Allard Johnson
Canadian Healthcare Marketing Hall of Fame 2006
Terry Johnson remembers the days when he was one of “three guys” with a dream of creating an ad agency with a difference. Now, some 22 years, three companies, and 160 employees later, the President and CEO of Allard Johnson Communications Inc. is a well respected presence in the world of healthcare communications.
Johnson, who came to marketing and advertising from the pharma side, credits “100 per cent dedication” to helping him build his agency empire. But 10 years spent on the pharmaceutical side in sales and product management with Warner Lambert (Pfizer), and Johnson & Johnson (Ortho) helped set the stage for his foray into advertising.
His ad agency debut would materialize when he landed a job with Borg Advertising, the first pharmaceutical advertising agency in Canada. But one year later it was a partnership with seasoned ad men David Lindley and Richard Billinghurst that would result in the creation of the fledgling agency, Lindley, Billinghurst and Johnson (LBJ). What followed would be a series of mergers, acquisitions, and new ventures that would establish LBJ as a major player on the Canadian agency scene.
Always scanning the horizon for new business opportunities, Johnson would enter the PR arena in 1993 when he started Veritas Communications, a leading PR and GR firm. The acquisition of Integrated Healthcare Communications would soon follow, as would the merger of LBJ with FRB (Social Marketing Firm) which resulted in the formation of LBJ.FRB Communications. In 1999, the company merged with Allard & Associates in Montreal, and later with Campbell & Associates Advertising adding Financial Services, Consumer Package Goods, and Retail expertise to their portfolio.
More recently, Johnson has tapped into the burgeoning wellness market with a new division: Ingredients Nutritional Insight Group. Drawing on the PR talent of Veritas, the educational expertise of IHC, the creative know-how of Allard Johnson, and the services of a nutritional expert, the virtual company provides much-needed services to the commercial food industry. Another new startup, Pharsite, is an interactive media group designed to round out AJ’s other offerings.
Johnson remains low key about his accomplishments, suggesting that the ultimate measure of success is, “how long you keep your clients.” He adds, “Our clients have made us what we are,” pointing in particular to long-standing clients such as Purdue Pharma. “We really owe our success to Purdue Pharma. They were the first client to say ‘we believe in these guys’ and they’ve stayed with us for over two decades.”
But while Johnson attributes much of his business success to great account servicing and unparalleled creative, he also strongly believes that agencies must take a mentoring role with product people. On the client side, there’s little time for mentoring and it should be every agency’s mandate to nurture product people with the experience they have. “In the old days you could make mistakes, it was part of your training,” says Johnson, reflecting on his rookie days as a pharmaceutical marketer.
Helping clients to “grow their products,” and “hearing that they’re happy with the work you do,” is key, says Johnson. “It sounds like motherhood, but you wouldn’t survive as long as I have in the industry if that wasn’t why you were there.”