For Immediate Release
Media Inquiries: Sarah Malpeli
SMITH
(941) 315-1226
smalpeli@smithadv.com

SMITH Agency and Southeastern Regional Medical Center Nationally Recognized in 2009 Aster Awards Program for Excellence in Medical Marketing

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (May 13, 2009)—Lumberton-based Southeastern Regional Medical Center, and SMITH, a fully-integrated advertising and marketing agency with offices in Fayetteville and Raleigh, N.C., Sarasota, Fla. and Hilton Head Island, S.C., were recently honored for advertising excellence in the 2009 Aster Awards. SMITH and SRMC received three awards in this year’s competition, including a Bronze in Billboard Design, a Silver for Radio Advertising and another silver for TV/Video Advertising.

The Aster Awards, one of the largest competitions of its kind, is hosted by Marketing Healthcare Today and Creative Images, Inc. This elite national program recognizes outstanding healthcare professionals for excellence in their advertising/marketing efforts.

The 2009 Aster Awards consisted of approximately 3,000 entries from across America. Participant’s entries competed against similar-sized organizations in their category. Entries must score at least in the top 85 percent to receive an award. Judging criteria includes creativity, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal.

“Southeastern Regional Medical Center and SMITH are among the top in the nation for healthcare advertising expertise. It was an honor to have both organizations participate in the 2009 Aster Awards,” said Melinda R. Lucas, Aster Awards Program Coordinator. “They exceeded the judges’ expectations.”

Entries in the Aster Awards were judged by a diverse panel of healthcare marketing experts. All winners are posted on the Aster Awards’ website (www.AsterAwards.com), as well as published in Marketing Healthcare Today, a national healthcare marketing magazine. The Aster Awards recognize excellence in healthcare and medical marketing throughout the U.S. In this year’s national contest more than 2,500 entries were judged with only 10 per cent of the entries receiving recognition. Winners receive gold, silver, or bronze awards.

Southeastern Regional Medical Center, a non-profit organization, is licensed for 337 beds and offers a combination of acute care, intensive care and psychiatric services to more than 15,000 inpatients and 70,000 emergency patients annually. The Medical Center is a comprehensive health care system which offers a wide array of health care services through its affiliated divisions.

SMITH is an advertising and marketing agency driven by discovering what makes people who they are and what motivates their decisions, and then planning strategic communications accordingly. The 35-year-old firm offers fully-integrated services that include brand development, account planning, marketing research, interactive services, creative, media planning/buying and public relations.

For more information on SMITH, call (800) 421-1973 or visit www.smithadv.com.