Inside
WEFRA LIFE: the course is charted for internationalisation
For more than ten years, WEFRA LIFE and Mediaplus have cooperated in two joint media ventures. Now, they have acquired Conseil Média Santé (CMS), a French healthcare media agency, and founded the new Mediaplus Global Health Group. Matthias Haack (CEO), Niklas Kurz (COO) and Adrian Haack (Director International Markets) from WEFRA LIFE explain the objectives they are pursuing with internationalisation and what it means for their clients.
Matthias Haack (CEO), Niklas Kurz (COO) and Adrian Haack (Director International Markets)
from WEFRA LIFE (image: WEFRA LIFE)
Health Relations: In partnership with Mediaplus, you have acquired Conseil Média Santé. What brought you to this decision?
Adrian Haack: Conseil Média Santé is a market leader in the specialist media sector, with a market share of over 50 per cent, and has cooperated with us for our international accounts on a very trusting basis for many years now. The acquisition builds on WEFRA LIFE’s intention of expanding its international focus. It is an intention that entails even more, too. Together with Munich’s Mediaplus, we are not only acquiring CMS, based in Paris, but also setting up a branch office in London. Clients will appreciate this international offering, and the market will benefit from the enormous, joint expertise found at CMS and WEFRA LIFE. Synergies will be unlocked. We are also proud that we prevailed over a number of other agencies in our pitch, particularly in view of France being one of the largest pharmaceutical markets in the Europe, Middle East and Africa economic sphere.
Health Relations: Why is crossing national borders in conjunction with Mediaplus and CMS the right step to take now?
Adrian Haack: Our two joint media ventures with Mediaplus are performing very successfully and with very high client satisfaction of 98 per cent. The next logical step now is the Mediaplus Global Health Group, consisting of Mediaplus, CMS and WEFRA LIFE, to meet the needs of the numerous pharmaceutical companies that are increasingly looking to work with us on a global or transnational level.
‘Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly looking to work with us on a global and transnational level.’
Health Relations: How will your clients profit from this?
Matthias Haack: In founding the Mediaplus Global Health Group, we now have a global offering all under the one roof. WEFRA LIFE has already successfully cooperated with CMS and Mediaplus in close collaborations in the past, and now we can continue this even more closely. With 150 pharmaceutical clients, predominantly from the RX and OTC segments, we are the leading owner-operated healthcare agency in Germany. The Mediaplus Group, Europe’s largest independent media agency, brings its international footprint and strategic expertise as well as extensive data and technology capabilities, along with a broad spectrum of clients in the OTC market segment and others.
Health Relations: How much will CMS add to the existing WEFRA LIFE and Mediaplus portfolio?
Adrian Haack: With CMS, we are acquiring outstanding healthcare expertise, which will boost our international market position. In Germany, we – together with Mediaplus – are already one of the leading independent agencies in the healthcare sector. Now we are joining forces even more closely and have also become a market leader in France in one fell swoop.
‘Not only will we serve shared clients, but we will also leverage synergy at a technological level.’
Health Relations: How – and to what extent – will you integrate CMS into your network as a French healthcare agency? How will you handle this meeting of different work cultures?
Adrian Haack: We have already cooperated closely with CMS as a partner for many years and not only serve shared clients, but will also leverage synergy at a technological level, for example, for our exclusive Healthy Programmatic service for B2B post-login contexts. Every agency has its own work culture, of course, yet we are excited about the pleasant harmony between all partners. The acquisition is also bringing the Mediaplus consulting and communications services as well as media services for RX, OTX, dental, medtech and OTC all under one roof. Not just organisationally, either, as the 48 CMS employees will now physically be located door by door with their Mediaplus colleagues at the Paris House of Communication on Rue de Villiers.
Health Relations: You are looking to open an office in London together as well. What is the status of that?
Niklas Kurz: We are delighted to have already gained two highly experienced and professional healthcare media specialists for our media agency in London. Both contribute more than ten years’ experience in the healthcare media market in the UK and internationally and will be part of the new set-up from the very beginning. We are planning for close collaboration with the teams from Germany and France.
‘While we are already well known as Mediaplus and WEFRA, we still need to develop trust and acceptance for the Mediaplus Global Health Group.’
Health Relations: What are your goals for the British market and what are the special challenges with it?
Adrian Haack: Our main priorities are to develop and expand a relevant market presence and gain further international clients which are based in the United Kingdom. We will offer an international and all-inclusive approach that crosses borders. It is crucial to note that while we are already well known as Mediaplus and WEFRA, we still need to develop trust and acceptance for the Mediaplus Global Health Group. On top of that, we also need to consider regional requirements such as regulations, data protection and technology. Having said that, we are on an excellent path to building up the team there and tackling these challenges.
Health Relations: Are there other international offices being planned?
Niklas Kurz: Currently, we will be able to make use of the network of 22 Mediaplus locations in the relevant countries. With that, we can take advantage of local colleagues while contributing healthcare expertise from us and CMS.
Health Relations: If you cast your mind forward five years, what goals do you hope to have achieved in relation to your international footprint and positioning?
Matthias Haack: We will have cemented our position in the international healthcare market, be serving our own clients abroad successfully and comprehensively through the DACH region and be offering further services alongside media.
First published on 3 September 2024 in Health Relations, the online magazine for healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing (https://www.healthrelations.de/wefra-life-internationalisierung/)
Author: Katharina Mandlinger, freelance editor from Hamburg with a focus on B2B. For Health Relations, she writes mostly about digital marketing trends and their significance for pharmaceuticals and healthcare.