Trust the Process: Kate Rafferty’s Push for Media Methodology

When Amgen put its $400 million media business up for grabs early last year, it sparked an atypical frenzy in the pharma space. The pitch process was said to be uncommonly long and involved, with voluminous demands for materials and capabilities presentations. By the time the smoke cleared in October, IPG Mediabrands had emerged from the consolidation derby, besting incumbents Omnicom and WPP.

Kate Rafferty, director, digital partnerships at IPG Mediabrands, remembers feeling galvanized by the opportunity – and slightly awed by the scale of it. In 2024 Amgen spent $171.6 million on ads for plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis drug Otezla alone, nearly $50 million more than it did in 2023. The brand also connected creatively with a series of spots in which people with psoriasis imagined themselves suddenly thrust into the spotlight.

In other words, plenty of people were going to be paying close attention to Mediabrands’ stewardship of the prized and well-heeled client. “Of course it increased the pressure a little bit. Otezla is a big, well-known brand that’s shooting for broad awareness, not a small oncology brand that may be targeting HCPs,” Rafferty says. “But we were ready for it.”

For Rafferty, it wasn’t just a matter of being in the right place at the right time. From the moment she arrived in pharma media more than nine years ago, Rafferty has been a stickler about process. Part of this is attributable to the regulated nature of the pharma landscape, but...