• by Steve McClellan  @mp_mcclellan, April 7, 2016

Omnicom Group is extending its TBWA\WorldHealth, brand which is absorbing two established Omnicom healthcare agencies—LLNS and Corbett.

Sharon Callahan has been appointed CEO of the expanded entity but will continue to serve as Chief Client Officer of the Omnicom Health Group. A 30-year healthcare veteran, Callahan previously served as CEO of LLNS. She was also president of the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association, the industry’s largest professional organization, for two years, and sits on the boards of a number of healthcare related organizations, including the Coalition for Healthcare Communications.

And Robin Shapiro, formerly president of Corbett, will serve as Group President, North America, of the new operation.

“TBWA\WorldHealth is the newest integrated global network within Omnicom Health Group,” said Ed Wise CEO of OHG. “Healthcare is transforming before our eyes, and its’s ripe for an agency has a confident point of view about how to communicate around 21st century healthcare.”

Other holding company’s feel the same way and have been aggressively expanding their healthcare brands. In recent weeks WPP has acquired two healthcare-focused agencies, including health and pharma media agency CMI.

And in February WPP’s Grey acquired healthcare app specialist The Lathe, which is being integrated into GreyHealth Group.

And last November Publicis Groupe acquired PDI CSO which was added as a division of Publicis Healthcare, focusing on building customized, omnichannel healthcare sales, service, and clinical teams.

According to a recent report from Deloitte, health spending is accelerating as the global economy recovers from prolonged recession, rising an average of 5.2% a year from 2014 to 2018 to $9.3 trillion. “What’s exciting is that interest in health and wellness is also creating opportunities for communications in adjacent categories like food, beauty, technology, and retail,” said John Wren, President and CEO, Omnicom Group. “The formation of TBWA\WorldHealth creates new possibilities for us to serve more clients at the convergence of healthcare. 

The company asserts that the newly combined TBWA\WorldHealth offers clients significantly greater scale and resources. The agency will strengthen its presence in New York, while adding full-service offices in Chicago, San Francisco and Irvine, California to complement existing TBWA\WorldHealth offices in London, Paris, Hamburg, Istanbul and Mexico City.