Trauma Center Annual Report Receives National Recognition: ThedaCare Taps Two Local Agencies to Create Award-Winning Publication
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 15, 2013
ThedaCare and local agencies Willems Marketing and Write Image together won a coveted 2013 Bronze Anvil Award of Commendation from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) for the 2011 Trauma Center at Theda Clark Medical Center annual report. The three businesses were recognized for the joint entry during an awards ceremony held June 13 in New York.
“It can be difficult for people to understand the tangible benefits of a Level II trauma center,” said Megan Wilcox, public and media relations for ThedaCare. “We use the annual report to communicate the impact we can make when treating critically injured patients to our provider partners, such as first responders, EMS leaders and providers at smaller community hospital emergency departments.”
On a National Stage
The Bronze Anvil Award was created by PRSA in 1969 to celebrate the “best of the best” in public relations tactics — the individual items or components that contribute to the success of an overall communications program. One Bronze Anvil is awarded in each category or subcategory. Judges have the option to award up to three Bronze Anvil Awards of Commendation (runners up) as well.
This year, the Bronze Anvil winner for the category Annual Report (Business) was The Coca-Cola Company along with their agency Methodologie. Awards of Commendation went to the trio of ThedaCare, Willems Marketing and Write Image for the Trauma Center annual report and also to Minnesota-based The Mosaic Company and their agency Padilla Speer Beardsley, Inc.
Entries are judged by teams of PRSA members and others from across the country with specific category expertise. This year’s competition drew a total of 759 entries from organizations worldwide.
A Personal Approach
In a departure from past formats, ThedaCare’s 2011 annual report demonstrated the trauma center’s services and capabilities through the story of one patient’s compelling experience – a patient who earned the unfortunate distinction of touching just about every department or specialty in the trauma center as the result of a motor vehicle crash.
Writer Rachel Lom followed the patient’s care by describing each physician’s thought process in a case with multiple life-threatening injuries where each treatment decision would influence the next. Willems Marketing created a stunning design that allowed readers to easily identify the department, the injury, the decision, and the outcome.
“As a doctor, I started to go through the annual report thinking about how I would prioritize the issues, and I think most lay people will get ‘sucked into’ the story, too,” said Dean Gruner, MD, ThedaCare president and CEO.
Project team members included Megan Wilcox, Julie Johnson, Yvonne DeGroot and Kelly Jung from ThedaCare; freelance photographer Jeff Lendrum; freelance writer Rachel Lom from Write Image; and project managers and graphic designers from Willems Marketing.
ThedaCare™ (www.thedacare.org) is a community-owned health system consisting of Appleton Medical Center, Theda Clark Medical Center, New London Family Medical Center, Riverside Medical Center in Waupaca, ThedaCare Physicians, Ingenuity First, and other health care services. ThedaCare is the largest employer in Northeast Wisconsin with nearly 5,400 employees.
The Trauma Center at Theda Clark serves 10 counties, including Winnebago, Outagamie, Calumet, Waupaca, Shawano, Menominee, Waushara, Green Lake, Fond du Lac, and parts of Sheboygan.
Willems Marketing Inc. is a full-service advertising agency located in downtown Appleton, Wisconsin. Learn more about their commitment to providing big-city results without the long turn-around times or the high price tag at www.willemsmarketing.com.
Rachel Lom founded Write Image LLC in 2005 to provide freelance corporate communications and writing services. Located in Appleton, Wisconsin, she works with large and small companies to help them connect with others and grow their businesses by sharing the real stories of regular people doing great work. Rachel can be reached atRachel.Lom@WriteImageLLC.com or 920-427-4677.
For more information, media may contact Megan Wilcox (megan.wilcox@thedacare.org), corporate and public relations specialist for ThedaCare, at (920) 830-5847, or pager (920) 554-0730.
