Public Relations and Events Team Recognized With Statewide Awards
The Public Relations and Events team at Prisma Health Midlands Foundation was recently recognized by the South Carolina Chapter of Public Relations Society of America (SCPRSA) with three Mercury Awards for our work in 2020. The statewide awards are presented to South Carolina public relations practitioners and organizations for their outstanding communications campaigns and tactics.
In 2020, each of the pandemic curve balls thrown our way was turned into opportunity. Disruption helped us launch bold, innovative ideas to engage donors. Here’s a look at the awards, from the inside out—
Mercury Award of Excellence: Virtual 30th Walk for Life and Famously Hot Pink Half Marathon
Category: Events and Observances, Seven or More Days
At the onset of COVID-19, our team set our sights on not letting the pandemic stop us from holding this annual signature fundraising event. Breast cancer wasn’t pausing, so why should we? We developed a 30th anniversary campaign to engage donors in our community and beyond, especially in the digital and social space. All summer and early fall, we watched our registration numbers grow…and grow…and grow. In Oct. 2020, we felt energy, love and support from 2,450 registrants in 31 states and three countries. They were all walking or running in their favorite places, but we felt we were all together in the fight against breast cancer. Nearly $330,000 was raised for Prisma Health Breast Center.
Mercury Award of Merit: GivingTuesday
Category: Events and Observances (Fewer than Seven Days)
Dec. 1, 2020 was GivingTuesday, a global day of giving. The Foundation participated for the first time because of many opportunities it presented. We anticipated the Foundation would be the only health care-related nonprofit participant in the state of S.C. It offered a new option for year-end and holiday giving, using an online donation platform, Classy, that we already had in place. Our team created a campaign around four powerful words: COMFORT, JOY, HOPE and LOVE. Each of these words correlated with an area of giving—to help fund a new critical care ambulance for Children’s Hospital; to support the Bernice Smith Fund to help cancer patients; to help provide holiday toys and gifts to patients at Children’s Hospital; and to give to the area of greatest need in the hospital system.
Hundreds of participating nonprofits, from small to global, used the Classy platform for their GivingTuesday campaigns. The national Classy team named Prisma Health Midlands Foundation’s campaign a “standout campaign” and “one of the top to watch” in late Nov. Our campaign was in the #4 position in the top 10 list and was noted as a “shining example of excellence in branding, fundraising best practices and overall user experience.” This was an incredible honor for the Foundation because we were among a group of national campaigns that were recognized—The Salvation Army, Vanderbilt Health, Shriners Hospitals for Children and Kent State University. Through GivingTuesday, more than $25,000 was raised for Prisma Health—Midlands.
Silver Wing Award of Merit: Launch Video for the Virtual 30th Walk for Life and Famously Hot Pink Half Marathon
Category: Videos
In 2020, our team redirected Walk for Life and Famously Hot Pink Half Marathon from an in-person event with thousands of walkers and runners to 100 percent virtual. An important part of the campaign was to create a compelling launch video to simplify what “virtual” meant for a walk and race. Our team created a video that engaged donors on social and digital channels. It was repurposed and used in an on-air promotional campaign, valued at $20,000, with our in-kind television partner, WIS. The video helped us extend the brand and increase our reach significantly.