MILAN, Italy, Sept. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- inChord Communications Inc., the largest privately-held healthcare communications company in the world, and DWA, one of the leading independent advertising agencies in Italy, announced today that they have partnered to create a new agency -- DWA Health -- which will focus on providing pharmaceutical and healthcare marketing to clients in Italy and the surrounding region. DWA Health will be based in Milan and will have an office in Turin.
“Over the past several years, inChord has made a significant investment in building our global network by partnering with strong independent agencies in each of the key global markets,” said Blane Walter, chairman and CEO of inChord. “DWA was a natural fit. They have established a reputation in Italy for producing fresh creative work and providing exceptional client service. We are delighted to be collaborating with them on this new venture focusing on healthcare.”
“Although DWA is known throughout Italy for our work in consumer marketing, healthcare is an area that we have been looking to expand into for some time,” said Edgardo Bianco, chairman of DWA. “We are very pleased to be taking that step in partnership with inChord, a world leader in pharmaceutical advertising and marketing.”
DWA Health will be jointly owned by inChord and DWA. Strategic leadership will be provided by Bianco, who serve as CEO; Phil Deschamps of inChord, who will serve as president; and Peter Comber of DWA, who will serve as vice president and creative director. DWA Health will be led on a day-to-day basis by Alessandra Toscano, chief strategic officer and director of client service. Toscano recently joined DWA Health with more than 10 years of experience in pharmaceutical and healthcare advertising. She previously served as strategic account director at McCann Erickson in Milan and as strategic planning and business manager at DDB, also in Milan. She holds a master’s degree in marketing from the University of Study in Bologna.
“Healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing is a rapidly growing industry in Italy,” said Comber. “We are very optimistic about the opportunities for new client partnerships that will arise from the creation of DWA Health.”
Agency leaders anticipate that new clients will come to DWA Health from two sources -- inChord’s global pharmaceutical clients that are looking to launch products in Italy, as well as healthcare companies and divisions of global organizations based in Italy that are seeking a local advertising agency to handle their marketing efforts.
Founded in 1980 by Bianco, DWA is one of the most prominent advertising agencies in Italy. Clients include Ferrero, Berni, Cressi-sub, Delsey, Editori Perla Finanza, Bacardi Martini & Rossi and UCB Pharma. The agency currently employs 21 staff members and has annual billings of euro 1.8 million. For more information about DWA, please go to www.dwa.it.
Based in Columbus, Ohio, inChord Communications Inc. is a global group of communications companies providing customized marketing solutions to clients in the health and wellness industry. With more than $950 million in capitalized billings, inChord is the largest independent healthcare communications organization in the world. For more information about inChord, please go to www.inchord.com.
inChord Communications Inc.
CONTACT: Marcia Frederick of inChord Communications, +1-614-543-6281, ormfrederick@inchord.com ; or Peter Comber of DWA Health, +39 (011) 5617822,or peter.comber@dwa-health.it
