PRIME Awards 2019 winners announced
This year, the 15th annual PRIME Awards saw some of the best and the brightest in the pharmaceutical and media industries come together to celebrate their achievements in healthcare communications.
Hard work, creativity and innovation paid off for a record number of finalists who walked the red carpet on Thursday night at Sydney’s Four Season’s Hotel.
But there could only be 17 winners.
Hosted by multi award winning comedian Urzila Carlson, the evening kicked off with some fun and frivolity before taking a different tack with an opening address by Elizabeth de Somer, CEO of Medicines Australia, on progress in the pharmaceutical industry.
AstraZeneca was the biggest winner on the night, scoring the top gong across three major categories.
A productive partnership with McCann Health resulted in the pharma giant nabbing the Creativity in Communication – Prescription award for Zoladex’s “Great Wall of Undies” campaign from five nominations.
AstraZeneca also took home the award for Best PR Campaign and won the top spot in a new category, Sustained Excellence in Bettering Patient Outcomes which recognised the Lung Foundation’s enduring campaign by LIFE agency.
Hot on AstraZeneca’s heels was Gilead, who in collaboration with Ward6 won two awards including the coveted Marketing Campaign of the Year gong.
Says Stuart Black, group CEO, Ward6: “There is nothing we care about more than the effectiveness of our work. We are incredibly proud to have won two PRIME Awards this year, and very thankful to our clients for choosing to partner with us, and for all they are doing to improve the lives of patients in Australia and our region.”
Other pharma companies who dominated the proceedings were Mylan who scooped up two major awards, along with Servier, Otsuka, Amgen, Sequirus, Bristol-Myers Squib and Biogen who each won first place in one of the 17 categories.
Full list of PRIME Award winners 2019
Category: Best Public Health Initiative
Winner: Amgen for REFRAME Osteoporosis
Judges’ words: “Clear, simple and effective … highly attuned to the needs of both patients and medical practitioners.”
Category: Corporate Social Responsibility
Winners: Bristol-Myers Squibb, Palin Communications and Biointelect
Judges’ words: “A proactive approach to shaping debate around the role of patients in decisions about medicine reimbursement.”
Category: Best Data-Driven Marketing Campaign
Winner: Mylan MyBusiness Health – Mylan & Digitas Health
Judges’ words: “Demonstrated strong evidence of genuine financial benefits both to pharmacists and patients.”
Category: Marketing Campaign of the Year
Winners: Gilead Sciences and Ward6 for Biktarvy “The Beauty of What’s Possible”
Judges’ words: “Nailed a very challenging brief, showing great results and achieving seamless integration with HCP material.”
Category: Excellence in Education
Winners: Sequirus and Hahn Healthcare for simGP Pain Management Workshops
Judges’ words: “Clever and thoughtful and a fabulous tool for GP education.”
Category: NGO of the Year
Winner: EndoActive
Judges’ words: “Continues to drive progress and awareness in an area that has been overlooked for too long.”
Category: Best PR Campaign
Winner: AstraZeneca and LIFE Agency for the Lung Foundation’s “Making Lung Cancer a Fair Fight: A Blueprint for Reform”
Judges’ words: “Highlighted serious issues and drives genuine social change for a misunderstood patient group.”
Category: Marketing Innovation
Winner: Australian Doctor Group for AccessPLUS
Judges’ words: “A pioneering and innovative platform amid a fundamental shift in the sales call market.”
Category: Launch of the Year
Winner: Gilead Sciences and Ward6 for Biktarvy “The Beauty of what’s possible”
Judges’ words: “Deeply impressed by the seamlessness of the execution … driving impact and awareness.”
Category: Sales Team of the Year
Winners: Nephrology Specialty Team – Otsuka and FarmaForce
Judges’ words: “Fantastic initiatives that were highly effective across both internal and external stakeholders.”
Category: Sales Representative of the Year
Winner: Francesca Sutton – Biogen
Judges’ words: “Francesca stood out for her focus on both GPs and patients. Her entry showcased growing recommendations.”
Category: GPs’ Choice: Pharma Company of the Year
Winner: Servier
Category: Pharmacists’ Choice: Pharma Company of the Year
Winner: Mylan
Category: Creativity in Communication – Prescription
Winners: AstraZeneca and McCann Health for Zoladex: The Great Wall of Undies
Judges’ words: “Loved the thinking and structure behind this high-quality, highly creative campaign.”
Category: Creativity in Communication – OTC
Winners: Proctor & Gamble and McCann Health for The Turd we Deserve
Judges’ words: “The creativity and skilled use of humour made an uncomfortable topic accessible.”
Category: Excellence in Patient/Customer Support
Winner: Prince of Wales Hospital and Deloitte for DelloitteASSIST
Judges’ words: “Couldn’t fault this fantastic program which optimises new technology to change the way hospitals are run.”
Category: Sustained Excellence in Bettering Patient Outcomes
Winner: Lung Foundation Australia, AstraZeneca and LIFE Agency for Lung Cancer Stigma Campaign
Judges’ words: “A brilliantly executed campaign which tackled a challenging task with a detailed and strategic approach.”
Highly commended: Bayer and Atlantis Healthcare for SmartSight Patient Support Program
The 2019 PRIME Awards were sponsored by AccessPLUS, Wiley, Tonic and Elsevier.