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Devaney & Associates Takes Home Five Best in Maryland Awards from PRSA Maryland Chapter

Devaney & Associates Takes Home Five Best in Maryland Awards from PRSA Maryland Chapter

Devaney & Associates received five awards from the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA), Maryland Chapter at the 2018 Best in Maryland award celebration held December 11. The agency received first-place Best in Maryland recognition in three categories and Awards of Excellence in two categories for its work with clients Integrace, Carroll Hospital and Chase Brexton.

Devaney & Associates and Integrace received Best in Maryland honors in two categories for the “I’m Not A Senior” campaign: Integrated Communications and Non-Profit Media Relations. The campaign combined the powers of advertising and public relations to tell the stories of Integrace’s most fascinating residents, demonstrating that, at Integrace communities, your age does not define you. Coupled with a new marketing strategy, the “I’m Not a Senior” campaign led to a significant increase in interest in Integrace communities, generating more leads and tours than the previous year, as well as more than 100 media placements to date.

A Healthy Dose magazine, a publication created by Devaney & Associates for client Carroll Hospital, a LifeBridge Health center, won the 2018 Best in Maryland award for Magazines/Newsletters—Print. The tri-annual publication features patient stories, interviews with physicians, and updates on hospital programs and technology. Every issue includes completely custom content designed to educate residents on health and wellness issues, raise awareness for helpful hospital resources, and keep the community informed of important hospital happenings. The publication routinely generates spikes in web traffic and patient requests for nearly every service it features.

Carroll Hospital was also presented an Award of Excellence for the “Don’t Guess” annual check-up campaign. Devaney & Associates launched this marketing campaign to educate consumers on the health benefits of seeing a primary care provider annually. The campaign’s results, including a 44 percent post-impression activity rate, demonstrated that positioning annual check-ups as humorous and approachable—but also essential to a longer, healthier life—helped break down negative perceptions and got people to reconsider the importance of the annual check-up in their daily lives.

An Award of Excellence for Community Relations was presented to Chase Brexton for its Hope Lives Here fundraising program, which was established to solicit donations to support Chase Brexton in providing uncompensated health care to low-income patients. Devaney & Associates branded the new program and created different versions for each community that Chase Brexton serves. Within the first five months, the program raised more than $32,000 and secured its first major corporate donor, M&T Bank, with a $10,000 pledge. The benefits were immediate, with more than 221 patients receiving much-needed services—including medical and dental care; rent and utilities assistance; eyeglasses, groceries, and more—in CY2017, based solely on Hope Lives Here philanthropy.

“My team and our clients worked so hard this past year on these projects and many others,” said Diane Devaney, president of Devaney & Associates. “I am extremely proud of the work we have done and am grateful for our clients for allowing us to work together, creatively and strategically, to achieve big results.”