2022 Signature Awards - Covid-19 Communications

This category is for companies that adapted their communications approach in light of the Covid-19 pandemic. Entries included campaigns focused on communicating how the pandemic affected the retirement plan, plan changes due to the CARES Act, investing in a volatile environment, and/or creating an emergency fund.

1^st Place – NYC Health + Hospitals with Prudential Retirement
NYC Health + Hospitals is the largest public healthcare system in the nation with a workforce of more than 38,000 employees. 2021 was an extremely challenging year for their employees who were solely focused on patient care and didn’t have time to think about saving for retirement. The goal of the communications campaign was to reach those who took a Coronavirus-Related Distribution payment to make sure they knew they had options to repay the money into their plan account. The materials emphasized the importance of saving and encouraged people to start contributing again. The methods used were email, a printed flyer and FAQ document, phone calls, and virtual meetings with the plan provider’s representatives. More than 50 percent of the people who either stopped or decreased their contributions met with a representative. Other results showed that 26 percent of the targeted group either reinstated or increased their contributions with an average increase of 7.5 percent. This campaign was a winner because participants were encouraged to pay back what they took out during the pandemic and the materials used photos of the reps that participants could speak with. Also, communications included a link to schedule appointments quickly and easily and a QR code for ease of access. The language was short and simple to grab participants’ attention. As a past Signature Award winner, NYC Health + Hospitals once again delivered a successful campaign even with the challenge of an ongoing pandemic.