BlueCross, MP&F win top national PR award
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and MP&F Strategic Communications were awarded Best of Show at the recent Public Relations Society of America Silver Anvil ceremony in New York City. The insurance company and its PR agency were recognized for their efforts to combat Tennessee’s opioid epidemic through the “Don’t Be An Accidental Drug Dealer” public education campaign. The award is the nation’s top communications industry honor.
“Over the course of two years, this campaign greatly increased awareness of the opioid epidemic and contributed to close to 50 tons of pills being removed from circulation in Tennessee,” said Roy Vaughn, senior vice president and chief communications officer for the Chattanooga-based BlueCross.
In 2015, the opioid epidemic was ravaging Tennessee, and BlueCross covered more than 1 million opioid prescriptions for its members.
MP&F identified Count It! Lock It! Drop It! (CLD), a program for prescription drug misuse prevention created by the Coffee County Anti-Drug Coalition in Manchester, Tenn., as a partner for the initiative. In 2016, the BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee Health Foundation awarded a $1.3 million grant to expand CLD to 44 counties in the state identified as “hot spots” for opioid abuse. MP&F implemented a full-scale public education campaign to encourage Tennesseans to count their prescription pills, lock them up, and drop off unused or expired pills at a permanent drop box or Take-Back Day event.