Sun Life Financial’s ambitious and innovative content marketing platform BrighterLife.ca is continuing to receive top industry recognition – and last week the High Road and Sun Life team were thrilled to be honoured with a prestigious gold SABRE Award, taking home the top prize in the Financial Services category.

The SABRE Awards is one of the world’s largest public relations awards programs, and is the premier showcase for the best the industry has to offer. With thousands of entries from across North America, these awards recognize campaigns that demonstrate the highest levels of strategic planning, creativity and business results. Winners were announced on May 8 during a ceremony in New York City and High Road was there to celebrate the great success of this wonderful project.

First launched in late 2011, BrighterLife.ca (and its sister site SimplementBrilliant.ca) extends beyond the website to Facebook, Twitter and YouTube in an effort to help Canadians answer their money, health and family questions. An integrated marketing strategy, the platform avoids traditional heavy-handed tactics and relies on compelling content and informal dialogue with Canadians to drive results for Sun Life Financial. Content is marketed through owned digital and social channels, earned mentions and paid advertising – a focused strategy that truly makes content the hero.

This SABRE Award is a great addition to the flood of recognition that BrighterLife.ca is receiving. In 2012 BrighterLife.ca has been honoured with a CPRS Ace Bronze award in the Best Digital Communications Campaign of the Year category and was also selected as an Official Honouree of the 16^th Annual Webby Awards in the Insurance category – with nearly 10,000 entries from 60 countries, this distinction is awarded to the top 15 per cent of all submissions. Sun Life Financial has also been named one of The Content Marketeer’s Top 50 Brands to Watch in 2012.

We’re all so proud of BrighterLife.ca, so head on over and check it out!

Last night I attended the ACE Awards by the Toronto chapter of the Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS). I was definitely jaded going in, thinking it would be another night of high fives and back slapping with a room full of PR flacks, putting a powerful spin on their latest campaign. But I have to say, I was wrong.

Not only was I amazed at the high caliber campaigns and breakthrough thinking in our industry, but I was blown away by the professionalism and accomplishments of the young PR professionals entering our field. And CPRS deserves huge kudos for putting so much emphasis on our future leaders. For the first time, they added the Student PR Campaign of the Year and the winner gave the best speech of the night. I am sure all the agencies were frantically writing down her contact information, in an attempt to recruit her first thing this morning.

And they also gave out two awards for Young PR Professional of the Year. One went to Rachelle Khalaf of Torchia Communications and the other to our own, Cortney Anderson (see photo). Congratulations!

We need to do more in the industry to recognize the work of our future leaders and the young professionals that work so tirelessly and often behind the scenes to drive the outstanding results for our campaigns. CPRS took a great step in the right direction and I hope more professional organizations follow suit.

Mia