Markets

When Spring was established in 1985, communication within this sector was largely in the hands of those with a medical or pharmaceutical background. Campaign development was simply left to a doctor and an art director. The Spring approach was new and different. Applying a communicative strategic framework, specific medical information was actually used as an additional element to provide a creative solution for the strategy developed. This idea soon caught on and before long, almost every pharmaceutical company in the Netherlands was commissioning Spring for its assignments. Building on its original Dutch roots, Spring quickly developed to incorporate international clients in its portfolio, including Sandoz (now known as Novartis), Pharma Bio Research, Philips, Organon, the international umbrella organisation of the Dutch Dairy Association (NZO, formerly known as Het Zuivelbureau). All of these companies discovered the services Spring can offer. In response, Spring reached international agreements with DDB Health on the use of its international network (Spring is a “Member of DDB Health). Recent years have seen major changes in the pharmaceuticals market, an area with which Spring is especially familiar. Mergers, takeovers, legal affairs and the emergence of procurement have all led to a great deal of strategic and creative work being performed centrally, primarily in the largest market, the United States. Here in the Netherlands, there is room for local implementation and the assessment of options, in which the latest knowledge of legislation and regulations are essential in order to operate successfully.

Influenced by the increasing health trend, perhaps best characterised by the term wellness/well-being, a new, second wave of clients has emerged, for whom Spring develops strategies and campaigns: health-related consumer products and services. These include companies such as Nutricia/Danone, Campina/Melkunie and other manufacturers of food products that feature health claims. As the population continues to age, this segment is set to further increase in the years to come.

Another market segment for which Spring has high expectations involves institutions/hospitals. The process of privatisation in recent years, seen in part in the increasing role played by healthcare insurance companies, has led to this type of organisation suddenly shifting from a non-profit to a profit-making environment. The demands that this places on them are completely new. The marketing experience that Spring has acquired within the healthcare sector over the years can be highly useful for this and can prove instrumental in achieving success. For example, Spring has independently developed strategic concepts for image enhancement and improving patient intake within the catchment area of a hospital.

Our final specialisation involves patient and special interest groups. Partly as a result of the tangible professional commitment demonstrated within our agency, cooperation in this area has great promise: mutual understanding and affinity are keywords in this.

Although this may seem contradictory, when we speak of specialising in healthcare, Spring is essentially a generalist. Ultimately, the ability to think strategically is never truly limited to any single market, because it is based on general psychological insights.