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Evaluation and Awards Program |
2004 PICA AWARDS OF EXCELLENCE
Comments:
Publication’s purpose is to encourage agents to produce business
using incentive of company trips. Publication aims to create and
sustain interest in the trips for both agent and spouse. Going Places
certainly met that purpose through stories, photos, graphics and
histories of trip destinations. Article leads are creative and filled
with descriptive details. Very well written and researched (it seems
as if writer has visited each destination beforehand). Clever ideas
in many stories – in a story about a trip to Ireland, writer adds
Irish jargon such as “gobsmacked” which means very surprised. Heads
are also clever (Join the singing, dancing while pubbin’ in Dublin).
Pages are crisp, clean and readable with natural eye flow. Good
use of color. Screen shades are light and don’t interfere with reading.
Good use of drop caps, subheads that provide multiple entries into
stories. Nice consistency from issue to issue. Comments:
Publication’s purpose is to explore issues that impact
or complement specialized services and to present insurance issues
in a manner that appeals to all readers. Purpose clearly met. Stories
are very good – well written, well researched, full of informative
and colorful quotes. Good leads with logical progression of facts.
Then you add a sidebar and form an effective package. While technical,
writing is tight, concise and reader friendly. Excellent use of
color – particularly in color schemes, where colors complement one
another and don’t seem overused. Good use of subheads, drop caps,
and pull quotes as multiple page entries and to break up gray. Impressive
front cover and contents page. Very professional publication. Comments: Meets its goal of providing information on products/programs, new employees, agencies, and community involvement. Reader-friendly with wide mix of articles to appeal to all readers. Well-written articles. Good use of color – particularly liked the blue line at the top of each page, the red/magenta line at the bottom and sticking with the same two colors throughout the issue. Screens are done well and don’t interfere with reader ease. Good to see so many names and photos in the issues. You offer a clean, crisp and professional publication. Consistent from issue to issue. The telephone roster included in the December issue was a great touch.
Comments:
Great improvements over prior year. Met purpose of change to relay
company information to member mutuals and agents by effective use
of photography, concise writing, and appealing layout. I really
like the front cover changes – putting the issue’s theme at the
top and the publication’s name/issue date at the bottom (and out
of the box previously in) makes the cover look a lot more professional
and cleaner. Effective content page and good addition of photos
that link to various stories. I also really like the 90-degree corner
banner – very effective, grabs the reader’s eye and lets him/her
know exactly what’s on that page. Really liked doubletrucks of ‘Twas
the Night Before Christmas and The winds of change. Use of subheads,
drop caps, pull quotes and effective packaging make a great-looking
publication. Stories are written in active voice with good quotes.
Good use of directions in cutlines (from left). Good use of color,
but be careful not to overuse full-cover abilities. Comments: I like the new name (The Handshake) over News Brief. Very effective masthead that gets all the information in without detracting from publication. Photo quality is greatly improved, as is cleaner type size. Inside pages are more organized and easier to read. Good use of colored screens. For consistency, you might consider keeping the same color from issue to issue.
Comments:
Excellent feature that shows first-hand the terror of a tornado
and how one mutual manager with the backing of her company provided
top-rate service to clients devastated by the storm. Even more impressive
is the fact that the star of the story lost her own home in that
tornado. And I applaud the layout of this story. The opening two
pages contain a short entrance to the story, accompanied by photos
showing the destruction. That opening contained terrific details
-–an F3 windstorm, winds between 158-206 mph. The first line said
it all – “Lila Starbuck has been blown away – literally.” Story
is full of colorful, detailed quotes that show, not tell, the reader
what that day in May was like. And you see her dedication to her
clients and the company’s support of her as she tries to keep up
with all the claims. The only improvement I could see would be the
addition of a client’s quotes (if that were possible to obtain).
Great job. Comments:
Great story on the danger homeowners face of having coverage cancelled
or restricted if they have a trampoline, swimming pool or dog. Writer
leads with a summary of the new guidelines and other changes and
then breaks it all down into the three hazard categories. Writer
uses excellent sources and quotes. Story is well written and well
researched. Table showing accidental death and injury from causes
related to common household hazards was extra special touch. Very
in-depth look at items of risk that most people don’t consider problems. Comments:
Writer takes an in-depth look at the fastest-growing, largest minority
– the Spanish-speaking population – to show the importance of marketing
to that group and the hows and whys of doing so in order to compete
with larger companies. Everywhere you look, you see stores, businesses,
restaurants and even DVDs that have Spanish translations. Well-researched
with good quotes, sources. Company doesn’t bury its head in the
sand, but meets this market head-on, in a way that will improve
quality of life for that population. Nice table showing the states
with the largest percentages of people who identify themselves as
Hispanic or Latino in the 2000 census. Comments: Cute, cute story showing the dangers that could befall a loss control representative who finds a family’s home guarded by a goat. Story showed how the representative used one of the tools of her trade (the inspection clipboard) to defend herself. People will read this story and laugh.
Comments:
Project’s goal was to honor its president with a contest
designed specially for agents and to strengthen relationships with
those agents. Promotion helps increase production and boosts employee
morale through contests and rewards. The company definitely met
its goal/purpose. This was a great promotion with a music theme
that kept the contest in front of the agents at all times. Variety
of promotional pieces included in the brochure – a summary of what
President’s Month is, a refrigerator magnet using same artwork as
on cover of packet, reminder pieces featuring Elton John, Elvis,
Willie Nelson and Beethoven and a notepad with the promotion’s theme.
Artist’s renditions of Elvis, Elton John and Willie Nelson are great
– caricature format that lends sense of humor. Main brochure shows
illustration of each available prize and number of applications
needed to earn that prize. And finally, a thank you card to each
contest participant. Perhaps best piece of promotion is a CD – United
Life’s Greatest Hits – of music by Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven. Great
continuation of music theme with tie-ins to music by Elvis (How
about a little advice from Elvis Presley on how to have a successful
President’s Month? “Well, it’s one for the money, two for the show,
three to get ready, now go cat, go.” And here’s one from Elton John
– “Don’t let the sun go down on you during President’s Month.” Also
a tie-in to the number 19 – President’s Month is celebrating president’s
19th year with Beethoven’s 19th Symphony and requires 19 applications
to win all five prizes. One suggestion, I would like to see artist
receive credit lines. Comments:
What a unique piece – very cool. I have never seen a company
represented as a football playbook, team, players before. You take
the company’s organization and break it down into various parts
of a football team – owner, players, quarterback, special teams,
team captains, front line. That football theme is carried throughout
the promotion, but isn’t overdone: which players take the field,
calling the plays, reading from the same playbook, advancing the
ball. After reading this, the organization doesn’t seem quite so
complex and a better picture of who and what you are emerges. This
isn’t the standard organizational chart method. Very nice job of
educating association members on how the organization operates,
responsibilities/duties of stakeholders, and the definition of related
and semi-autonomous groups. A couple of suggestions: Too many colors
– too many loud colors. I might look for softer shades and screens
(for example, the cover has the green background, black, red title,
red line around headshots and yellow screen. Perhaps just use a
softer screen of the red for the whole captain’s box, no lines around
the mug shots, no black name box or white position box). You don’t
want the color to compete with the content. And while your demographics
may indicate agency ownership is predominantly middle-aged male
who likes football, stereotypes can be dangerous (many women love
football). However, I don’t see any of that in this piece. Just
beware of the potential problems. Comments: Project’s purpose was to emphasize the strength of the speaker lineup and to show the attractiveness of the location. Combining the promotional piece with a web site promo that included a list of those registered was an excellent idea. And since more people signed up for this conference than ever before, I’d say you met your goal. Good layout showing each day’s activities, speakers, social outings. Each day offered a summary to show what would be discussed in the morning and afternoon sessions. Nice to see a photo along side each speaker bio. Also nice to see you included a hotel reservation form and a conference registration form – plus additional ways to register. Very nicely designed piece. On-line publication Although
there was no competition in this category, Laura Popp submitted
Germania Farm Mutual’s excellent online publication. The evaluator
was very impressed with Germania’s online communication. We thought
her notes were worth sharing, and encourage you to visit www.germania-ins.com
to see for yourself. Comments: I really enjoyed scrolling through your Web site. The Home Page is nicely done and very user-friendly. I enjoyed the photo boxes across the top of the page that popped up with labels and info boxes – Liability, Property, Auto, and Life. That Home Page links into other pages that go more fully into those four topics with a short summary and other links to more in-depth information. Those links are great because users can go exactly where they want to go without wading through everything on the page. Nice artwork – I love the shape of Texas crossed by a handshake (of course, I’m originally from Dallas and love all to do with the state). Good links –
products, claims, credit union, find an agent, what’s new, Germania
agents, privacy policy, about Germania and careers at Germania.
And each page has the contact/e-mail information. Credit Union and all it offers. Find an Agent takes you right to the nearest office. What’s New – updated insurance information, safety tips and recipes (how great is that). Germania agents – glad to see this is a protected site. About Germania – who you are, company financials, community events/company involvement and press releases. Careers at Germania – current job postings and the company’s benefit package. These are all excellent links. Pages are uncluttered. It’s simple yet in-depth, user-friendly, up-to-date, well written and well designed. Good job – all a person needs to know about your company is right at their fingertips. |
