Heartbeat EVP of Marketing Janelle Starr Honored as “Agency Vanguard” Award Winner by DTC Perspectives


I’m proud to be part of an agency that offers such opportunity and growth, that enables me to impact DTC advertising in a myriad of ways.

Janelle Starr, EVP of Marketing for leading healthcare marketing agency Heartbeat, has been recognized by DTC Perspectives as one of its annual Agency Vanguard Award Winners.

DTC Perspectives is one of the leading forums for direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising thought leaders. The Agency Vanguard award was created to recognize standout agency team members who are driving innovation and improving patient communications. Agency executives are selected based on their extensive accomplishments, vast influence on the future state of DTC launches or campaigns, and recognized contributions or service to patients as well as the DTC industry.

Ms. Starr was awarded this honor following 20 decorated years in the marketing industry, including a remarkable 15 years at Heartbeat, where she has helped guide the company’s evolution from a small digital advertising shop to the AOR marketing leader it is today. Janelle has led three unique disciplines within the agency: first the Production team, then the award-winning Technology department, and, finally, Marketing and Communications—all of which enabled her to see the development of DTC advertising from a new angle. In 2012, Janelle moved to Los Angeles to open Heartbeat’s West Coast office, aptly named Heartbeat West, where the company’s DTC partnerships surged under her stewardship.

“I’m proud to be part of an agency that offers such opportunity and growth, that enables me to impact DTC advertising in a myriad of ways,” said Ms. Starr. “It wouldn’t have been possible without the mentorship and friendship of my long-time Heartbeat colleagues Jen Campanaro, Bill Drummy, Nadine Leonard, and James Talerico.”

Janelle is the third Heartbeat executive to receive DTC Perspectives Agency Vanguard recognition. The agency’s President & Executive Creative Director, James Talerico, was awarded the distinction in 2017, and Hudson Plumb, Heartbeat SVP of Strategy, received the award in 2018.

Ms. Starr and other award recipients were honored at a ceremonial dinner on October 23, 2019 at the DTC Perspectives Forum on Social Media & Technology: East Coast Conference in Jersey City, New Jersey.

About Heartbeat

Heartbeat is a full-service agency for healthcare Challenger Brands. Challengers are playing a high-stakes game—they must battle behemoth market leaders, upend ingrained treatment habits, or transform a “me-too” product into “yes-please.”

The agency is known for serving up distinctive strategies and differentiating approaches, ensuring a client’s market position is uniquely owned. They house strategy, creative, media, and technology under a single roof for the tightest, most integrated campaigns possible. And Heartbeat looks to understand and extract maximum value from every dollar spent, constantly. All the necessary elements for Challengers to triumph.

That’s the philosophy, here’s the creds: 200+ employees between NYC & LA; 6 agency leaders with a decade+ of Heartbeat tenure; a pile of awards from the likes of the Mannys, MM&M, OMMA, and Clio, not to mention an Agency of the Year nom to boot; and a President who dared to be quoted as follows, “We celebrate people who stand up and say, ‘You know what? This is dumb.’” Damn straight.

For more information about Heartbeat, please contact Jared Watson at jared.watson@weareheartbeat.com or 646.701.6240.

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