Congrats to Martha and R/P for Recent Honors!

February 25, 2010 was a big night for R/P Marketing Public Relations. Our very own CEO/founder Martha Vetter was honored with a Silver Medal Award at the Advertising Club of Toledo’s 2010 ADDY Awards ceremony. In addition, some of R/P’s top work was recognized with ADDY Awards. Read on for more details of our winnings:

R/P CEO Martha Vetter Honored with Ad Club’s Top Award

Agency’s leading campaigns also recognized at local ADDYs

The Advertising Club of Toledo (ACT) has selected Martha Vetter, CEO of R/P Marketing Public Relations, for the American Advertising Federation’s Silver Medal Award, presented at the recent 2010 ADDY® Awards.

The Silver Medal Award recognizes those who have made outstanding contributions to advertising and have been active in furthering the industry’s standards, creative excellence and responsibility in areas of social concern. As a founder of R/P, one of Northwest Ohio’s most successful and respected marketing public relations agencies, Vetter was a natural choice for this prestigious honor.

With more than 25 years in the field, Vetter has a wealth of experience in crafting marketing public relations campaigns that work. A graduate of Bowling Green State University, she started her career in public relations at a hospital in her hometown of Akron, Ohio, and then ventured to Toledo, Ohio, gaining experience in the agency world prior to founding R/P in 1993. Today, the 30-person agency serves a variety of local, regional and national clients with specialized expertise in health care, building products and the arts.

In addition to R/P, Vetter also founded a charitable organization – Chicks for Charity – to inspire women and girls to fulfill their philanthropic potential through donations of time, talent and money. Since its origin in 2006, more than 1,500 “Chicks” have raised nearly $175,000 to help under-the-radar, non-profit organizations in the Toledo area.

“Having worked with Martha, I know she is an inspiration to many, as she enriches our community by continuing to give,” says Sue Hague-Rogers, Advertising Club of Toledo board member. “Martha is a leader in the advertising/marketing and philanthropic worlds, and the Silver Medal Award recognition is well deserved.”

The agency’s work also was recognized at the 2010 ADDY Awards ceremony. R/P won four awards, including a Gold ADDY Award in the Local TV Campaign category for its Guardian Angel Hospice 30-second spots. With the Gold status, the spots will automatically advance to the second-tier, district level of the ADDY Awards competition.

This entry was comprised of three television spots promoting hospice services of Guardian Angel Hospice in Kokomo, Ind. The work was developed by R/P’s Transcend Hospice Marketing Group division which is dedicated exclusively to promoting hospice organizations.

R/P also received a Silver ADDY Award in the Mixed Media, Local Consumer category for its Mercy Knows Me By Heart campaign. This campaign included television and radio spots, outdoor and newspaper advertisements promoting awareness of women’s heart care for Mercy, a seven-hospital system throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan. This campaign also will move on to the next level of the ADDY Awards competition.

Other winnings include two Bronze ADDY Awards, one in the Public Service Campaign category for a series of Donate Life Ohio posters promoting the need for organ and tissue donor registrants. The other Bronze was received in the Stationary Package category for identity materials for Urban Flower of Rossford, Ohio, complete with letterhead, business cards and note cards.

“We’re proud that a variety of work for our clients and our company’s founder all were recognized at the ADDY Awards this year,” says Stan Massey, R/P partner and executive vice president, and Silver Medal Award recipient in 2002. “The honors are related by the fact that they show R/P’s commitment from the top down to seek excellence for our clients, our community and our industry.”

Pre-Show Mailer Wins Award!

R/P is the happy winner of another award for 2009. This time the Vinyl Siding Institute, Inc. (VSI) team is recognized with a Silver Award from the Association TRENDS 2009 All-Media Contest! The award was given for VSI’s pre-show mailer for the International Builders’ Show (IBS). While highlighting VSI’s key messages, it promoted an exciting sweepstakes to win a Smart Car lease, helping “drive” traffic to VSI’s booth.

The pre-show mailer was one of more than 425 entries in the contest. Nice job VSI team! Come February, R/P and VSI will be honored for this award at the 31st Annual Salute to Association Excellence event in Washington, D.C.

What a great way to end the year!

An Award-Winning Week

Double the good news… R/P received not one, but two awards this week! We’re excited about our recent recognition in the marketing and PR industry!

R/P won a Gold MarCom Award for its American Red Cross “Out for Blood” poster. Nice job American Red Cross team! This competition is sponsored by the Association of Marketing & Communication Professionals.

R/P also won big at the PR News Non-Profit PR Awards. We won the best Advocacy Campaign & Lobby Efforts (over $50K budget) for the Second Chance Trust Fund and Donate Life Ohio "Do It Now!" campaign. Congratulations team DLO!

We are proud of all our award-winning work… now that’s what you call a great R/P week!

R/P Delivers "Brighter Days" with Rebranding Campaign for Mercy

After months of planning and hard work, R/P has launched a new campaign for Mercy Health Partners to create one unified brand identity based on the system's standards and spirit. Revealing this new master brand is our first step in educating consumers about the seven-hospital system’s new look, and moving forward, we’re excited to use this brand strategy as the core for upcoming Mercy campaigns.

The word is getting out – there’s been print and billboard advertisements and television and radio spots, plus BULLDOG REPORTER'S DAILY 'DOG recently covered the campaign announcement:

R/P Marketing Public Relations Delivers

“Brighter Days” with Rebranding Campaign for Mercy

Healthcare marketing and PR agency launches

new brand identity for multi-hospital system client

R/P Marketing Public Relations recently launched a new campaign for Mercy Health Partners, creating one unified brand identity based on the system’s standard of excellence and compassionate spirit. Mercy operates seven hospitals throughout Northwest Ohio and Southeast Michigan.

As part of the campaign, titled One Standard. One Spirit. One Name., R/P worked with Mercy to create a master brand strategy transferring brand equity from individual hospitals and service lines to an overall system brand, bringing all operations under one name. All marketing now leads with the Mercy master brand, such as St. Vincent Mercy Medical Center is now Mercy St. Vincent.

To support this identity transition, R/P developed a new logo and Brighter Days theme song. R/P also created print and billboard advertisements, as well as television and radio spots.

“This major shift in brand strategy is a huge undertaking for the system,” says Holly Goldstein, who leads the Mercy account for R/P as executive vice president of client services. “Months of strategic planning were involved, including internal operational changes to ensure that patient experience was standardized throughout the system. Although the campaign and its tactics are simple, we invested a great deal of time and effort to make sure our message was just right. Mercy executives did their part to ensure the promise for quality care is met throughout all operations.”

The message Mercy is delivering with its new master brand is familiarity, where patients can find the same level of comfort and high-quality care no matter which hospital they may be at in the Mercy system. Hospitals include Mercy St. Vincent, Mercy St. Anne, Mercy St. Charles, Mercy Children’s and the rural facilities of Mercy Tiffin, Mercy Willard and Mercy Hospital of Defiance.

“Our goal is for this one name to represent one standard of excellence and one compassionate spirit,” Goldstein adds. “In particular, our Brighter Days theme song is resonating wonderfully both internally and with the community for identifying the new Mercy brand. It’s a powerful and emotional tool to help Mercy stand out, a tactic that is not currently being used for healthcare in this market.”

This campaign is the first step in educating consumers about Mercy’s new look. Moving forward, R/P and Mercy will continue working together to build the business under this master brand, using it as the core for upcoming campaigns to promote various service lines.

Healthcare marketing and public relations is one of R/P’s areas of specialization, having provided counsel and creative services to more than 30 healthcare clients. The agency works with and has worked for nationally recognized health systems, major tertiary care medical centers, medical schools, long-term care facilities, rehabilitation centers, health plans, physician networks and national healthcare suppliers.

R/P Once Again Selected to Lead Donate Life Ohio Campaign

The R/P team is excited to continue working with the Second Chance Trust Fund on the Donate Life Ohio campaign. As we have been involved with this great cause for several years now, we have developed a personal and professional commitment to growing Ohio’s organ and tissue donor registry. We’re excited to roll out this year’s campaign with fresh ideas and strategies. News of our involvement in the campaign is spreading… PR WEEK and BULLDOG REPORTER'S DAILY'DOG recently covered the following announcement:

R/P Marketing Public Relations Once Again

Selected to Lead Donate Life Ohio Campaign

For the third year, the Toledo-based agency will help grow
Ohio’s organ and tissue donor registry

Second Chance Trust Fund has awarded R/P Marketing Public Relations the Donate Life Ohio (DLO) campaign for the 2009-2010 year. R/P will continue its relationship with Ohio’s organ and tissue procurement organizations (OPOs) to create new and effective ways to get more Ohioans to join the state’s organ and tissue donor registry.

For the past two years, R/P has led the marketing public relations efforts for this ongoing campaign, funded by Second Chance Trust Fund. DLO’s initial goal was to gain 800,000 new donor registrations by 2011. Having already helped add more than half a million new names to the registry, R/P and DLO are on pace to not only meet, but exceed this goal.

“R/P is passionate about this project and excited to continue working with Donate Life Ohio,” says Martha Vetter, president of R/P. “The need for organ and tissue donation increases daily, and the more registered donors we can help get, the more lives that will be saved. We are honored to partner with such a great cause.”

Prior donor registry growth can be attributed to the Do it Now College Challenge and the Donate. Save 8. Do it Now! corporate campaign created by R/P. This year the agency will continue building on these past successes with a fresh campaign that will create buzz about the program and drive people to register.

R/P has conducted ongoing research to discern the best opportunities for growing the Ohio donor registry, including the evaluation of trends in population. Various marketing efforts will be applied, and ongoing public relations will maintain efforts to build awareness, change perceptions and ultimately motivate people to register and become advocates of organ and tissue donation.

Becoming a registered organ and tissue donor

It is truly amazing how many people do not understand the process of becoming an organ and tissue donor. And I will admit that I probably was one of them until I became a part of the DLO team at R/P. Two years ago, we began developing a campaign to increase new organ and tissue donations across the state.

While not a registered donor at the time, I began to learn the facts, but was still hesitant about becoming a donor. Why? I have no idea. I knew doctors would work just as hard to save my life and that my family could have an open-casket funeral. Truly, I believe I just did not want to think about what becoming a registered organ donor meant – death.

Well, I am proud to say that earlier this year, while sitting in my office at work with a colleague, I decided to go online to the Ohio BMV site and register to become a donor. I encourage others to learn the facts and become a registered organ and tissue donor. One organ donor can help save the lives of up to eight people and enhance the lives of 50 more through tissue.

Don't Whine about Swine Coverage

It’s popular to criticize the media for inaccurate reporting or sensationalism. Those of us who have been members of the media or are eager news junkies are among the critics. But I think the media and the U.S. government deserves credit for their handling of the H1N1 flu story.

Sure we were bombarded 24 hours a day for an entire weekend when the story first broke about a child’s death due to what was then being called the “swine flu.” And those that didn’t run out to buy extra bars of soap or hand sanitizer probably weren’t watching or listening. It even surprised me when President Barack Obama gave official advice on hand washing.

But the amount of information that is available to the public by the Centers for Disease Control and the World Health Organization is astounding. Those of us in communications know that regularly updating websites and blogs, issuing news releases and holding regular news conferences is a time intensive process. But those efforts enable the public in a matter of seconds, 24 hours a day to get the latest information. You can even sign up to get e-mail notification when new reports are issued.

A few of my favorite sites on H1N1 include the following: www.pandemicflu.gov, www.who.int, www.cdc.gov/swineflu and on twitter: swineflubrk or swinfluticker.

There’s a lot of misinformation spreading about the flu pandemic and R/P played a part in trying to get accurate and timely information released about a non-profit organization near and dear to our hearts. Spring Point Project, whose mission is to provide pig islet cells for human transplantation to cure diabetes, was concerned that news of the so called “swine flu” might negatively impact their good cause. Spring Point raises healthy pigs and partners with the University of Minnesota in this important research, which is nearing FDA clinical trials. A blog post and a news release on their website at the inception of the media coverage helped to communicate the facts to donors, residents and others who support the project. http://www.springpointproject.org/media/

It’s good to know that the government and media are geared up to handle a major health crisis. It may be fashionable to bash the government or media, but in this case let’s be thankful that in a free and open society we have information at our fingertips which can save lives or at least keep us informed.