Client Programs Recognized at PRSA Chicago’s Skyline Awards
PCI programs win Skyline awards at PRSA Chicago’s virtual gala.
The awards season may look a little different this year, but PRSA Chicago still celebrated its 2020 Skyline Awards Winners, moving the annual gala virtually. The gala lauded excellence and innovation in public relations and communications, and we are excited to announce that three of our client programs have won awards.
We are extraordinarily proud of our clients and our staff for the work they do each day, dedicating themselves to creating innovative and impactful programs.
At the core of PCI is the belief in mission-driven communications. We believe in PR with a purpose, and our staff and their client work reflect those beliefs. Our award-winning programs focus on applying healthcare digital marketing strategies and tactics that ensure not only are mission-driven messages deployed, but also acted upon, resulting in the metrics that matter.
The winners of the PRSA Chicago 2020 Skyline Awards are:
Best of Skylines Award:
Howard Brown Health
Howard Brown Health (HBH), a federally qualified health center serving Chicago’s lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) community, partnered with PCI to implement a Google Search and Display Ads campaign to raise awareness of health insurance open enrollment and increase visits to three of their clinics.
Working together, HBH and PCI implemented a digital campaign, researching each location’s specific needs, demographics and services offered and implementing and continually optimizing ads to reach niche audiences in the target areas.
PCI and HBH collaborated to create ad creatives featuring eye-catching rainbow lettering, and messaging and visuals that resonate with the Chicago neighborhood each clinic serves.
The campaign succeeded in raising awareness for each clinic and notably increased online traffic to their pages, exceeding usual healthcare industry standards. The campaign saw a 14% paid search conversion rate, and $18.05 cost per conversion, both significantly surpassing healthcare industry benchmarks. When patients were asked to take a survey asking how they heard about Howard Brown Health, many responded with “Online Ads” or “Internet Search.”
Winner: Skyline Award, Best Use of Social Media
The Infectious Diseases Society of America
In 2019, the World Health Organization (WHO) named vaccine hesitancy a top 10 threat to global public health, and pockets of low vaccination rates across the United States resulted in infectious disease outbreaks. Despite this, a small but vocal group of advocates opposing vaccines continued to attract attention and use social media to spread misinformation. To create a more balanced, science-based narrative on social media, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) used IDWeek 2019 to encourage IDWeek participants, aligned partners and the public to flood Twitter with #WhyIVaccinate messages to spread the truth about the vaccines.
PCI and IDSA developed four digital toolkits segmented by audience. A landing page on IDWeek.org housed all Twitterstorm-related materials. Extensive research was performed to identify aligned influencers, and template email messages and invitations were drafted and distributed to key stakeholders and partners.
The #WhyIVaccinate Twitterstorm exploded on Twitter, going viral and capturing the attention of millions including national media. 1,791 pageviews of the Twitterstorm landing page were secured. The hashtag was used 9,584 times nearly doubling our objective. The hashtag went viral, trending #1 in Washington, DC, #5 in the US, and #28 in the world. 5,535 individuals participated.
Winner: Award of Excellence
African Safari Wildlife Park
Thanksgiving night, a devastating fire ignited in a heated barn that housed exotic animals, including three giraffes, at the Midwest’s largest wildlife safari park. Two weeks prior, the park owner had attended a crisis communications workshop by Public Communications Inc. (PCI). As she raced to the fire, she called PCI crisis counselors for help. Working remotely, the team created and implemented crisis strategies to proactively tell the park’s story to media and on social channels. Messages informed and rallied supporters and addressed anti-zoo activists that launched a campaign critical of the park.
Strategic communications strengthened the park’s relationship with its publics and positive actions turned the tragedy into positive outcomes.
Congratulations to the teams that worked on our award-winning programs, and all of the winners of PRSA Chicago’s 2020 Skyline Awards!
Interested in helping your organization use the best of digital strategies to reach maximum ROI? Let’s talk – lets_talk@pcipr.com.
Author
