NATIONAL wins big at IABC Silver Leaf awards!

This year, NATIONAL is thrilled to announce that the winners of the 2016 International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Silver Leaf Awards include members of the cross-country NATIONAL team for eight projects.

The Silver Leaf Awards recognize excellence in business communications across the IABC Canada network and acknowledge outstanding work by communicators in all disciplines. Eligible submissions are judged by a panel of IABC experts, based on the planning, execution and review of the work.

Our winners received Awards of Excellence for exemplifying NATIONAL’s commitment to bold thinking. Our 2016 award winners provided our clients with innovative strategies to connect to target audiences and create the enduring partnerships that NATIONAL is known for.

More about the awards won by NATIONAL:

Issues Management/Crisis Communication

Nancy H. Arab & Alliance Pipeline: H2S Flaring in Southern Saskatchewan

Working alongside the Alliance Pipeline Corporate Communications department, Calgary Partner Nancy H. Arab tackled a business-disrupting crisis in the summer of 2015. Nancy used a best-teams approach, gathering a team of crisis communication experts from NATIONAL’s office across Canada. The team delivered timely, clear and consistent information to stakeholders through a robust issues management and crisis communication program that included a triage hub for answering calls on the public information line, onsite support, media relations and proactive media engagement, government relations, and a new microsite on the issue.

The NATIONAL team included: Michael Goehring, Jenna Livergant and Wendy Richmond in Vancouver; Nancy Arab, Matthew Bardsley, Nichole Budd, Stephen Delisle, Beth Diamond, Sandra Hunter, David Mann, Tanya Reinkober, Heather Reinsborough and Howie Thomson in Calgary; Zina Almudarris, Luc Levasseur, Angelo Vasilopoulos and Curtis Yateman in Toronto; and Karen White in Halifax.

Media Relations

Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation & Boehringer Ingelheim Canada Ltd.: Kiss IPF Goodbye™ 2015

Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis (IPF) is a progressive and fatal lung disease that impacts up to 30,000 Canadians; the median survival rate is three to five years after diagnosis. Awareness is low and misdiagnosis common; there is no cure. Increasing public awareness is critical to fighting the disease and ensuring access to effective treatment options. NATIONAL developed and executed Kiss IPF Goodbye™ on behalf of the Canadian Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation (CPFF) and Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd., a multi-channel program to engage Canadians, and raise awareness and funds to breathe life into the fight against IPF.

The NATIONAL team included: Joanna Wilson, Carolyn Santillan, Rick Maddalena, Natasha Bailey and Abby Cohoe in Toronto; Astrid Morin in Montreal; and Jenna Livergant in Vancouver.

Pfizer Canada & the Ontario Lung Association: Grounded – Pneumonia Vaccine Awareness

To mark World Pneumonia Day in 2015, NATIONAL in partnership with Pfizer Canada and the Ontario Lung Association launched an unbranded awareness campaign about the importance of adult vaccination against pneumococcal pneumonia, featuring Canadian football legend Michael “Pinball” Clemons. Specifically, NATIONAL generated media coverage about this important health topic, highlighting the seriousness of the disease, the potential long-term impact on the quality of life for seniors, and the availability of a vaccine that may prevent pneumonia.

The NATIONAL team included: Joanna Wilson, Carolyn Santillan, Rick Maddalena, Brian Langerfield, Julien Coulter and Elma Foric in Toronto; and Boris Ung in Montreal.

Research Innovation

Pfizer Canada: Belief Based Behaviour: Metastatic Breast Cancer (mBC)**

NATIONAL, on behalf of Pfizer Canada, employed our digital ethnography – Belief Based Behaviour (B3) – to uncover the unconscious beliefs that drive behaviour. Using a team of anthropologists and business strategists, we:

• Analyzed more than 4,000 conversations across key social channels;
• Assessed over 850 mBC patients
• And developed a belief-based segmentation that identified 4 distinct patient archetypes

This approach provided a better understanding of the beliefs and behaviours of this patient population in order to develop a strategy that would connect on a deep human level, and create programs that would resonate with mBC patients and the community.

The NATIONAL team included: Joanna Wilson, Julien Coulter and Michael Mahoney in Toronto.

Social Media Programs

Pfizer Canada: Don’t Overlook What’s Missing: Pediatric Vaccination Reminder Campaign

For a vaccine to be effective, the majority of a population needs to be up-to-date on scheduled vaccinations. A digital communications campaign, Don’t Overlook What’s Missing, encouraged mothers to ensure their children receive all scheduled vaccine doses. Our goal was to drive traffic to Immunize Canada’s website to download a free mobile application that provides access to provincial vaccination schedules and reminder capabilities – thereby fostering compliance and adherence to government-recommended vaccination schedules.

The NATIONAL team included: Joanna Wilson, Carolyn Santillan, Rick Maddalena, Brian Langerfield, Julien Coulter and Elma Foric in Toronto; and Boris Ung in Montreal.

Marketing, Advertising and Sales Vehicles / Marketing Communications

Halifax Convention Centre

In 2012, NATIONAL began working with the new Halifax Convention Centre to help bring the world to Nova Scotia. The brand is innovative in the truest sense of the word, considering our bold, simple, fun approach to daily business interactions. All elements of the marketing campaign are rooted in the now iconic “O”, which is the centrepiece of the Halifax Convention Centre brand. Members of the IABC judging panel commented, “The simplicity of the O was simply elegant…the variety of the tactics and creativity of the plan is what made it stood out.” The campaign has been successfully engaging international event planners with interactive elements in the design, execution and actual experience of hosting an event in Halifax.

The NATIONAL team included: Sarah Young, Ellie Bramah, Kristi Strowbridge, Chrystiane Mallaley, Stephanie McGrath, Trina Tucker, Christin Roper, Darcie Muise, Casey Spears and Brandon Carroll in Halifax.

Photography within a Communication Vehicle

Medavie Health Foundation

Medavie Health Foundation wanted to share their community investment report in an integrated way, creating a print publication and digital microsite to share the stories of their community partners. Our goal was to demonstrate the “different kind of healthcare” Medavie believes in for all Canadians. NATIONAL created a creative concept that called for impactful photos supported by written stories to highlight those directly impacted by the Foundation’s funding and to demonstrate the Foundation’s widespread reach. The photos and stories continue to live through social and executions like ads and banners.

Photography by Meghan Tansey Whitton and Riley Smith in Halifax.

The NATIONAL team included: Kristi Strowbridge, Laurel Taylor, Ellie Bramah, Samira Saoud, Devon Mason and Darcie Muise in Halifax.

About IABC

The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) is the recognized global community of communication professionals representing diverse industries and disciplines. IABC connects communicators with a global and local network, career opportunities, resources and knowledge – using communication to engage, influence, counsel and execute. At the forefront of the communication profession and setting the global standard, IABC members are professionals who practice with integrity and passion.