Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri Receives 2010 CLIO Healthcare Award for ‘Our Health Connects Us’ Campaign

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 16, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri, together with its agency, Deutsch LA, received a 2010 CLIO Healthcare Award for its "Our Health Connects Us" campaign.  The bronze level award in the Integrated Campaign category was presented on November 12th at a ceremony in New York City. A key component of Anthem's integrated campaign was the utilization of social media to reach members and consumers beyond traditional broadcast and print media.  Anthem was a pioneer in social media use and has become widely viewed as an industry leader, receiving recognition earlier this year with both a Silver Effie and a 2010 Forrester Groundswell Award in the Business-To-Consumer (B2C) Division:  Social Impact for the "Our Health Connects Us" Campaign.

The CLIO Healthcare Awards is an extension of The CLIO Awards, one of the world's most recognized awards competitions for advertising, design and communications, honoring creative excellence and innovation in advertising and communications in the healthcare industry.

"It's an honor to receive such a prestigious award for this campaign along with our agency, Deutsch LA. This award and the recognition we received this year are a point of pride, and demonstrate the impact this campaign can have to help inspire and motivate people to take action and engage with their health," said Kate Quinn, the vice president of corporate marketing for Anthem's parent company.  

Through television, print, outdoor, online media and experiential events, "Our Health Connects Us" told the story about how our health behaviors and habits not only affect us, but our entire social network and that an individual's health choices directly influence the health and well-being of family members, friends and others in their social network.

"Our Health Connects Us" also introduced people to their Health Footprint(sm) score, a measure of health influence. The integrated advertising campaign then invited people to Anthem's microsite, anthem.com/connects, where visitors can calculate their own Health Footprint.  An Anthem branded Facebook page, Twitter feed and YouTube channel supported the effort, and Bob Harper from "The Biggest Loser" joined the cause too, regularly adding his own inspiring perspective on living a healthier life.  

"We are so proud of our work with Anthem.  The campaign is not only an incredible brand builder, but we are actually spreading health amongst consumers," said Kim Getty, EVP, executive director, Deutsch LA.  "It is an honor to work with Anthem, which embraces new media as part of truly integrated marketing campaigns and utilizes them in such a meaningful way.  The teams at Anthem were courageous in developing this program with great results to show for it."

Anthem.com/connects has received over 460,000 total site visits to date with traffic to site  more than doubling since last year.  The site generated steady traffic week over week during the course of the campaign and users were actively engaged with the Health Footprint calculator.  Additionally, Bob Harper's Twitter page has generated more than 102,000 followers.

Healthcare has become one of the most visible sectors of advertising, promotion and creative design in the last few years, particularly on TV and online. However, it is regulated differently and more stringently than traditional advertising and promotion. The CLIO Healthcare Awards are executed using the same rigorous standards and commitment to excellence as the CLIO Awards, but levels the playing field to qualify and judge this particular and massive industry sector more fairly and appropriately.

In Missouri (excluding 30 counties in the Kansas City area): Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield is the trade name for RightCHOICE® Managed Care, Inc. (RIT), Healthy Alliance® Life Insurance Company (HALIC), and HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates administer non-HMO benefits underwritten by HALIC and HMO benefits underwritten by HMO Missouri, Inc. RIT and certain affiliates only provide administrative services for self-funded plans and do not underwrite benefits. Independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.  ® ANTHEM is a registered trademark of Anthem Insurance Companies, Inc.The Blue Cross and Blue Shield names and symbols are registered marks of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

SOURCE Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Missouri