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Meredith Levy

Jacob Humble

Melissa Phillips

Interview Written Report

For this project we had the opportunity to interview Miles Shatkin. One of our group

members has a personal connection to this individual, so we knew he would be easy to get in

contact with and realistically knowing they would be more than willing to participate. For four

years Miles has been an account director and sales representative for the national advertising

agency known as Area 23. According to their website, “Area 23 is a full-service healthcare

agency that has dismantled barriers that stand in the way of true innovation. Our “What if” way

of working goes beyond agency sloganism and provides a real framework to do breakthrough

creative.” (23, A. (n.d.)). This agency actively has over 500 employees working from them

throughout different departments. Some of their clients they have served include Allergen

Aesthetics, Apellis, Biogen, KateFarms, and ViiV Healthcare. Area 23 is a top health advertising

agency in the world, owned by the parent company FCB Network. When writing about Area 23,

a pharma blog writes, “FCB Health’s latest agency is leveraging its Area 23 creative powerhouse

brand name.” (Bulik, B. 2018). Throughout the interview, Miles shares his experiences and

knowledge that he has gained while working at the agency.

Throughout the interview we wanted to know about his experiences during his time at

Area 23 and what we may expect in the future. When asking Miles what brought him to Area 23

over its competitors, the short answer was “they are known for having an ‘out-of-the-box’

creative perspective”, and Miles likes their alternative approach. He said the brand doesn’t go the

typical route, they like to push boundaries and look for untraditional ways to create
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advertisements for their clients. This opens up room for Miles and his company to be more

creative, but also runs the risk of not following certain standards/laws that may be set to regulate

if the advertisement is able to be used. Another thing Miles likes about the creative side of his

agency is that it allows all individuals at separate positions to work together as a team to come up

with the final product. He mentioned that people from all different departments within the

agency come together when trying to find a solution for a problem, he believes that the more

people involved in a project, the better the final result will be. They also get the opportunity to

collaborate with other agencies occasionally. Miles shared with us that, “I would say that the

most common partnership, (is) working with media agencies because we don’t really do that at

my agency.” In other words, Area 23 is in charge of creating the content that goes on the

billboard that other agencies provide.

When asking Miles about his experience so far at Area 23, he told us about some of his

toughest challenges that his agency faces and will continue to encounter, what projects he was a

part of and was most proud of, and his agency’s most successful market. Some challenges that

Area 23 face is dealing with clients who have high expectations and are not realistic when it

comes to the amount of time it will take to complete. He goes on to say that there needs to be a

‘balance’ between creating the best work within a reasonable amount of time. He also states that

they can have challenges with budgets. He states that, “you have to fight for the amount of

money that you think things are worth.” This is a great lesson to have learned from him

especially before we go off into our careers after graduation. One project that Miles notes he is

most proud of was one for a new medication for people living with HIV; this medication would

allow for treatments every other month as opposed to daily. He goes on to talk about it stating,

“It (the drug) challenges the life of people living with HIV, giving them more freedom through
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only having to take a treatment once every two months.” According to the company’s page who

created this drug, “Cabreuva is the first and only complete long-acting HIV treatment regimen

and was first approved by the US FDA in January 2021 as a once-monthly treatment for HIV-1

in virologically suppressed adults.” (VIIV healthcare announces). This project showed us that

there are opportunities within this field to have a part in creating something that will change

someone’s life. Lastly, he tells us that the most successful market his agency has worked with is

the United States. They are more familiar with it and our cultural norms but he does appreciate

the challenge of creating ads for different cultures around the world.
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References

23, A. (n.d.). Area 23. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from https://www.area23hc.com/#home

Bulik, B. (2018, September 11). What's in a name? FCB Health's powerhouse shop area 23

extends its brand power. Retrieved October 28, 2022, from

https://www.fiercepharma.com/marketing/what-s-a-name-fcb-health-s-powerhouse-creati

ve-shop-area-23-extends-its-brand-power

VIIV healthcare announces US FDA approval of Cabenuva (Cabotegravir, Rilpivirine) for use

every two months, expanding the label of the first and only complete long-acting HIV

treatment. (n.d.). Retrieved October 28, 2022, from

https://viivhealthcare.com/hiv-news-and-media/news/press-releases/2022/january/viiv-he

althcare-announces-fda-approval-of-cabenuva-for-use-every-two-months/