NonProfit PR Awards: Public Service Campaign

Campaign: Generics are REAL

Winner: Excellus BlueCross BlueShield

To increase generic drug fill rates across upstate New York to produce out-of-pocket savings for consumers, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield launched a multi-year campaign whose core message was: “Ask your doctor or pharmacist if generic drugs are right for you.” Another objective was to establish Excellus BlueCross BlueShield as a leader in community awareness about generics and a resource for the news media, community leaders and employer groups.

Leveraging news releases, fact sheets, TV and radio spots and Web tools, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield was able to get its message out to the right audience. Another tool used to spread the campaign’s message was a print ad series in four upstate New York regional newspapers.

From 2005 to 2008, the upstate New York generic fill rate increased by more than 12%, from 55.6% to 68.4%. The estimated savings for upstate New York communities totaled more than $725 million.

Honorable Mentions:

Bridgestone Americas/West Glen Communications: Safety Scholars PSA Campaign—In the Safety Scholars Video Contest, drivers aged 16-21 submitted auto safety-themed videos. The top 10 were chosen out of 620 entries, and the public voted for three winners. The three chosen were awarded a $5,000 college scholarship, and the videos were offered to TV stations for use as PSAs.

American Lung Association/Cooley/Waters Group: Faces of Influenza—Addressing the need for more Americans to get the influenza vaccination, the campaign Faces of Influenza campaign was created. The black-and-white PSAs, which featured spokesperson Kristi Yamaguchi reinforcing the key campaign messages, secured over 293 million impressions.

American Kennel Club: 2008 Marley & Me Public Service Campaign—Partnering with Josh Grogan and Twentieth Century Fox, AKC created a series of TV and print PSAs that suggested potential dog owners do research to learn about the responsibilities of pet ownership; it garnered 300 million impressions in less than seven months.

National Meningitis Association/Alembic Health Communications: Making Meningitis Matter—The “Anyone. Anywhere. Anytime.” PSAs were filmed with real people affected by meningococcal disease, and promoted the need for adolescents to get vaccinated.

Rotary International: End Polio Now—After receiving a $255 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Rotary International embarked on a campaign to increase public awareness of polio’s continued prevalence in the developing world.

Delta Dental of Colorado Foundation/GBSM. Inc.: Infant Oral Health Public Education Program—In order to educate new mothers and pregnant women about the importance about infant oral health, Delta Dental created bilingual print, radio and TV PSAs. The PSAs ran on both English and Spanish radio stations.

November 9, 2009