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Talk of a possible sale of Syneos Health Communications had been percolating for a few years before it finally came to fruition in the second half of 2023, when a group of private equity firms purchased the agency for $7.1 billion. The deal was intended to “accelerate its transformation,” Syneos announced at the time.

Did that ultimately prove the case? Speaking some seven months later, president, U.S. public relations Shauna Keough characterizes 2023 as “truly a year of new beginnings.” MM+M estimates that revenue grew by just under 4%, to $270 million from an estimated $260 million in 2022. Head count jumped from 801 people at the start of the year to 925 at its conclusion.

The growth came on the heels of expanded relationships with Syneos Health’s anchor clients, including Takeda, Amgen, GSK and Novartis, as well as what president, advertising JD Cassidy calls “a nice grouping of new clients.” Additions during 2023 included Ferring Pharmaceuticals’ fertility franchise. Syneos’ standalone market-access shop, Spherico, scored work from Bayer, while its oncology unit, Genicos, picked up AngioDynamics.

Keough says Syneos Health took pains to manage the growth in a way that made sense for the organization and its people. 

“We’re always thinking about the balance between the small and midsize companies and the bigger guys,” she notes. “Regeneron is a big, healthy new client of ours, but we’ve also added new up-and-comers such as Crispr and Olema Oncology.”

To more effectively serve these organizations, Syneos Health built out its customer experience and media groups.

The organization didn’t lack for high-profile assignments. Even as the pandemic faded, Syneos Health worked with Pfizer on a campaign to battle residual vaccine hesitancy. Its goals: to counter vaccine hesitancy in digital channels, overcome COVID fatigue and “get those shots in arms,” Keough says.

That’s where the agency’s increasing use of influencer marketing came in. Prominent voices that participated in the campaign included Martha Stewart, Charlie Puth, Megan Rapinoe and Travis Kelce.

“The best part about Travis Kelce is that his relationship with Taylor Swift went live two days before the campaign,” Keough says with a gleeful laugh. “It made our campaign incredibly viral. I mean, talk about living in the intersection of science and society.”

In the wake of its acquisition, Syneos Health shuffled its executive hierarchy. Jeanine O’Kane, who previously held Keough’s role, was promoted to president, Syneos Health Communications. This had the effect of encouraging staffers to solve problems across the company’s myriad capabilities.

“It was a challenge to think less in the silos of PR, advertising and med-comms and to show up holistically with broader solution sets,” Keough explains. “That was something Jeanine readily jumped in to tackle, and encouraged all of us to tackle with her.”

Look for Syneos Health to continue to focus a critical eye on its own practices and processes. The organization is bullish on its newly established reverse-mentoring program, in which early-career employees serve as mentors to senior leaders.

Keough believes the program exemplifies the evolution of Syneos Health over the last year. “You can feel that there’s a richer, stronger culture and connectivity.” 

. . .

Work we wish we did

As a mother of a daughter, Dove’s Turn Your Back campaign hit me at my core. The brand created its own version of a TikTok appearance filter that was just a square — and, in doing so, had people turn their back to the square to signify turning their back on TikTok filters. Dove coordinated with actress Gabrielle Union and other influencers to drive support for the campaign. The effort was smart and clever, and generated so much brand equity. — Keough

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