Costa Mesa-based Pacific Communications is eyeing growth in 2005 fueled by account wins and a new management team.
The gains have come after a tough stretch for the Costa Mesa-based ad shop.
Pacific Communications was staring down the “barrel of a gun” last year, according to agency president Ryan Abbate.
“Fifty percent of our business went up for review at one time and our prospects looked bleak,” he said.
The shop, which focuses on healthcare advertising, got off to a “shaky start” in 2004 after it decided to drop client Genentech Inc.’s Lucentis account due to a “developing conflict,” Abbate said.
“An existing client was becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that we were aggressively promoting two organizations to the same specialty,” Abbate said. “This was a situation that was not only not going to go away but escalate. We had to make a business decision.”
Genentech since has awarded the Lucentis account to Harrison Star.
Soon after, longtime clients Costa Mesa’s Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and Santa Ana-based Advanced Medical Optics Inc. shifted their business from Pacific Communications.
And Irvine-based Allergan Inc., the shop’s largest client, cut its promotion and advertising with Pacific Communications, Abbate said.
“Unfortunately, in this business it’s not always just about the work,” Abbate said. “Client management changes in combination with pressures on budgets really hurt us. We went from a high degree of optimism, to finding ourselves in a deep hole and it wasn’t even St. Patrick’s Day yet.”
Pacific Communications dug its heels in.
Later in 2004, the shop picked up a big fish, Allergan’s Botox account.
“Botox was a client we had been working to acquire ever since we lost the business five years ago,” Abbate said.
Pacific Communications was the original launch agency for Botox in 1991. The agency lost the business in 1999 in a review that focused on extending Botox into the cosmetic market, Abbate said.
Allergan’s marketing department since has separated the consumer and professional promotion for the anti-wrinkle treatment, Abbate said.
Pacific Communications has been awarded all professional promotion for Botox in the cosmetic and therapeutic markets while Grey Worldwide maintained Botox cosmetic for the consumer market, he said. Grey Healthcare was the incumbent agency for Botox Professional.
On the heels of the Botox win, Pacific Communications landed Durham, N.C.-based Inspire Pharmaceuticals Inc. and two more assignments from Allergan.
“Inspire initially had some reservations about our West Coast location,” Abbate said. “But we were ultimately able to establish a very positive relationship with them based on our institutional knowledge of the eye care market.”
Other wins included South San Francisco-based Cellegy Pharmaceuticals Inc., Deerfield, Ill.-based Baxter International Inc. and the healthcare finance arm of New Jersey-based Johnson & Johnson.
Pacific Communications is helping Cellegy launch its first U.S. based product, Cellegesic, which was put on hold in December after the Federal Drug Administration declined Cellegy’s drug application, Abbate said.
Meanwhile, Pacific Communications has made some changes with its management team.
It brought on Craig Sullivan as a new senior vice president, director of client services in charge of Allergan’s eye care account. Other additions include Henry Lee, who will oversee the Botox work.
The shop’s management team also includes vice president managing directors Janice Fiskin, Karen Melanson and Mandy Harvey.
Pacific Communications saw its OC capitalized billings dip 9% in 2004 to $129.7 million. Its OC workers dropped 8% to 84.
Abbate said he’s got a “very good” outlook for the remainder of 2005.
“We have already seen an expansion of our current businesses and are ready to explore additional new relationships” in other areas, including device, cardiology and oncology, Abbate said.
Bits and pieces:
Gar Jackson, former head of investor relations for Foothill Ranch-based Oakley Inc., has joined Anaheim-based Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. to head the teen clothing chain’s investor relations Irvine-based Kia Motors America recently teamed with ESPN Inc. in a new eight-week marketing campaign to promote the launch of its car Spectra5 compact sport hatchback. The work, which runs until June 6, includes a basketball sports trivia contest on ESPN.com, and television, print and radio advertisements. Plus, Kia will promote the car at ESPN Zone restaurants nationwide, including the one at Downtown Disney in Anaheim.
