my r o l e

Restat asked me to help align its brand with this game-changing approach and to create

visibility and recognition around it. I needed to help the company overcome any internal

hesitation or credibility issues. Its intention, to put client interests ahead of profits, became

the entire focus of the brand. Along with my team, we positioned Restat as a ‘messenger

of change’ and prompted everyone the brand connected with to rethink prescription

benefits and imagine something better.

I led the strategy and marketing effort at GS Design which resulted in the creation of a new

identity for Restat, the “Power of Re.” The identity emphasizes the Restat name, and pairs

it with words that connoted positive change: revitalize, reshape, recommit . . . and a tagline

that prompts clients to “rethink benefits management.”

To ensure everyone within Restat was clear on what this meant, I invited Restat employees

with the most client contact – senior leadership, sales and customer service – into the

branding process. By listening to their concerns, I helped leadership proactively address

employees’ fears and misgivings. Everything was tied directly to the brand strategy and I

kept reminding people of the ultimate destination – putting the consumer’s interests first.

To bring this new vision to life, we created an entirely new office space, adding branded

elements to the lobby, hallways, conference rooms and parking spaces. We upgraded sales

materials and proposal content and developed a new and innovative website as well as

extensive online and print advertising.W h y a n e W st r at egy Wa s s o i m p o rta n t

time for a Change

Restat is a prescription benefits management company that, like all PBMs, administers

prescription drug benefit programs for health plan sponsors. Initially, PBMs were paid for

processing prescription benefits on a simple fee per-claim basis. But with the advent of

electronic claims processing, PBMs had to develop new sources of revenue to make up for

the reduction in fees collected from manually processing prescription claims.

Seems reasonable enough, except this is where the industry lost its way.

PBMs tried to maximize revenues in ways that served their own interests, not their clients.

They would routinely withhold rebates from drug companies, accept payments from drug

manufacturers to include their drugs in certain plans, negotiate preferred pricing and keep

the difference and utilize other shady tactics. In fact, the more complex the payment

system, the more places PBMs found to add and hide fees.

Costs were spiraling out of control. Across the industry, clients were demanding more

transparent pricing models, increased accountability and lower costs. Everyone could see

the problems, but it was Restat that wanted to resolve client pain points and earn back

their trust as a PBM.

a Vision of something Better

Restat piloted a new and innovative PBM product called Align which offered a completely

transparent fee structure and eliminated hidden fees and holdbacks. Align had the

potential to be a true paradigm shift, but that meant rethinking, relearning and re-teaching

everything about PBMs to Restat employees, clients, industry leaders and, ultimately, the

PBM members.

Rebrand: A Revolution from the Inside Out

i Was aBle to shape the new brand’s revolutionary position within the PBM industry

and help move healthcare forward in a positive way.

• Brand strategy Development – I led the market research and strategy for communicating

the new brand’s “messenger of change” position in a crowded marketplace.

• Company Culture and Customer alignment – I led the development and launch of a new

“brand identity, the new marketing material and internal and external launches.

• heart leadership – I kept the executives on course navigating complex organizational change,

which took a great deal of empathy, active listening and a firm belief in the “rightness” of the

vision for this rebrand.

“Khadija

was visible,

enthusiastic,

flexible and

intimately

involved in every

aspect of the

strategy and

projects.”

MARk CIAMARRA

Former VP Marketing, Restat

“GS Design carefully

crafted a brand

strategy that would

create a buzz

and a sense of

differentiation… It

has since defined our

company not simply

from a branding

perspective, but

from an attitude

perspective as well .”

MARk CIAMARRA

Former VP Marketing, Restat

1 K H A D I J A M C M A H O N // R E S TAT C A S E S T U D Y K H A D I J A M C M A H O N // R E S TAT C A S E S T U D Y 2

t h e p o s i t i V e C h a n g e

The new brand identity allowed Restat to capitalize on the disruption that was occurring

within the PBM industry and truly differentiated the company from the broken model of

mistrusted PBMs. It also:

• Positioned Restat to lead the industry back to a healthier and more open way of

doing business.

• Ensured market awareness of its new model and programs.

• Created a culture of change consistent with Restat’s vision of responsibility for

themselves and the industry.

W h y i l i k e D t h e p r oj eC t

I was able to bring positive change to a marketplace full of problems. I had previous

branding and marketing experience with our client’s parent company and had developed

a track record of success with them. And, I wholeheartedly believed in what Restat was

trying to do. Its vision to change both the status quo and the conversation in the industry

was honest and forward-looking. Most importantly, it was the right thing to do.

I got to help

bring positive

change to a

marketplace full

of problems.

“We hate what’s

going on right

now, but we

don’t want to

change because

we fear it’ll be

the same.”

POTENTIAL RESTAT CLIENT

Brand Evolution: Owning the Outcome

the reBranD efforts allowed Restat to come very far, very fast. Armed with a new story,

brand and materials that the industry was receptive to, Restat was able to secure a number of key

wins in its first selling season, but there were still challenges to overcome.

• marketing insight and experience – I built in processes for ongoing evaluation and

correction in order to handle the inevitable growing pains.

• marketing research – I developed and conducted a subsequent brand audit to pinpoint

evolving brand perceptions.

• marketing strategy – From my audit findings, I made the appropriate strategy

recommendations to further define and position the brand.

W h y B r a n D r e f i n e m e n t Wa s n eC e s sa ry

Bring the message home

Some PBM clients were still resistant to change. Switching models was perceived as

difficult, time-consuming and risky. At the same time, larger PBMs were now recognizing

the need for change and although they still lacked products like Align, their efforts to

develop similar approaches in that direction were intensifying. This left Restat with a small

window of opportunity to truly own this competitive advantage in the marketplace.

my r o l e

I was asked to help Restat further establish and secure the brand’s growing position in

the marketplace and to measure its return on investment from the previous rebranding

efforts. I recommended and performed another audit. This time around, I primarily

interviewed Restat’s top sales executives, clients and prospects to gain an understanding

of how the new brand was being perceived, where it was excelling, where it was falling short

and get ideas for growth.

Then I delivered a well-informed roadmap that provided the necessary detail to

guide Restat towards continued success. It summarized learning, insights and

recommendations. It built on the existing brand platform and marketing efforts. And it

clearly defined how to best proceed with developing the most impactful and effective

tools and messaging possible.

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DOING THE RIGHT THING PAYS OFF

$2MMAverage annual client plan savings

$200Average annual consumer savings

$410MMPrice Restat was accquired for

a B e t t e r o u tCo m e

My efforts led to the implementation of additional tactics, including:

• Further refinement of messaging, making materials even easier to understand.

• Creating audience – and product – specific marketing campaigns, leading to a

much greater awareness and visibility of the company’s unique approach, programs

and benefits.

• Helping execute a media and PR blitz that reinforced the company’s credibility and

expertise at every opportunity.

These updates ensured a heightened level of market awareness and understanding and

removed other barriers preventing clients and prospects from making the right choice.

Restat maintained its competitive position and signed on more clients.

Ultimately, when all was said and done, everyone benefited, proving that doing the right

thing really does pay off:

• Clients saved money – average-sized plans were saving up to $2 million per year.

• Consumers saved money – plan members saw the cost of their prescriptions drop,

with an average savings of nearly $200 per year.

• In time, Restat was acquired for $410 million and was projected to contribute $45

million per year in earnings to the purchasing company, Catamaran.

W h y i l i k e D t h e p r oj eC t

When I asked Restat to commit the resources necessary to complete the initial strategy

development and brand launch, I also asked them to commit to a follow-up round of

market research and fine-tuning. The reason? When a company invests that much in

research and strategy development, it should be confident that the person asking for it will

stay with the project and own the outcomes.

This part of the project was really important to me. Too many times, agencies defend their

strategy and creative work with self-indulgent inflexibility. The marketplace is the ultimate

decision maker, whether or not your work is defensible. That being the case, if I’m going to

ask my client to put its business on the line in a rebranding effort, you can be sure I won’t

be walking away until there are measurable and meaningful results.

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