CARIBOU — Officials with the international Academy of Visual Arts have announced that Cary Medical Center’s public relations department has won a 2012 Communicator Award as well as a Gold Aster Award.
Honoring creative excellence for communication professionals, the international Communicator Awards is an annual competition showcasing the best efforts in advertising, corporate communications, public relations and identity work for print, video, interactive and audio.
Cary’s Public Relations Department received the Communicator Award in the Health and Fitness Category for its Healthy Hearts Healthy Community 30-minute television show, which airs on WAGM TV and is hosted by on air celebrity and news reporter Shawn Cunningham. The show is produced by grant coordinator Anna Blackstone, and directed by Cary Public Relations Director Bill Flagg. Frank Grant of Grant Visuals tapes and edits the half hour program and the program set was designed by John Hafford of Design Lab. Funding for the program was provided by Connections for Cardiovascular Health, a grant program of the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation.
The Aster Awards is one of the largest national competitions of its kind, hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today Magazine and Creative Images, Inc. According to Cary officials, the program recognizes outstanding health care professionals for excellence in their advertising and marketing efforts.
The 2012 Aster Awards received nearly 3,000 entries from across the United States as well as Canada and South America. Awards were issued for entries that received top marks from judges placing them in the top 16 percent of the nation for advertising excellence. Judging criteria included creativity, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal.
Cary received the Gold Award for a series of three testimonial 30-second television ads called “As Special As Your Baby.” The ads highlighted the experience of three women who had their babies at Cary Medical Center, and the series was produced by Tamra Kilcollins, community relations and marketing coordinator and Frank Grant of Grant Visuals.
Kris Doody, RN, and CEO of Cary Medical Center said that she was pleased that the hospital was recognized for its marketing and public relations efforts.
“We are fortunate to have some very experienced professionals in the public relations and marketing arena,” said Doody. “It is so important that the public understands the vast number of services offered by the hospital and the quality of care we provide. In addition, the Healthy Hearts Television program helps to educate the public about ways to reduce the risk of heart disease. We also congratulate our media partners, including WAGM Television, Grant Visual, and Design Lab for their part in helping us to achieve these awards and we thank the AstraZeneca HealthCare Foundation for their grant support.”
For more information on the awards visit www.commincatorawards.com and asterawards.com.
