sponsored by Daryl Willcox Publishing
This award will recognise successful mixed media information campaigns, where print, television, radio and internet media have combined to achieve the campaigns objectives successfully and cost-effectively. Evidence of the campaigns execution and success should be included in your entry statement.

2011 Winner: The Christie NHS Foundation Trust - Treatment Centre Campaign
In November 2010, The Christie opened a £35 million patient treatment centre. The opening campaign, at a cost of £12,000, maximised publicity and was split into different sections. These covered pre-publicity, a preview tour week, media activity and post-publicity, and included the use of TV, radio and print, social media, leaflets, newsletters, films, celebrity and VIP visits and preview tours. Media coverage achieved had an advertising value of £750,000 - all positive.

Commended: Essex County Council - Drive Essex
Essex Communications team set out to engage with 17 - 30 year old male drivers and encourage them to positively change their driving behaviour in relation to drink/drug driving, speeding, not wearing seatbelts and phoning/texting whilst driving. As this audience is generally unreceptive to council messages, the ‘Drive Essex’ campaign did not carry branding in order to gain social currency, and used media channels more commonly associated with consumer brands. Part of this was ‘Reaction Road’, an interactive web based game which tests reaction speeds in various scenarios.

Commended: NHS Bury - Care About the Cost Campaign
‘Care about the cost’ emerged as part of NHS Bury’s financial recovery programme. A single strapline was used as a common thread to appeal to the public: ‘A&E visits that aren’t needed cost Bury over £1 million a year.’ Media included outdoor media, bus advertising, literature, a web presence and an internal campaign. Data from the Bury Urgent Treatment Centre showed a considerable increase in patients who would otherwise have attended A&E. Bury has since received requests from other PCTs for campaign materials and lessons learnt.

Commended: Stoke-on-Trent City Council - Let’s Talk
Stoke-on-Trent City Council wanted to consult with residents about how it spends its money before setting the budget for 2011. A six-week consultation exercise was undertaken, before Let’s Talk 2 was launched in November to receive substantial media coverage. Full budget details were made available on-line, in unprecedented detail for public comment. Costing approximately 4p per citizen and generating over 4,000 responses, the campaign enabled  the council to base cuts on the views of residents. 

Commended: Doncaster Council - St. Ledger Festival Campaign
While the St Leger Festival remains popular, festivities in and around the town had become less significant. In 2010 Doncaster Council re-launched it as a 10 day event, aiming to generate £5m for the local economy by appealling to more tourists, families and non-race-goers. The work paid off, giving the local economy an estimated £10m boost. Just £5,000 went on mail shots, leaflets, t-shirts and posters, and a zero PR spend generated over £130,000 worth of publicity across local and national media, as well as radio and TV, trade press and magazine coverage.