CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA: The University of Virginia Health System has appointed a roster of firms for integrated communications.
The wining agencies include Lewis Communications, Capstrat, digital firm Modea, and design shop Therese Design, according to a contracting officer. Only Lewis had previously worked with the system.
The contract will run for three years, with two option years. A budget was unavailable because services are ordered on a project-by-project basis.
The firms will support University Hospital, UVA Children's Hospital, University of Virginia Outpatient Surgery Center, UVA Transitional Care Hospital, Emily Couric Clinical Cancer Center, and several other organizations and services.
Potential projects will cover PR, branding, marketing, and creative strategy, according to the RFP for the contracts.
Lewis “had a bunch of unfinished work” that it was trying to complete before the RFP began, said Thomas Fowlkes, account manager, who is overseeing the account at the agency.
After months of research, it is planning to unveil a rebranding campaign at the beginning of next year, he added. The firm is also set to continue promotion of university research on “focused ultrasound,” which it hopes can be a non-invasive option for destroying tumors and is being explored as a possible treatment for Parkinson's disease.
Capstrat also provides PR support for University of Florida Health and the University of North Carolina's UNC Health Care.
“We believe we will be able to draw on our expertise to help navigate them through the changing healthcare landscape,” said Capstrat president Karen Albritton.
Late last month, the John Theurer Cancer Center at Hackensack University Medical Center named Porter Novelli as its AOR.
