Mesmerize Acquires Pharmacy Health Network to Expand Point-of-Care Digital Advertising Reach

VCBeat (WeChat ID: vcbeat) learned from foreign media that Mesmerize, invested by the private equity firm Beekman Group, announced on August 7, 2019, local time, the acquisition of PHN (Pharmacy Health Network), an outdoor digital network company focused on retail pharmacies.

Mesmerize is an out-of-home media company specializing in patient education content at healthcare points of care. Through its acquisition of PHN, the only out-of-home digital network company currently focused on retail pharmacies, Mesmerize will gain access to PHN’s network nodes deployed across 1,100 chain pharmacies nationwide. Over the coming months, it will integrate these national chain pharmacies equipped with PHN services into its ecosystem, thereby rapidly expanding its network scale. Meanwhile, Mesmerize will launch a new digital platform, Mesmerize Health Network, to deliver patient education media content. This new platform targets TV screens in specialists’ offices and community hospital waiting rooms, enabling patients to access relevant treatment and care information—including knowledge about infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS—while awaiting their appointments.

“As we expand our digital footprint in pharmacies and launch the Mesmerize Health Network targeting other healthcare settings, Mesmerize will leverage and extend PHN’s best practices in the products and technologies used within the Pharmacy Health Network,” said Mr. Gregory Leibert, CEO of Mesmerize. “This acquisition provides us with decades of experience in digital engagement at points of care, which will continue to be a key advantage for Mesmerize in the future.”

As early as 2018, Mesmerize partnered with the digital signage operator Respario. Acting as an agent for PHN, Respario combined PHN’s leading technology with Mesmerize’s high-quality media products and integrated this content with healthcare advertising to provide educational materials for patients.

This acquisition solidifies Mesmerize’s industry position in patient education and fulfills its commitment to forward-thinking technology. The deal also includes customized healthcare content and new media players, all of which have been fully deployed across PHN’s network nodes over the past year. Respario will retain PHN’s agency rights, continue operating the digital signage assets formerly belonging to PHN, and deploy and manage the newly launched Mesmerize Health Network in the future.

“Since 2009, PHN has been a trusted voice in pharmacies, offering value-added media solutions for both independent and chain pharmacies, as well as an effective platform for healthcare advertisers,” said Lan Stone, President and Chief Experience Officer at Respario. “The combination of PHN and Mesmerize will deliver digital solutions across the entire point-of-care (POC) landscape and provide patients with a robust suite of healthcare experience offerings.”

Point-of-Care AdvertisingPoint-of-care advertisements prompt patients to take action by encouraging them to discuss specific brands directly with their physicians and pharmacists. Statistics show that U.S. adults who encounter medical advertising in physician offices or pharmacies are 84% more likely to discuss the advertised products with their doctors or pharmacists than the general U.S. adult population. Meanwhile, 80% of adults made a purchase after being exposed to point-of-care advertisements.

Mesmerize is a professional outdoor advertising company with headquarters in New York and Oakland, California. Its outdoor advertisements are widely distributed across public transit stations, healthcare facilities, and point-of-sale locations.

Beekman Group is a top-tier private equity firm headquartered in New York, dedicated to providing financial and operational resources to clients in the lower-to-mid-market sectors. Its team comprises seasoned private equity professionals and elite industry advisors.

Respario designs, develops, deploys, and manages turnkey digital signage solutions for its clients. These solutions encompass network infrastructure, technical support, content creation and production, and ongoing maintenance, enabling clients to publish strategic content at these locations.