Did you watch the Oscars last night? Apparently 26.5 million of us did.
Watching the awards got me thinking about our own 2019 HITMC Awards (note: no fancy ball gowns necessary, but it’s 2019 so men & women are welcome to wear one to the award presentation if they want). Specifically, I started thinking about the value of Awards themselves and what impact they can have.
Of course, there are the obvious benefits of winning an award:
- Name recognition
- A nice trophy for your display case
- Raised awareness of your team/organization/company
- Recognition for your team
- Morale boost
But not quite as obvious, are the different ways you can leverage being nominated for a HITMC Award (even if you nominated your own project…which is perfectly fine).
- Validation of support from internal champions. Whether you work for a healthcare organization or a Health IT company, you likely needed buy-in from or the help of internal champions for your marketing/PR efforts. Being nominated for an award is the perfect time to reach back out to your champions to let them know how valued their support is and that there is public acknowledgement for it. People rarely hear back from peers they have supported so this kind of note will be extra special…and remembered.
- Budget justification for next year. Let’s be honest, it’s always a challenge getting marketing, PR and communication budgets approved. When a project or program is nominated for an award, it can help justify continued investment. It’s just a little bit harder to pull funding from a program that a 3rd party organization thinks is noteworthy. No one wants to be THAT person, so use it to your advantage when it’s budget time again. Make sure to mention which program(s) were nominated for an award.
- Attracting & retaining staff. Finding and retaining talented people in healthcare is challenging and that especially true of marketing and communication related roles. People love to have their work recognized and they love to be with part of teams that produce good work. Being nominated helps on both fronts. Adding a simple “our work has been nominated for several industry awards” to your job descriptions and internal postings can be the small thing that tips the scales in your favor with potential candidates. Likewise, a simple thank-you note to existing team members can help reinforce they are on a great team.
The 2019 HITMC Award nominations are now open. There is no cost to make an entry and we’ve kept the form very simple. Don’t miss your chance to make a nomination. Nominations close 11:59pm PT on Thursday February 28th.
Submit a 2019 HITMC Nomination
Categories include:
- Healthcare Provider – Ad of the Year (print or digital)
- Healthcare Provider – Best Marketing/PR Program
- Healthcare Provider – Marketing/PR/Communication Team of the Year
- Healthcare Provider – Marketing/PR Person of the Year
- Healthcare Provider – Best Social Media Use/Campaign
- Healthcare Provider – Best Website Redesign
- Healthcare Provider – Best Giveaway (tchotchke)
- Health IT Company – Ad of the Year (print or digital)
- Health IT Company – Best Marketing/PR Program
- Health IT Company – Marketing/PR/Communication Team of the Year
- Health IT Company – Marketing/PR Person of the Year
- Health IT Company – Best Social Media Use/Campaign
- Health IT Company – Best Tradeshow Theme/Campaign
- Health IT Company – Best Giveaway (tchotchke)
- Agency of the Year
- Agency – Best Marketing/PR Person of the Year
- Individual – Best Podcast of 2018
- Individual – Best Patient Advocate of 2018
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