Pharma and healthcare agencies permeated Ad Age’s annual evaluation of the best companies to work for in the ad and media industries. Five of the top 20 large companies on the "Best Places to Work 2020" list are agencies that serve pharma and health brands.
The highest-finishing health-focused agency was Klick—which includes agency Klick Health, Katalyst and Sensei Labs—at No. 6. Digitas Health was No. 8 in its first time on the list after submitting for the first time.
Digitas Health CEO Eric Muller said the agency has worked to build a place where people want to work by using fluidity, flexibility and fit to reward current employees and help attract new ones.
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“People who work at health-specific agencies find real purpose in the work that they do to help people in a meaningful and tangible way. I think this honor is a recognition of the passion and commitment of our people to follow that purpose,” he said.
Other pharma and healthcare agencies recognized on the list of companies with more than 200 employees were Publicis Health Media at No. 16, Havas Health & You at No. 18 and W2O Group at No. 19. In 2019, there were three health-specific agencies in the top 20.
Ad Age worked with market research firm Latitude Research to score the ad industry workplaces in six satisfactions areas: employee benefits, company culture, company environment, employee perks, employee development and employee engagement.
“Health agencies had a strong showing in the Ad Age Best Places to Work 2020 rankings. That reflects the hard work done by these agencies to stand out in the workplace, a strategy that can help agencies both retain and attract talent," Ad Age’s director of data analytics, Bradley Johnson, said in an email.
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“We’re in a tight labor market, with employment at U.S. ad agencies not far below all-time highs reached in 2018. Health-focused agencies are competing for a narrower specialized slice of that talent pool. Ad Age Best Places to Work winners have every reason to be proud and a good story to tell when they are looking for talent,” he added.