Spine Billboard Wins Gold Aster Award

We just learned that the successful “Get your back back. In Walla Walla.” outdoor board we developed with Providence St. Mary Medical Center Regional Spine Center has received a Gold Award from the Aster Awards Competition which honors excellence in medical marketing.

The Aster Awards, one of the largest national competitions of its kind, received approximately 3,000 entries from the United States, Canada and South America.  Participant’s entries competed against similar-sized organizations in their category.

Gold Awards reflect a score that ranks the creative work in the top 5% of entries submitted. Judging criteria includes creativity, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal.

Here are a few of the distinctive attributes of this billboard that contribute to its success:

• Short, seven-word headline works with image to create instant understanding that this is an ad for relief of back pain.
• Alliteration in the headline makes it memorable.
• Use of the city’s name connects with local readers, and makes it clear to regional readers that the service is in Walla Walla.
• Vivid colors tie in with the center’s corporate colors, but are also vibrant and suggest health.

Client Work Wins Three Service Industry Awards

The Service Industry Advertising Awards competition results were released this week, and I would like to take a moment to recognize two of our clients and my outstanding team for garnering one Gold Award and two Bronze Awards.

Our friends at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital received a Bronze Award for a two-part print ad series promoting NorthStar Lodge, their cancer treatment center.

 

California-based Gresham Savage Law firm earned Gold and Bronze Awards for their litigation direct mail piece and their 100-Year direct mail piece.

National judges evaluated nearly 2,000 entries for execution, creativity, quality and consumer appeal. The full list of winners can be found here.

Client’s Annual Report Makes Top 50 List and Garners Platinum Award

Key Technology’s 2010 annual report has been listed in the top 50 winners gallery in the 2009-2010 international LACP Visions Awards Annual Report Competition.

Other winners included companies like Cisco Systems, Munich Airport, Monsanto India, Office Depot Foundation, Direct TV, Xerox and Whirlpool.

The report also garnered the Platinum Award—the highest of four awards offered in each category—for annual reports in its industry. A panel of professional judges scored the project on eight aspects ranging from first impressions to message clarity.

The photo of the executive team, above, appears inside the report and mirrors the cover theme that evokes freshness, purity and quality—all outcomes that Key's product line helps achieve.

We have worked with Key Technology on their annual reports for more than a decade, and must say that they know how to inspire good work. We love helping to tell the story of this innovative, forward-thinking international company.

More than 4,400 entries representing 25 countries were received. LACP is the League of American Communications Professionals that helps promote best-in-class practices in communications.

Client Showcase—Law Firm Direct Mail Piece

When the growing southern California law firm of Gresham Savage brought on a successful new attorney, they wanted an announcement that would be memorable and impressive. We designed this five-panel piece to introduce him to their clients, using confident colors and sophisticated imagery to make a winning first impression.

This direct mail piece won a 2010 Silver Award in the 7th Annual Service Industry Advertising Awards.

Client Showcase—University T-shirt

We designed this vintage pillar shirt in four colors for Walla Walla University, using their logo as inspiration for the artwork which was imprinted using metallic gold.

The trendy shirt won an Award of Merit for Imprinted Materials in the 6th Annual Service Industry Advertising. The judges reviewed the entries for execution, creativity, quality, consumer appeal and overall breakthrough advertising content.

Client Showcase—Pacific EP Invitation

We worked with the Los Angeles-based Pacific Rim Electrophysiology Research Institute, under the direction of internationally renown Koonlawee Nademanee, MD, to create an invitation for an open house promoting this remarkable facility.

Dr. Nademanee has developed an advanced cardiac electrophysiology procedure (EP) that offers new hope and vitality to patients suffering from EP problems. We also developed the logo for the Institute, which has offices on the campus of White Memorial Medical Center in California, as well as in Hawaii and Thailand.

This direct mail piece won a 2010 Silver Award in the 7th Annual Service Industry Advertising Awards.

Client Showcase—Pacific EP Business Suite

The Los Angeles-based Pacific Rim Electrophysiology Research Institute, under the direction of internationally renown Koonlawee Nademanee, MD, worked with us to developed a new visual brand identity that gave a fresh, sophisticated look to the institute.

This business suite won a 2010 Award of Merit in the 7th Annual Service Industry Advertising Awards.

Client Showcase—Family Legacy Ad

Nothing tells your story like a loyal customer—except, perhaps, three generations of loyal customers. We loved working with our innovative friends at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital to develop this ad that demonstrates the trust they have cultivated in their community.

As part of the 100 Reasons campaign we developed with them, we featured a well-known Yakima family reflecting on their experiences with Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital over three generations. Now that's loyalty.

Update: This piece won a 2010 Bronze Award in the 7th Annual Service Industry Advertising Awards for newspaper advertising.

Client Showcase—Imaging Center Campaign

Los Angeles Advanced Imaging, L.A.’s newest diagnostic imaging center, pairs a spa-like environment with an array of advanced technology that enables physicians to provide more accurate diagnoses earlier, often resulting in better outcomes for patients.

We partnered with them to create a family of pieces that introduced the new facility, including invitations, a brochure and the design of a website. The carefully crafted language, combined with a design that reflects its spa-like environment, strikes the delicate balance of offering both a message of reassurance and a message of technical expertise.

This marketing campaign won a 2009 Aster Award Gold Award for Service Line Promotion, and the invitation won a Silver Award.

Gold Award—Annual Calendar Card

Our 2009 holiday card and calendar received a Gold Award from the Sixth Annual Service Industry Advertising Awards competition in which nearly 2,000 entries were evaluated by a national panel of judges. Our black-and-white themed calendar featured a desk display stand and a unique card for each month.

Are printed calendars passe'? We think not, if the design is fresh and the size well suited to the audience. After all, what else can you give to your friends that can be used 365 days of the year?

Award of Merit—Canadian T-shirt

This shirt, designed to promote Walla Walla University's financial aid package for Canadians, proved to be not only popular on campus, but award-winning as well. It won an Award of Merit for Imprinted Materials in the 6th Annual Service Industry Advertising Awards. More than 250 advertising agencies and 800 service institutions participated. The shirt was printed in spot metallic silver and red on both black and white shirts.

We like to think of apparel as yet another in a galaxy of media options--but one with no media buy fees. Of course, not every message is suitable for apparel, but it pays to at least consider this in your mix.