Irvine, California, May 9, 2006 — Ignite Health, the five-year-old independent advertising agency that now ranks among the top 20 independent health care agencies in the US, has taken top honors in four recent awards competitions. The agency, known for its innovative interactive campaigns, was a winner in the DTC National Advertising Awards, the World Wide Web Health Awards, the PlanetOut Inc. Advertising Awards, and an "Official Honoree" and nominee of the 2006 Webby Awards.
Ignite walked away with the gold award in the Multicultural category for the DTC National Advertising Awards, an event sponsored by the monthly publication DTC Perspectives. The agency won for its comprehensive campaign StopHepB (www.stophepb.com), created for Gilead Sciences. The Web site and the campaign — which includes brochures, billboards, posters, kiosks at community events and more — educate people about chronic Hepatitis B, a condition that affects one in 10 Asian Americans in the United States.
"As patients and caregivers have become increasingly empowered and information-savvy, Ignite has focused on integrated campaigns that educate, inform and empower these groups," said Jackie Herr, co-founder and CEO of Ignite. "We are proud to see our efforts recognized with these recent honors," she continued, "and will continue to create experiences that people find, helpful, engaging and entertaining."
Ignite also walked away with four awards from World Wide Web Health Awards for three other patient websites: LiveWithIt.com, Byetta.com and ChangeofHAART.com. The WWW Health Awards is a twice-a-year program that recognizes the best health-related sites for consumers and professionals. The Web awards are an extension of the National Health Information Awards (NHIA), the largest program of its kind in the US.
In "Best of Show" award category, Live With It (www.LiveWithIt.com), a site for patients living with HIV/AIDS, took the "Most Innovative" award. It also won a Gold Award in the Patient Education/Medical Communications category.
This year's Most Innovative win for LiveWithIt.com marks the third time that Ignite has received this award, giving the agency more awards in this category than any single company since the program's inception in 2000. "We are proud to be delivering innovative health communication programs consistently to the market," said Fabio Gratton, Ignite's co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer. "These awards recognize the importance of stand-out, break-through programs that educate patients."
Live With It, which features a series of dramatic animated short films about HIV-infected characters coping with their condition, is the Web's first animated series about people living with HIV/AIDS.
Ignite's award-winning Web site Byetta.com, created for Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company, was also selected as an "Official Honoree" of the tenth annual Webby Awards, a program honoring outstanding Web sites that are setting the standards for the Internet. Hailed as "the Online Oscars" by Time Magazine, the "Webbys" are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a 535-member global organization. Winners were selected from over 5,500 entries from over 40 countries.
The Academy also nominated ChangeofHAART.com for a Webby Award in the Pharmaceutical Web site category. Sponsored by Gilead Sciences, this Ignite-created Web site includes video testimonials, a history of HAART (Highly Active Anti-Retroviral Therapy), an interactive quiz, and information about managing HIV treatment. The Webby winners will be announced June 12th in New York City.
Ignite's fourth award came from PlanetOut, a global media and entertainment company offering consumer services and news to the gay and lesbian community. Honoring excellence in digital media, the competition honored Ignite as the winner in the Pharmaceutical Industry Leadership category for its online advertising campaign for the HIV drug Truvada, manufactured by Gilead Sciences.
About Ignite Health
Ignite, which has won more than 90 industry awards since its founding in 2001, has more than 60 full-time employees. The agency's revenues have more than tripled over the last four years. Clients include: Amylin Pharmaceuticals, Bausch & Lomb, Berlex, Cephalon, Corus Pharma, Eli Lilly and Co., Eyeonics, Genetic Alliance, Genomic Health, Gilead Sciences, Gilead/BMS, Merck Publishing, Novacea, Roche/Trimeris, Refractec and Telik.
Ignite Health is located at 8955 Research Drive, Irvine, CA 92618. Telephone: 949-861-3200.
E- mail: triley@ignitehealth.com. Website: www.ignitehealth.com.
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