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HC&B Healthcare Captures Four International Awards of Excellence in Annual In-Awe Ad Competition

Posted on: Wednesday, 11 June 2008, 15:00 CDT

AUSTIN, Texas, June 11 /PRNewswire/ -- HC&B Healthcare Communications, one of the nation's top 25 independent healthcare firms and the largest in the southwest, won four International Awards of Excellence -- popularly known as the In-Awe Awards -- in this year's annual competition recognizing excellence in healthcare advertising as judged by strategy, creative execution and performance. Winners were announced by the Healthcare Communication and Marketing Association, sponsor of the awards, at a gala June 5 ceremony at the Adolphus Hotel in Dallas.

Reflecting HC&B's experience in the full continuum of healthcare services and products, the agency's In-Awe wins represent a broad range of clients and showcase HC&B's work in both the professional and consumer arenas.

HC&B won two In-Awe awards in the category of consumer print ad campaigns, earning a gold award for the agency's "Imagine" campaign created for the Menninger Clinic and a silver a award for its "Texas Friendly" ads developed for Scott & White Health Plans.

The ads for the Menninger Clinic, a Houston-based international psychiatric center of excellence, use a series of hypothetical questions ("Imagine if people thought asthma was 'all in your head'?") to illustrate the misinformed and stigmatizing assumptions people frequently make about those with mental illness.

The Scott & White ads successfully tap into the deep human need for individual recognition and understanding, using simple but powerful associations (such as the shared joys of Friday night football games) to convey the message that Scott & White understands Texans and is uniquely committed to meeting their health insurance needs.

HC&B also won a gold award for a billboard teaser ad in the category of outdoor billboards. Created for Texas Oncology, the world's largest group of medical professionals devoted exclusively to cancer care, the ad shows the words "I Can" standing out boldly and vividly while becoming incorporated into the words "FIGHT CANCER."

HC&B's fourth In-Awe win was a bronze award in the category of direct mail print campaigns for materials promoting the V.A.C GranuFoam Silver Dressing, a wound treatment system made by Kinetic Concepts Inc. (KCI). Each element of the campaign graphically reinforces the product's innovative and unique advancement of silver technology.

The International Awards of Excellence, or In-Awes, are among the healthcare advertising and marketing industry's most prestigious honors. Established in 1985 by the Healthcare Communication and Marketing Association, the awards recognize excellence of performance in healthcare advertising as well as excellence in creativity and graphic execution.

"We're honored to receive these awards, and thankful to the HCMA and In-Awe judges for recognizing our work," said Kerry Hilton, president and CEO of HC&B. "We're also continually thankful to our clients for their support and partnership in making the work possible," he added.

About HC&B

Headquartered in Austin, Tex., HC&B Healthcare Communications is the leading healthcare communications agency in the Southwest and one of the top 25 independent healthcare agencies in the nation. HC&B serves the entire healthcare sector, including manufacturers (of high-tech medical devices, high-science pharmaceuticals, diagnostics and genetic engineering products), healthcare providers (physician groups, hospitals and managed care organizations), and patients and consumers.

One of the fastest growing agencies in its field, HC&B has maintained a compounded 25 percent annual revenue growth since its inception. Capitalized billings for 2007 were $26 million.

HC&B's clients, both domestic and global, include Kinetic Concepts, Inc. (KCI), Encysive Pharmaceuticals, the Menninger Clinic, Exagen Diagnostics, Inc, Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, Luminex Corporation, Solis Women's Health, Sound Surgical Technologies LLC, Kemin Health, L.C, Texas Oncology, PA, Optima Health, the Scott & White Health Plan, Tenet Healthcare Corporation, Ponder & Co., Senior Safe At Home, and The Scooter Store.

HC&B is located at 701 Brazos, Suite 1450, Austin, TX 78701, telephone (512) 320-8511, FAX (512) 320-8990. For additional information, visit http://www.hcbhealth.com/.

CONTACT: Julie Laitin (212) 286-2424 Cynthia Amorese (908) 665-8072

Email: jlaitin@julielaitin.com Email: camorese@comcast.net

HC&B Healthcare Communications

CONTACT: Julie Laitin, +1-212-286-2424, jlaitin@julielaitin.com, orCynthia Amorese, +1-908-665-8072, camorese@comcast.net

Web site: http://www.hcbhealth.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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