What Heartbeat Digital does

Heartbeat (legally Heartbeat Ideas, a division of Publicis Health, LLC) is a full-service healthcare marketing agency founded in 1998 and headquartered in New York with a second office in Los Angeles. The firm positions itself as the agency for healthcare 'Challenger Brands' — pharmaceutical and life sciences companies seeking to compete against larger incumbents through differentiated, digitally rooted marketing — and operates as a member agency within Publicis Health, the healthcare communications arm of publicly traded Publicis Groupe (EPA: PUB).

Its service portfolio spans brand building, creative platforms, media planning and buying, engagement planning, omnichannel execution, measurement and analytics, medical advisory, and technology enablement, delivered under a proprietary '100% Integration' working model that the agency markets as a single point of accountability replacing multi-vendor coordination. Heartbeat serves as Agency of Record for 80+ brands across enterprise pharma and biotech clients, including Pfizer, Bristol Myers Squibb, Genentech, Gilead, Janssen, Abbott, Astellas, and Sumitomo, alongside smaller Challenger Brands such as Agile Therapeutics, Applied Therapeutics, Marinus, and Sientra. The agency complements its core brand-marketing offering with a clinical-research service line, Heartbeat Clinical Research (formed by integrating BBK Worldwide and Langland U.S.), focused on patient activation and clinical trial recruitment.

Commercially, Heartbeat operates a B2B professional services model with quote-based, negotiated agency fees and consultative enterprise sales initiated through a partnership inquiry form on its website. Through Publicis Health membership it leverages the broader Publicis Groupe network of approximately 98,000 talent across 40+ markets to support multinational client delivery under a 'Power of One' positioning. The firm has 101–250 employees, no disclosed funding history (consistent with its status as a non-publicly-listed operating division), no API or proprietary technology platform, and no disclosed AI/ML capabilities; its competitive differentiation rests on creative, strategic, and medical talent rather than technology assets.

Name

Heartbeat Digital

Legal name

Heartbeat Ideas, a division of Publicis Health, LLC

Website

https://weareheartbeat.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Heartbeat is a full-service healthcare marketing agency for Challenger Brands, offering integrated brand, creative, media, and medical strategy services. A division of Publicis Health within Publicis Groupe, it serves 80+ pharmaceutical and life sciences clients from offices in New York and Los Angeles.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

New York

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Marketing and Creative Services: Heartbeat generates revenue through agency fees for comprehensive marketing services including brand building, creative platforms, media planning and buying, engagement planning, omnichannel execution, measurement and analytics, medical advisory, and technology enablement. The agency serves as AOR (Agency of Record) for 80+ brands.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Heartbeat is a full-service healthcare marketing agency that delivers end-to-end marketing services for healthcare Challenger Brands, including brand building, creative platforms, media planning and buying, engagement planning, omnichannel execution, measurement and analytics, medical advisory, and technology enablement. The agency also operates Heartbeat Clinical Research, providing patient activation and clinical trial recruitment services through data analytics and community engagement.

Product overview

Heartbeat is a full-service healthcare marketing agency specializing in Challenger Brands. The agency offers end-to-end marketing services through its Core Capabilities division, which includes brand building, creative platforms, media planning and buying, engagement planning, omnichannel execution, measurement and analytics, medical advisory, and technology enablement. These services are powered by Heartbeat's proprietary '100% Integration' working model. The agency also operates Heartbeat Clinical Research (formed from BBK Worldwide and Langland U.S.) for patient activation and clinical trial services. Through its parent company Publicis Groupe, Heartbeat provides access to a global network spanning 40+ markets.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Core Capabilities Services (Full-Service Healthcare Marketing)

Quantifiable outcome

• Led the 'best launch in company history' according to global CEO
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Publicis HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeartbeat is a member of Publicis Health, the world's largest healthcare communications group. This affiliation provides access to Publicis Groupe's global network of 98,000 talent across 40+ markets and enables the 'Power of One' approach for seamless service delivery to brand partners.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• DDB Health: Omnicom healthcare creative agency with similar mid-to-large enterprise pharma roster; competes for specialty pharma AOR work where challenger positioning and digital capabilities matter.
• Concentric Health Experience: Independent full-service healthcare agency focused on challenger and launch brands; one of the closest independent comparables to Heartbeat's positioning and service mix.
• McCann Health: Global healthcare marketing network within IPG; competes for the same AOR pharma mandates (DTC/HCP, rare disease, oncology launches) and serves a similar enterprise client base across biotech and big pharma.
• FCB Health (FCBCure / IPG Health): Large healthcare creative agency inside IPG Health; directly rivals Heartbeat for AOR relationships with Pfizer, BMS, and other top-tier pharma clients in specialty and primary care categories.
• Havas Health Network: Global healthcare communications network within Havas; competes head-to-head for integrated AOR engagements, with comparable capabilities across DTC, HCP, and medical strategy.
• TBWA\WorldHealth: Omnicom-owned healthcare creative network; comparable full-service challenger brand positioning with strong medical strategy depth and similar enterprise pharma client base.
• Saatchi & Saatchi Wellness: Publicis Health sibling agency that most directly competes with Heartbeat inside the same parent network for pharma AOR mandates; analogous challenger/launch positioning and digital-first heritage.
• Biolumina (Omnicom Health): Specialty pharma creative agency within Omnicom Health; competes for specialty/rare-disease AORs with similar challenger positioning and medical-driven creative.

Broad incumbents

• WPP/BCW Health (VML Health): WPP's health-focused creative and experience network; a larger incumbent operating broadly across therapeutic categories with overlapping pharma AOR capabilities.
• Wunderman Thompson Health (VMLY&R Health): WPP network with strong healthcare capabilities; broader portfolio play but competes for integrated pharma AOR work similar to Heartbeat's offering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/heartbeat-ideas
• Instagraminstagram.com/hifromheartbeat
• Xx.com/heartbeatideas

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Heartbeat Digital