ased in the growing pharmaceutical and biotech
hub of Southern California, Carling Communications experienced stellar
growth in 2015. This allowed the agency
to move into a new building in the Banker’s Hill section of San Diego just one
block from Balboa Park. The newly renamed Fifth & Laurel building is an iconic landmark that also houses Mister A’s,
a rooftop restaurant with sweeping views
of America’s Finest City.
The agency’s new 20,660-square-foot
office space was designed from the ground
up by Gensler architects in order to meet
Carling’s evolving needs. An edgy and
modern design consists of an open floor
plan which was chosen to foster seamless
collaboration and inspire creativity. The
space maximizes natural light, utilizes
energy-efficient fixtures, and eliminated
single-use disposable products.
According to executives, in 2015 Carling
Communications took a hard look at
what clients face daily regarding the
constantly shifting marketplace, strict
FDA regulations, and vast competition.
“Clients are piloting the course of this
ever-changing landscape to realize their
unproven ideas,” agency leaders say.
“This is something no client should have
to do alone.
“As an agency, Carling wants to be mis-
sion control – there with clients every
step of the way: calculating, assessing,
building, constantly innovating, and im-
plementing the best plan in order to reach
their goal. Whatever clients are aiming
for, those at Carling Communications
truly believe that IT CAN BE DONE.”
The Carling team is trained to push
harder, see farther, think faster, and be
eager to challenge disbelief, executives
say, adding, “Carling is agile, adaptable,
and always invested in the pursuit of our
client’s success.”
Year after year Carling has seen an ex-
panding client roster in the United States
and other markets, including Canada
and the European Union. “Regardless of
the office location or number of clients,
Carling Communications always works
hard to develop forward-thinking and
impactful global communications,” exec-
utives say.
In 2015 Carling Communications fostered new relationships and continued
to grow and support exciting relationships with a variety of pharmaceutical
clients, including Luzu and Cycloset
from Valeant Pharmaceuticals Inc.;
Zylet, Besivance, and intraocular
lens work from Bausch & Lomb; a
new uveitis launch from Santen; and a
new Radiesse for Hands indication
from Merz.
Carling Communications is led by Didi
Discar, principal, whose deep history in
pharma as a former sales rep, product
manager, and agency steward sets the
tone of strategic partnership for the agency and its growing client roster. Recently,
Discar was a finalist for the 2015 “
Women Who Mean Business” awards and finalist for the “Most Admired CEO” award
by the San Diego Business Journal.
Discar’s role is bolstered by Randy Adams, executive VP, client strategy, who
brings vast pharmaceutical and medical
device marketing experience to all clients, as well as Lisa Pecora, chief financial officer, who provides operational and
financial structure to the agency.
Jim Haag, executive creative director,
has more than 15 years of health care
communications creative experience,
while Rob Heller, creative director, offers edgy, artistic, on-strategy insights to
campaigns aimed at the consumer, patient, and health care professional.
In 2015, Carling Communications welcomed Salma Jutt-Eghbali as executive
VP, client strategy. Jutt-Eghbali has 17
years of leadership experience in pharmaceutical marketing, sales, acquisitions, and strategic alliances.
Carling Communications is a full-service health care communications agency
specializing in pharmaceutical advertising, medical education, and meeting
services. Executives say the agency has
capabilities in both interactive and print
materials and is deeply engaged in developing innovative personal and nonpersonal marketing tools.
According to its leaders, the agency
lives, serves, and thrives by the Carling
Creed: “We believe in a purposeful exis-
tence; all things being equal, the journey
should be fun; and continuous self-evalu-
ation breeds brilliance.”
In 2015, Carling Communications
continued to add strong talent in the
copywriting, medical writing, and digital
departments, with both interactive front-
end and back-end capabilities.
Agency leaders tout a client survey
that determined Carling was rated as
one of the most responsive ad agencies
in returning calls, emails, and developing content. “This agency always acts as
an extension of every client’s marketing
team, ensuring maximum, measurable
strategic and tactical alignment, impact,
and outreach,” executives say.
Expansion and diversi;cation of offerings, as well as a continuous sophistication of processes and personnel, is a key
focus for Carling in 2016, executives say.
“Overall, Carling Communications is
made up of talented people who work
hard every day to make significant contributions in the field of health care,”
management says. “Carling is increasingly committed to developing and retaining the best talent in the industry
in order to support clients who make a
difference in patients’ lives.”
According to agency leaders, Carling
Communications fully supports the mission of those organizations that support
the U.S. military and service members’
families. Throughout 2015, Carling volunteered to help military families and
reached the goal of providing 360 junior
enlisted service members with turkeys
for Thanksgiving. Carling also volunteered at the Armed Services YMCA Toy
Program to build toys, help parents shop,
and wrap gifts. “As a San Diego-based
company, it’s critical that Carling Communications actively supports the military that sacrifices so much for all Americans,” executives say. medadnews
B
Carling Communications
2550 5th Avenue, Suite 150
San Diego, CA 92103
Telephone: 619-269-3000
E-mail: info@carlingcom.com
Website: carlingcom.com
(top row, left to right) Rob Heller, creative director; Jim Haag, executive creative director; Randy
Adams, executive VP, client strategy; Nikhil Patel, senior VP, scientific communications
(bottom row, left to right) Lisa Pecora, executive VP, chief financial officer; Didi Discar, principal;
Salma Jutt-Eghbali, executive VP, client strategy
The year’s accomplishments
Structure and services o;ered
ACCOUNTS
Account wins
3
Active business clients
13
BRANDS BY 2015 SALES
Brand-product accounts held
32
$25 million or less
25
$25 million – $50 million 1
$50 million – $100 million
3
$100 million – $500 million
3
Promotional advertising 90%
Peer to peer 10%
Aerie
Aerpio
Alcon Canada
Alcon EURMEA
Alcon US
Avalanche
Bausch & Lomb
Merz Pharmaceuticals
Mynosys
Santen
Sente
ThromboGenics
Valeant
categorythree – agencies with income of less than $25 million
Philanthropy/citizenship
Future plans
