MASHSMD Marketing Excellence Awards

The MASHSMD Excellence Awards aim to recognize and reward creative and strategic excellence in healthcare marketing and communications. These awards are given out annually for the prior year's work.

 

View the 2022 Excellence Award winners here.  

Information about the MASHSMD Lifetime Excellence Award for Dedication (LEAD) is available here.

 

A call for submissions for the 2023 awards (for work done in 2023) will be available in early 2024. Members will receive information via email when open for submissions. 

 

GENERAL AWARDS INFORMATION

Eligibility 
The competition is open to individual MASHSMD members, member healthcare providers, ad agencies, and creative firms. 

MASHSMD members who are not healthcare providers (e.g., advertising agencies, research, creative or interactive firms, etc.) are welcome to submit entries for any of their healthcare clients, even if the client is not a MASHSMD member.

 

Deadlines and Entry Fee 
Submission Deadline: To be announced
Entry Fee: $80.00 (includes one award)
Duplicate awards are available at cost ($30.00 including S/H).
Payment is expected at the time you submit your entries. You can pay via credit card, PayPal, or check.

Please mail your check to: 
MASHSMD, c/o  Sarah Yonker
Atlantic General Hospital
10320 Old Ocean City Boulevard
Berlin, MD 21811


When Will Awards Be Presented 
Awards will be presented at our Annual Conference


Judging 
Each entry is reviewed by two judges who are acknowledged leaders within their field. Judges are assigned categories based on their professional experience and expertise. One overall winner will be awarded in each category (must have a minimum score of 40 points out of a 60-point maximum).

 

Avoid Disqualification 
Entrants must be for work completed on behalf of MASHSMD members.
Entry fees must be received within two weeks of the deadline date. 
All entries must be completed online.


Guidelines to Submit Your Entries 

Step 1: Review Your Entrant Form 

  • Create a user profile, or login to an existing profile.

Step 2: Add Entry 

  • Create each entry individually by filling out the entire entry form once for each entry. 

  • Add the contact information for the individual who is responsible if assistance is needed with the entry. 

  • Complete your situation, strategy, and success story. This is the meat of your entry and the most important piece (limit 150 words for each area).

  • Upload your supporting materials. Supporting materials must accompany your entry. Supporting materials are how the judges review your entry. There is a maximum of three supporting documents. Videos should be submitted as a LIVE LINK to YouTube or your website. 

Step 3: Submit Entry 

  • Entries may be updated at any time and will not be viewed by judges until they are finalized/submitted. 

Step 4: Submit Payment 

  • Complete this step only after you have submitted all your entries. You may pay by credit card online or pay with a check. Checks are due to MASHSMD within two weeks of the deadline date. If we don’t receive your check-in time, it could result in disqualification. 

  • A portion of all entry fees collected for the MASHSMD 2023 Excellence Awards will be donated to the MASHSMD Student Scholarship Fund.

Entry Completion 

  • Follow the step-by-step guidelines carefully, and be sure to SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY by the deadline. Entry fees are based on the date of submission.


SITUATION, STRATEGY, SUCCESS STORY

The information you’ll share with the judges is collected in a series of fields on the online entry form. Below are recommendations for the kind of information that should be included in each field. These parameters are guidelines, not requirements. 

The Situation
Describe the marketplace or organization factors that created the need for this publication/project/campaign, etc. Explain the problem(s), opportunity(s) and objectives(s) that guided the development of the strategy/project/campaign, etc. 

The Strategy 
Discuss the techniques, methods, and approaches you used to achieve your objectives and/or solve the problem. Include an explanation of strategic and tactical considerations. 

The Success* 
Where appropriate, provide documentation of the success of the project, such as inquiries, patient visits, views, impressions, press clippings, or positive feedback that demonstrate that you met objectives. The results documentation must contain factual information and should confirm the achievement of the set goals. All supporting materials should be uploaded as part of your entry. 

*We acknowledge that results in design and creative categories such as logo design, graphics, photography, writing, etc., are often difficult to quantify, and these creative categories should be evaluated on more qualitative criteria. Design category entries will be judged on the visual that conveys strategy, brand, or product/service line messages in a distinctive way and takes into consideration relevant to the audience and uniqueness. For writing entries, judges will be asked to consider the quality of the writing—is it coherent, does it hold their attention, does it have a resonance that stays with them after reading it, and how well does it communicate a strategic message? 

For entries in creative categories (Graphic Design, Logo, Photography, and Writing Project): Provide qualitative documentation of the success of the project, including all the elements that went into your creative process, so that judges can evaluate your entry on how successfully it was executed. What was your original theme/idea? How does creative work answer the problem/challenge you set out to solve? How is the style of the creative work suited for your target audience? What is unique and memorable about creative work? What visual and/or emotional experience were you striving to create? 


CATEGORIES (19 total)

Advertising 
Television Advertising—Any length, single ad or campaign 
Radio Advertising—Any length, single ad or campaign
Print Advertising—Single ad or campaign
Posters, Banners, Billboards—Single ad or campaign
Online Advertising—Single ad or campaign 

Collateral 
Annual Report
Traditional Publications—Internal, consumer, and physician brochures and publications
Special Event Material—Card, invitation, evite, announcement, etc.
Direct Mail—Single or Campaign 

Marketing Elements
Web Design
Video Production
Content Marketing—Writing project, blog/vlog, and podcast 
Logo
Photography
Graphics, illustration

Strategy and Research 
Strategic Marketing Plan
Research Study (qualitative or quantitative)
Exceptional In-house Campaign

PR and Social Media
Public Relations
Social Media

 

 

Past Winners