Shepherd Center's Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Video Series Nominated for 2012 Anvil Award

Shepherd Center is pleased to announce that it and its video/interactive communications agency, KPKinteractive, have been nominated for and selected as a finalist in the 2012 Silver Anvil Awards presented by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA).

Considered the Academy Awards of Public Relations, Silver Anvil nominees this year include only a handful of campaigns conducted from Atlanta, including Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta’s childhood obesity campaign. Other finalist organizations (co-nominated with their agencies) include American Express OPEN, AT&T, Best Buy, Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Caribou Coffee, eBay, the Environmental Protection Agency, IBM, LIVESTRONG, Nestle Purina, Novartis Animal Health, TOMS Shoes and the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers.

Shepherd Center and KPKinteractive created an educational video series entitled “What you need to know about brain and spinal cord injury” that was chosen as a Silver Anvil finalist in the Health Care Services category. The video series, being distributed across the U.S., is part of an integrated awareness campaign to educate families and loved ones of people affected by a recent spinal cord or brain injury.

The series, essentially a “101” of brain and spinal cord injury, is the first and most comprehensive series of its kind and utilizes a 45-minute video about brain injury and an hour-long video about spinal cord injury, along with two microsites (BrainInjury101.org and SpinalInjury101.org), a companion booklet, posters and fliers distributed in trauma care hospitals and via national health care associations.

The campaign was more than a year in the making and involves spinal cord and brain injury physicians and experts, neuroscientists, advocates and a special appearance by Lee Woodruff, CBS Morning News contributor, author and wife of Bob Woodruff, the ABC News journalist who sustained a catastrophic brain injury while imbedded in Iraq.

According to PRSA, the Silver Anvils recognize and honor the very best public relations programs planned and executed each year. This year’s competition drew a record 923 entries. Of those, only 143 organizations were selected by the Silver Anvil Judges as finalists. This demonstrates the high standards applied by the judges in their evaluation process.

“Shepherd Center is thrilled that the Silver Anvil judges recognized the importance of educating families and loved ones of newly injured patients via a comprehensive resource; since it is truly one of the most stressful times you can imagine. More Americans are affected annually by brain injury than by breast cancer yet awareness of their struggle is not as widespread. We know that they, along with spinal cord patients, can positively impact their quality of life after injury with credible knowledge, support and motivation,” said Larry Bowie, Director of Marketing & Public Relations for Shepherd Center, who directed the project.

“KPKinteractive has been a trusted video and strategic communications partner and vendor of the Shepherd Center since 2002, gaining a deep understanding of brain and spinal cord injury, which enabled them to help us put together a well-researched and empathetic educational program that has far exceeded our goals for distribution, website views, partnerships and patient referrals,” he added.

“This recognition is especially rewarding to us, given our long-term commitment to and passion for the subject. As an intentionally lean firm, we are especially excited to be qualified with this great client, as well as with the other outstanding agencies and organizations represented,” said Karin P. Koser, principal of KPKinteractive.

The Silver Anvil Awards Ceremony will be held on June 7 at the Equitable Tower, in New York City. Silver Anvil winners and Award of Excellence recipients will be announced at that time, along with the “Best Of” Silver Anvil and PRSA’s prestigious Public Relations Professional of the Year Award.