Health Sciences Office of Communications wins 3 PRSA awards
The University of Arizona Health Sciences Office of Communications took home three IMPACT Awards of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America – Southern Arizona IMPACT Awards ceremony Oct. 24. The award-winning entries included a marketing campaign for the Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies, an ongoing internal video series called “I Am Health Sciences” and a social media campaign with a tie-in to Women in Medicine month.
Members of the University of Arizona Health Sciences Office of Communications took home three IMPACT Awards of Excellence from the Public Relations Society of America – Southern Arizona.
“I am thrilled the PRSA – Southern Arizona chapter recognized the outstanding work of the Health Sciences Office of Communications over the past year,” said Rachel Reinhardt, associate vice president for communications at the University of Arizona Health Sciences. “These awards are a testament to the creative, collaborative and strategic work we do to promote our faculty and staff and the important research being done at the University of Arizona Health Sciences.”
The general marketing campaign for the Center for Advanced Molecular and Immunological Therapies, or CAMI, centered around two major funding announcements that were announced simultaneously at a University of Arizona Foundation event. News releases and media relations generated earned media coverage and were posted on several university websites, including University of Arizona News, the Health Sciences Newsroom and the Foundation’s home page. The campaign also included social media posts about the announcements, the development of a website for CAMI and a printed booklet to support development efforts.
CAMI, a UArizona Health Sciences initiative, will support research to catalyze the next generation of precision health care treatments. The center, to be located in downtown Phoenix on the Phoenix Bioscience Core, will serve as a biosciences research hub to advance knowledge of the immunology of cancers, autoimmune conditions and infectious diseases.
“You took this campaign and ran with it – and had runaway results!” judges said of the CAMI campaign submission. “Great planning with tons of details shows how you tried to think of every possible communication that could benefit your client. The press coverage, marketing material, social media, etc. are evidence of your mastery of communications.”
“I Am Health Sciences” is an ongoing video series highlighting Health Sciences staff members, whose work supports the success of the wider Health Sciences community. The short, one-minute videos share staff members’ interesting, creative or community-focused activities they do outside the office. Featured staff members are recommended for the series through a nomination process.
One of the judges wrote of the video series, “Each video made me want to watch the next. Kurt Reighley and Amanda Diaz both made me laugh out loud. Being a former cancer patient, Sara Clements made me cry.”
The “Women in Health Sciences” social media campaign aligned with Women in Medicine Month, which is celebrated nationally in September. This year’s campaign focused on the women responsible for educating the next generation of health professional at UArizona Health Sciences. The five featured women were highlighted with high-end portrait photography along with their responses to five questions.
One judge wrote of the “Women in Health Sciences” submission: “Beautifully captivating photography. I love the treatment and the formatting. It draws you in. Overall great campaign that prompted me to go to the Health Sciences webpage.”
The UArizona Health Sciences Office of Communications was created in 2019 to increase brand awareness and engagement with internal and external audiences, including university faculty, staff and students; legislators and policy makers; funders and donors; health care consumers; peer institutions; and corporate and community partners.
IMPACT Awards were also garnered by the UArizona Center for Innovation, Arizona Arts, Tech Parks Arizona and UArizona Marketing and Communications.
The Public Relations Society of America, Southern Arizona Chapter serves the professional communications industry through advocacy for excellence and ethical conduct, providing continuing education opportunities and supporting networking opportunities in the community.