A new agency has launched with the promise of being the first ‘performance marketing’ firm dedicated to the pharma sector.
Founded by Matt Lowe, performance.io uses audience behaviour data to define ‘optimal online ecosystems’ for brands before they are built, and then optimise and improve their subsequent campaigns.
Lowe, who serves as the agency’s CEO, said performance.io would apply progressive performance marketing disciplines to drive more relevant user experiences, improve conversions and inform consumers ‘in an industry crying out for disruption’.
He added: “As the industry re-calibrates its approach to HCP, patient, consumer and carer engagement, it is fundamental that we redefine performance in healthcare. Long gone are the days where success is defined by the sales rep, yet the planning process, skills and resource in pharma still heavily focus on this space.”
Prior to founding performance.io Lowe spent five years at Health Unlimited and in 2015 launched the first healthcare-focused SEO agency Search Unlimited. Prior to that he spent a decade in pharma, first at Sanofi and then Grünenthal, rising to senior marketing manager at the latter before moving agency-side.
performance.io, which also focuses on the tech sector, said it would enable clients to win more cost effectively online than they would do through more traditional routes such as the sales force.
The agency begins life with eight clients on its books, including Bayer Animal Health, Roche and Amgen, plus video tech startup Stootsta, all of which have added the agency to their preferred supplier list.
James Crawford, head of marketing and retail at Bayer UK & Ireland, said: “As the landscape for engaging our audiences changes rapidly performance.io will help Bayer capitalise on the opportunities the online landscape affords us, driving improved performance and in turn delivering a better customer experience.”
The agency currently has a team of seven, split between London and New York, as well as offshore capabilities in India. Later this year Lowe told PMLiVE he plans to add a base in Sydney to lead its Asia-Pacific operations.