Avera Marketing Wins Two National Stevie Awards

‘Ask the Question’ Campaign Garners Highest Rated Nomination of the Year

Avera Health Marketing has won two Gold Stevie^® Awards for its “Ask the Question” suicide awareness campaign and “Moving Health Forward” branding campaign. “Ask the Question” also received a Grand Stevie Award as the Highest Rated Nomination of the Year.

The Stevie Awards were recently announced as part of the 21st Annual American Business Awards® (ABA) competition. Winners will be honored during the ABA banquet on June 13, 2023, in New York City.

Grand Stevies represent the Best of the ABA Awards, which are best-of-competition prizes awarded to the organizations that submit the best body of work to the competition.

Avera’s “Ask the Question” suicide awareness campaign received a Grand Stevie award as the Highest-Rated Nomination of the Year, with a perfect score from the judges of 10.0/10.0. Out of the 3,700 nominations the Stevie received, this was the only submission to get a perfect score.

“South Dakota was seeing a record number of suicides. That is what prompted our behavioral health clinical team and our marketing/communications team to look at this topic in a unique way. The Helpline Center was launching 988, so timing couldn’t have been better,” said Lindsey Meyers, Avera Vice President of Public Relations. “By asking someone directly if they are considering suicide, you can offer the opportunity for someone to open up and it could save a life.”

One judge commented that this was an “extremely important initiative in the present times of cut-throat competition, pressures on youth, general depression and many other factors that prompt abrupt end to life.” Another judge commented that this was an “important campaign for so many people who struggle with mental illness” with “solid messaging and clear outreach strategies.”

Avera was also a Gold Stevie Winner in the category of Brand Experience of the Year – Consumer for its “Moving Health Forward” branding campaign.

One judge commented that this was a “nicely orchestrated comprehensive branding campaign grounded by initial research, with simple personal message focusing on the ‘you.’”

“I share my congratulations to Avera, the Avera Marketing Team, and our partners who made this work a reality. We are a small but mighty internal creative group with tremendous support from our leader, physician and operations partners,” said Kendra Calhoun, Senior Vice President for Marketing, Communications and Digital Experience at Avera. “This business awards program is not exclusively health care, but a very broad compendium of entrants—mostly from ad and public relations agencies. These were the only campaigns we submitted, both receiving top national recognition.”

The American Business Awards are the premier business awards program in the United States. They were created in 2002 to honor and generate public recognition of the achievements and positive contributions of organizations and working professionals worldwide. In short order the Stevie has become one of the world's most coveted prizes. Stevie Award judges include many of the world's most respected executives, entrepreneurs, innovators and business educators. More than 1,000 professionals worldwide participate in the Stevie Award judging process each year.

All organizations operating in the United States – large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit – are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs in a wide range of categories.

This year more than 3,700 nominations were considered in the judging process by more than 240 professionals, whose average ratings determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners. For a complete list of the 2023 Stevie Award winners, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

In the ABA system of judging, all entries that receive an average score of at least 7.50 out of 10 in judging become Stevie winners, regardless of category. This year about 35% of the more than 3,700 nominations considered became Stevie winners.