IEHP Wins Gold at the ADDY(R) Awards Competition

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif., March 25 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP) won eleven awards – including gold and silver – out of twelve entries in the world's largest advertising competition – the ADDY® Awards held on March 20 at the historic Mission Inn in Riverside.

In a field of over 200 entries from the Inland Empire chapter, IEHP took home one gold ADDY® for its comic book starring Super Nutricia, a female superhero who teaches healthy-eating habits to children. IEHP captured one silver award for its billboard ad promoting the 24-Hour Nurse Advice Line. Additionally, IEHP won nine bronze awards for the following entries: "Uninsured" campaign posters; "IEHP Earns Excellent Accreditation" print ad; "Medicare DualChoice," "Product Matrix" and "Health Education" brochures; "IEHP Overview" booklet; "Super Nutricia campaign,"  including one campaign radio spot and poster.

The ADDY® competition is the preeminent event, recognizing and rewarding creative excellence in the art of advertising. It attracts more than 60,000 entries replete with talent, from the college ranks to the highest echelon of advertising agencies. This premier competition is conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation (AAF), a not-for-profit industry association, through its 200 member clubs and 15 districts.

"The ADDY® awards are a great accomplishment for us," said Dr. Brad Gilbert, IEHP chief executive officer, "because our in-house creative team, which essentially does all of our writing, design and production, competed against ad agencies and large institutions with bigger in-house marketing departments and budgets."

These highly coveted awards – given for more than 100 categories – are granted by a panel of judges comprised of industry notables. Awards consist of gold, the highest level of creative excellence and superior to all other entries; silver, outstanding and worthy of recognition; and bronze, above the competition average.

"I'm proud of our team," said Susan Arcidiacono, IEHP chief marketing officer.

"Our collection of gold, silver and bronze ADDY® awards reflect our efforts to communicate with our Members and the community through fresh, clear and memorable messages."

For entries in the Inland Empire chapter, this competition is the first step in a three-tier process. In round one, local entrants compete for the gold in their respective markets. The second round sees local winners face off against other winners in one of 14 District competitions. District winners go on to the third round – the national ADDY® Awards.

IEHP, Inland Empire Health Plan, a Knox-Keene licensed Health Plan located in San Bernardino, California, is a not-for-profit public agency. The IEHP service area includes San Bernardino and Riverside Counties and currently serves over 440,000 Members in the following Programs: Medi-Cal, Healthy Families, Healthy Kids, and a Medicare Advantage Special Needs Program. www.iehp.org.

AAF, the American Advertising Federation, headquartered in Washington D.C., acts as the unifying voice for advertising. The AAF is the oldest national advertising trade association, representing 40,000 professionals in the advertising industry. The AAF has a national network of 200 ad clubs located in ad communities across the country. For more information, visit the AAF website. http://www.aaf.org/.

SOURCE Inland Empire Health Plan (IEHP)