Saturday, June 25, 2011

Extrovertic Has Gone to the Dogs


Those who have been up to the 7th floor of our West 20th St. office in New York City will attest to the fact that space has gotten a little precious these days.

We've been growing rapidly to such an extent that we've had to take additional space on two other floors at that address as well as in an office on West 19th St.


The good news is that construction of our big, beautiful, brand new office at 30 West 21st St. will be completed within the next month, and all of the NYC Extroverts will soon be under one roof. 

So what does an agency short for space do to boost the morale of its people?

Bring in more bodies!

Not human bodies; canine ones.

In support of  Bide A Wee and Pet Sitters International, we invited our employees to bring in their 4-legged family members for not just one, but two days of togetherness. First on Tuesday, and then again on Friday, the official national Take Your Dog to Work Day.


I have to admit, the presence of these pooches in our office really did have a great effect on the environment. I think our collective blood pressure was probably brought down quite a bit.

For the most part, everyone got along fabulously. (Harley Reilly and Lily Wetzel-Sugarman did have to be kept apart for a while.) 


Herman Drossman and Sally Shechtman were both pretty laid back, while young Luna Merino (in her best little skirt) is still not quite office-broken. Cassie Graff was very well-behaved during her short visit.



Speaking of visits, on Friday, we were graced with the presence of Dr. Robert Gordon, director of the Oakland Animal Hospital in Oakland, NJ.

Dr. Gordon spoke to us about the human-pet bond, which is something in which we at Extrovertic have a particular interest.

As our name suggests, everything we do is about improving the bond between various parties– patient and brand, patient and doctor, patient and caregiver, and now pets and the people who love them.

And in the process, Extrovertic and Extroverts. 

-Mark 
 

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Regardless of What You Call the Business, It's Evolving

Interactive Marketing Trends
What an amazing time it is to be in the healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

Every day brings new challenges. New solutions. New technologies. New surprises. New potential. New growth.

This is not your father's healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

It's certainly not the world of advertising I grew up in. And thank god for that. (Actually, I didn't know then what I was missing.)

Then, creative was strictly left to the creatives. We were tasked to develop smart print/radio/TV/direct mail. Later, there were banners/Web sites/emails...

Today, everyone has to be creative. And I mean everyone. Because the charge of an agency today is to create more than just great ads and online messages. It's about creating strategically smart, compelling, holistic, cross-platform programs that strike just the right chord with patients/caretakers/professionals. That connect with them at just the right place in their hearts and moment of their journey. That maximize engagement, incite doctor-patient dialogue, invite more positive and healthful behaviors, better adherence and spread overall good karma.

Then, the creative brief was the domain of the planners and creatives.

Today, everyone needs to get involved, because everyone can bring their unique perspective to the party, and the earlier they do it, the better.

And today's version of "everyone" is different from tomorrow's, as we try to keep up with the ever-evolving tableau of insights/technologies/solutions/regulatory issues...

As I said, it's an exciting time to be in the healthcare/pharma/advertising/marketing strategy/digital/social media/relationship marketing/closed loop marketing/consulting business.

Which by next week, will probably have an even longer name.


-Mark