NEW YORK (October 27, 2009) – Vertiyo Creative Group Inc., a full-service branding and marketing agency based in New York City, today announced the launch of Vertiyo Health, a new division focused on pharmaceutical marketing. Vertiyo Health will be headed by John DeFranco, an industry veteran with more than 25 years of pharmaceutical marketing experience. The new unit offers pharma clients a cost-effective alternative to larger ad agencies, while providing marketing services across a wide range of outlets including print, online and social media. For more information on the group’s industry experience and capabilities, visit www.vertiyohealth.com.

DeFranco began his career in pharmaceutical sales as a field representative, hospital rep and hospital field trainer for Beecham Labs. He later became a product manager for the company with responsibility for injectable antibiotics, and oversaw the launch of Timentin, the first injectable beta-lactamase inhibitor.

DeFranco’s medical advertising experience includes work on major U. S. brands including Pipracil, Prozac, Zerit, Invirace and Zyrtec. He has also supervised the launch of many global brands, including Zyprexa, Synercid, Xenical, Xolair and Pristiq. He can be reached at jdefranco@vertiyo.com and through Twitter and LinkedIn.

“Our size makes us nimble enough to react to our clients in a way that larger agencies often can’t,” said DeFranco. “We’re also able to put new ideas and innovative social strategies in front of our clients much more quickly and efficiently.”

Vertiyo Creative Group founder Marc Scibelli (mscibelli@vertiyo.com) will serve as chief creative officer for Vertiyo Health. Scibelli’s background includes more than a decade of experience at agencies including EURO RSCG Life Chelsea and McCann Erickson, with a focus on pharmaceutical marketing. His work with pharma clients includes the relaunch of Plavix, serving as lead creative on several global accounts for Boehringer-Ingelheim and work as lead creative for the launch of Wyeth’s newest antidepressant, Pristiq

Agency offices are located at 17 Battery Place, Suite 906, New York, NY 10004/ (917) 832-1531.

Vertiyo Creative Group is a full-service agency that delivers superior client performance based on creative curiosity. Part ad agency, part digital think tank, Vertiyo Creative Group is pioneering a new agency-client partnership model through innovations such as risk-sharing cooperatives and creation of proprietary digital products. To learn more, visit www.vertiyo.com.

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Vertiyo Creative Group Inc., a new full-service branding and marketing agency, has launched in New York City. Headed by Principal/Executive Creative Director Marc Scibelli (mscibelli@vertiyo.com), Vertiyo is focused on providing marketers with a new relationship model that combines traditional agency services with the insight of a digital think tank. For profiles of agency staff, capabilities and client experience, visit www.vertiyo.com.

Scibelli founded Vertiyo following a two-year stint as Corporate Creative Director for ALM, one of the largest business-to-business integrated media companies in the U.S. He has also served as Senior Art Director for Walker Digital, parent company of priceline.com, and Art Director for Cendant Corporation. Scibelli’s agency background includes more than a decade of experience at agencies including EURO RSCG Life Chelsea and McCann Erickson, with a focus on pharmaceutical marketing. His work with pharma clients includes the relaunch of Plavix, serving as lead creative on several global accounts for Boehringer-Ingelheim and work as lead creative for the launch of Wyeth’s newest antidepressant, Pristiq. He served as a member of the Newsday staff reporting team that received the Pulitzer Prize in 1997, providing deadline graphics for an ongoing series of reports on a major airline crash and its aftermath.

Scibelli has leveraged Web 2.0 technologies to launch several new successful online businesses, including VirtualAdAgency.com, ScrappyUpstarts.com and TwitterPromoBuilder.com. He is an active marketing presence on Twitter and can be followed at http://twitter.com/marc421.

“Today, marketing success requires the imagination to come up with exciting new ideas, the resourcefulness to know how to test them with minimal risk and resources, and the courage to overcome the status quo,” said Scibelli. “Vertiyo is pioneering a new agency-as-partner model, providing clients with innovations, such as risk-sharing cooperatives and proprietary digital products, to help their brands move forward.”

Agency offices are located at 17 Battery Place, Suite 906, New York, NY 10004/ (917) 832-1531.

Vertiyo Creative Group is a full-service agency that delivers superior client performance based on creative curiosity. Part ad agency, part digital think tank, Vertiyo Creative Group is pioneering a new agency-client partnership model through innovations such as risk-sharing cooperatives and creation of proprietary digital products. To learn more, visit www.vertiyo.com.

Contacts:
Peters & Feldman for Vertiyo
Lee Feldman, 203-341-8922
leefeld@ix.netcom.com

Permalink: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091022005168/en