TRICARE Communicators Receive National Kudos

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FALLS CHURCH, Va. --  The hard work of TRICARE Communications and Customer Service paid off recently, when several products and campaigns were honored with national awards.

Heading the list of awards were three Blue Pencil and Gold Screen Awards from the 2009 National Association of Government Communicators competition. TRICARE's "That Guy" alcohol abuse campaign added more trophies to its collection with honors from the Public Relations Society of America and the International Academy of the Visual Arts.

"I am delighted that both PRSA and NAGC have recognized our hard work implementing very successful programs, particularly, our That Guy campaign," said Dian Lawhon, TRICARE Communications & Customer Service director.

In NAGC's news release category TRICARE won a first place Blue Pencil award for "TRICARE Beneficiaries Stay Alert...New Electronic Delivery Service." The TRICARE team won two awards of excellence in NAGC's Gold Screen division, one for a Web article dealing with TRICARE beneficiaries and National Cancer Institute, and the second for the Military Health System's "Dot-Mil-Docs" podcast.

The Blue Pencil & Gold Screen Awards competition salutes superior communications efforts of government agencies and recognizes the people that create them. Blue Pencil Award categories are designed for writing, editing and other related materials. Gold Screen Award categories recognize audio-visual and multimedia products, including broadcast and Internet-based products.

PRSA awarded That Guy a Bronze Anvil in the Research/Evaluation category. Three awards of excellence, in three different categories, also came in from the International Academy of the Visual Arts for That Guy's "Buzz Kill" section.

That Guy's Buzz Kill awards of excellence were in the visual appeal, gaming or gaming related, and animation categories. The awards honor creative excellence in interactive media by seeking out the best in Web sites, online advertising and marketing, and online audio and video media.

These awards are just the most recent in a long line of That Guy awards. The campaign received the top 2008 SABRE award for superior achievement in branding and reputation and a Webby 2007 best in health category among others.

That Guy is a social awareness initiative to raise awareness about alcohol abuse. The campaign targets 18 to 24 year-old servicemembers and aims to increase social disapproval of excessive drinking by highlighting the embarrassing consequences.

Recent surveys show a marked decrease in alcohol abuse at installations where the campaign has been deployed.

"That Guy uses 'reality' to warn against alcohol abuse," Ms. Lawhon said. "It uses humorous messages to reach young servicemembers through a 'real experience' approach."

That Guy is a partnership between C&CS and the TRICARE Office of the Chief Medical Officer. The creative concept and product designs were produced by contractor Fleishman-Hillard. That Guy's concept is based on extensive research focusing on members of all four services.

The Air Force recently adopted the That Guy campaign. It joins the Army, Navy and Marine Corps in collaborating with TRICARE and the Defense Department in getting service specific That Guy materials into installation substance abuse programs.