“DAY 1” for Bristol Myers Squibb
Longtime client Bristol Myers Squibb (NYSE: BMS) is one of the largest and most successful pharmaceutical companies in the world. With their 2019 acquisition of Celgene, the company combined the agility of an innovative biotech firm with its own powerful global footprint. As with any major acquisition, part of the work focused on creating a shared culture and esprit de corps. Bristol Myers Squibb asked several of its agency partners to propose concepts for a campaign that could be rolled out to celebrate the closing of the deal as soon as final SEC and shareholder approvals were obtained. My concept, “Day 1,” was selected.
Through bold messaging and visuals pulled through a complete suite of signage, wearables, merchandise, and digital, “Day 1” made clear that—right from Day 1—the new Bristol Myers Squibb was one company, with one team, focused on one mission: transforming patients’ lives through science.
I have more than 20 years of directly relevant experience, delivering award-winning creative services to Bristol Myers Squibb. I began my BMS career working on the creative needs of brands including Pravachol, Plavix, Atripla, Baraclude, Daklinza, Eliquis, Evotaz, Glucophage, Nulojix, Opdivo, Orencia, Reyataz, Sprycel, Sustiva and Yervoy.
Along with my brand work, I led multiple in-house projects for BMS, providing creative services for corporate communications, marketing, and human resources initiatives.
Representative work includes: facilities design and branding; annual sales meeting branding and event management; conceptual and art direction for video projects; and various projects for BMS Foundation.
I served as creative brand manager for BMS’ virology franchise, shaping the visual identities for brands such as Baraclude, Daklinza, Atripla, Reyataz and Evotaz. Together with the marketing team of those brands, my team of copywriters, designers and account executives helped the franchise achieve its targets and greatly enhanced its internal communications and professional-facing creatives.
My work for BMS was recognized externally with awards from Graphic Design USA, Communications Arts, HOW Magazine Annual Design Awards, Print Magazine and MM&M (Medical Marketing & Media).
VISUAL IDENTITY
Bristol Myers Squibb took advantage of the 2019 Celgene acquisition to tackle the work that had been needed for some time to refresh its visual identity. The company sought to move away from the somewhat dated (and technically hard to work with) glyph symbol which had been its logo for many years, hiring Siegel + Gale to develop the new brand. I was part of a small team of in-house staff and agency partners who helped define execution of the new brand, pulling it through the major real-world projects for which I was responsible (e.g., the 2019 annual report, the first to carry the new brand), experimenting with different expressions (washes, gradients) and comparing notes with the lead agency and other team members to document each refinement.
Because I have specialized expertise in large-scale creative services, I am frequently tapped to help create room-sized and out-of-doors art pieces. I also collaborate frequently with the in-house teams on special initiatives. Recent examples include covid-related creative, and special pieces in support of social justice movements.
I produce Bristol Myers Squibb’s corporate advertisements for both print and digital environments, working with in-house clients across the enterprise, with local agency partners around the world, and with the corporate affairs team. During 2021 alone, I produced more than 500 corporate ads, most with a turnaround time of 48 hours or less.
Bristol Myers Squibb traditionally used its annual report not only to comply with SEC-mandated financial reporting but also to highlight advances in its research and development, and to tell the stories of patients whose lives have been transformed by those scientific advancements.
For 2022, the leadership decided to separate those two efforts. The 2022 annual report included the standard Form 10K along with a letter from the CEO and the r&d pipeline. Patient profiles, articles on science, the company’s commitment to ESG and access, and other compelling pieces of content were presented as a digital-only, newsmagazine-style feature called Our Stories.
I worked closely with the teams assigned to both products. For Our Stories, I not only provided comprehensive design services but also worked closely with the in-house i/t and programming teams to trouble shoot the digital magazine.
Cultivating shared values and practices is no small challenge for an enterprise with more than 34,000 employees all over the world. Bristol Myers Squibb’s compliance and ethics office produces the Principles of Integrity each year to ensure that the entire workforce understands and adheres to the company’s ethical guidelines. Much more than a policy manual, Principles of Integrity provides real-world examples of the Principles in action and positions them within the context of the core values which guide everything the company does. Principles of Integrity is produced each year in 13 languages; I have been the design partner for each edition since 2019.
At the end of each quarter, I work with the financial communications team to produce an infographic highlighting the financial and operational key points. The infographics, involving inputs and approvals from investor relations, legal, r&d, and the offices of the CEO and CFO, are a two-week sprint to finalization prior to earnings calls.
Among the business units I regularly support is the business development team. Along with designing booths, suites, and merchandise for major conferences and trade shows, I update their official brochure several times each year.
