Creative campaigns to raise awareness of an incredible milestone in modern HIV treatment and the danger of a second heart attack has helped a global communications agency achieve its best ever year at the PM Society Awards.

The Havas Lynx Group is composed of agencies Havas Lynx, Union, Faze and H4B Manchester. The group, who recently created 60 new jobs at its offices in Manchester and Kings Cross, secured a record-breaking nine Gold Awards at the prestigious ceremony held at the Grosvenor Hotel in London. This award win follows an incredibly successful year for the group which saw the team collect the sought-after Cannes Lions Healthcare Agency of the Year.

Union and Havas Lynx were the proud agencies who collected nine Gold Awards for six cutting-edge campaigns for a host of global clients, including ViiV, Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron, Teva and AstraZeneca.

The ‘Gold’ Awards were followed up by further recognition for the group, with H4B Manchester, Union and Havas Lynx securing a further 14 Silver and Bronze titles covering Disease Awareness (Patients), Corporate Communications and Events and Exhibitions.

“Last year, we were recognised in 11 different categories so to almost double that in 2019 is a fantastic achievement, especially when you consider the scale of competition and standing of the PM Society Awards,” explained Tom Richards, Chief Creative Officer of Havas Lynx Group.

“It really shows the important role creativity has to play within pharma and healthcare communications, and how a strong creative idea has the potential to drive that all important messaging to make a difference to the lives of patients. It’s a really exciting time to be a creative working in pharma.”

Now in its 33rd year, the PM Society Awards are widely regarded amongst the most esteemed professionals in the pharmaceutical healthcare sector and is the biggest annual gathering in the industry.

They are unique among healthcare creative awards in that they include categories judged by healthcare professionals – the targets of the work (TARGET), as well as a creative panel from the industry (CRAFT).

Competition this year was once again fierce, with entries from over 70 creative departments.

The full list of Gold wins for the Havas Lynx Group, include:

• Union
  • Film & Animation (Patients): U=U for ViiV

• Havas Lynx
  • Events & Exhibitions: Below, above and beyond for Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron
  • Interactive Communications: Maxbot for Teva
  • Mixed Media Campaign: See Below for Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron
  • Innovation Awards: See Below for Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron
  • Disease Awareness (HCPs): The Attack for AstraZeneca
  • Film & Animation (HCPs): The Attack for AstraZeneca
  • Best Use of Insight: This Day is For You for Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron
  • Disease Awareness (Patients): This Day is For You for Sanofi Genzyme and Regeneron

U=U Campaign

Union, part of the Havas Lynx Group, was awarded for the U=U campaign developed to communicate an incredible milestone in modern HIV treatment.

The aim was to raise awareness that a person with HIV, whose viral load has reached an undetectable level due to effective treatment, cannot pass the virus on to their sexual partners… or in other words Undetectable=Untransmittable.

The agency, which offers campaign development, brand strategy, healthcare innovation and capability building, produced a ground-breaking film as part of the work, sharing the positive message that U=U.

The film was developed as part of a collaboration between 13 leading HIV charities, including The Terrence Higgins Trust, The National AIDS Trust, NAM and CHIVA.

Dave Hunt, CEO of Havas Lynx Group concluded: “We launched our new agency vision at the start of 2019 and have some very exciting plans for the year ahead… this is a great way to kick things off.

“Our PM Society Awards success highlights how we’re continuing to lead the charge in creatively executing communication within pharma and healthcare to unlock the potential of medicine, which will ultimately deliver positive outcomes for all stakeholders within healthcare.”