos HealthTM (NASDAQ:SYNH), the only fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization, today announced that two of its advertising agencies, PALIO and GSW, will operate as one agency. PALIO will now fuse with GSW to deliver customers the best of both agencies’ integrated advertising and marketing solutions. The full advertising suite will now operate under the singular GSW brand.
GSW and PALIO have collectively worked on more than 75 global brand launches, including 12 blockbuster launches across 12 different therapeutic categories. Their client rosters include large biopharma and med tech organizations tapping specialized services, and emerging companies who require a full suite of strategic, creative and digital solutions.
Industry veteran, Sonja Foster-Storch, who joined GSW in August 2017, will remain President of GSW North America, providing strategic direction to help teams create brand experiences that drive results for GSW’s domestic and global healthcare customer portfolio.
“Unprecedented changes in the healthcare market require constant evolution to continuously bring customers unparalleled strategic and creative solutions,” said Foster-Storch. “Bringing together PALIO and GSW under one brand creates an advertising powerhouse, fueled by incredible talent, insights and the resources required to meet our customers’ dynamic needs.”
Kim Johnson, President of PALIO since 2014, will assume leadership of the combined operations as President, GSW New York and Santa Monica. In New York, the collective 150 talented ad professionals will be co-located with Syneos Health clinical and commercial colleagues in offices in the heart of the city’s Meatpacking District. Other North American GSW offices will remain under the leadership of Dan Smith in Columbus, OH; Jon Nelson in Newtown, PA; and Mark Jazvac in Canada. Michael Austin will serve as Managing Director, Creative and Technology, GSW and will partner with Nick Capanear, Executive Creative Director, GSW New York.
“Michael Austin and Nick Capanear, and the deep talent roster and resources within our communications network, will continue to inspire creative solutions for customers that help bring life-changing products to the healthcare market,” said Johnson. “We are excited about this combination and what we’ll be able to accomplish together as we look to define the future of healthcare advertising.”
GSW, founded in 1977, is a full-service healthcare advertising agency that creates personalized brand experiences to involve, inspire, educate and activate people through ongoing brand journeys. Their “Speak People” philosophy – using insights to connect with consumers simply and authentically – has led GSW to being one of the top-ten awarded ad agencies in the industry.
PALIO, founded in 1999, is a health and wellness advertising agency committed to brilliant ideas, strategic excellence and the art of storytelling. Touting “Pacific thinking informed by East Coast experience,” PALIO shifted operations in 2015 to New York and Santa Monica to be closer to clients, talent and other Syneos Health operations. This move resulted in more than 25 percent growth for the agency in 2017.
The expanded GSW agency is part of Syneos Health Communications, the only healthcare communications network that is part of a company on the frontlines of healthcare, with a clear view into the everyday complexities of life and health. Customers are able to combine full-service teams across disciplines, or work with just one agency in the network, which includes advertising brands such as Navicor and public relations brands such as Chandler Chicco Agency. Also, as a part of Syneos Health’s fully integrated clinical and commercial team, Syneos Health Communications agencies receive insights generated far earlier in the clinical trial process, allowing for the development of strategic and targeted multi-channel programs.
About Syneos Health
Syneos Health (Nasdaq:SYNH) is the only fully integrated biopharmaceutical solutions organization. Our company, including a Contract Research Organization (CRO) and Contract Commercial Organization (CCO), is purpose-built to accelerate customer performance to address modern market realities. Created through the merger of two industry leading companies – INC Research and inVentiv Health – we bring together more than 21,000 clinical and commercial minds with the ability to support customers in more than 110 countries. Together we share insights, use the latest technologies and apply advanced business practices to speed our customers’ delivery of important therapies to patients. To learn more about how we are shortening the distance from lab to lifeTM visit SyneosHealth.com.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
Except for historical information, all of the statements, expectations, and assumptions contained in this press release are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Actual results might differ materially from those explicit or implicit in the forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to: risks associated with the integration of our business with the business of inVentiv, and our operation of the combined business following the closing of the Merger; our ability to maintain or generate new business awards; our ability to increase our market share, grow our business, and execute our growth strategies; our backlog not being indicative of future revenues and our ability to realize the anticipated future revenue reflected in our backlog; our ability to adequately price our contracts and not overrun cost estimates; general and international economic, political, and other risks, including currency and stock market fluctuations and the uncertain economic environment; fluctuations in our financial results; reliance on key personnel; our customer or therapeutic area concentration; and the other risk factors set forth in our Form-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2017, and other SEC filings, copies of which are available free of charge on our website at http://www.investor.syneoshealth.com. Syneos Health assumes no obligation and does not intend to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by law.
Contacts
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Ronnie Speight
Vice President, Investor Relations
+1 919 745 2745
Press/Media:
Danielle DeForge
Senior Director, External Communications
+1 202 210 5992
