SMITH Advertising, SRMC Receive National Aster Awards

Fayetteville, NC, May 11, 2011 --(PR.com)-- Lumberton-based Southeastern Regional Medical Center and SMITH Advertising, a fully integrated advertising and marketing agency based in Fayetteville, N.C., were recently honored for advertising excellence in the 2011 Aster Awards.

SMITH and Southeastern received a gold award in Billboard Design – Series for the SRMC “Good Heart” campaign, a gold award in Direct Mail Piece – Series for the SRMC Gibson Cancer Center and a silver award in Newspaper Advertising Series for the SRMC Gibson Cancer Center.

“SRMC and SMITH are immensely proud of this great news,” said Todd Smith, COO of SMITH. “This recognition demonstrates that the work SRMC and SMTIH produce is the best of the best. It is a tremendous honor.”

The Aster Awards, one of the largest award competitions of its kind, is hosted by internationally recognized Creative Images, Inc., a firm specializing in strategic healthcare marketing. This national program recognizes the best healthcare professionals for excellence in their advertising/marketing efforts.

The 2011 Aster Awards consisted of thousands of entries from across the United States. Participants’ entries competed against similar-sized organizations in their category. Entries must score at least in the top 85 percent to receive an award, and only 10 percent of the entries received recognition. Judging criteria includes creativity, layout and design, functionality, message effectiveness, production quality and overall appeal, the announcement related. Winners receive gold, silver or bronze awards.

Entries in the Aster Awards were judged by a diverse panel of healthcare marketing experts. All winners are posted on the Aster Awards’ website, as well as published in Marketing Healthcare Today, a national healthcare marketing magazine.

SMITH is a full-service advertising and marketing agency with over 37 years’ experience in offering fully integrated services, including brand development, account planning, marketing research, social media marketing, dialog management, interactive services, creative, media planning/buying and public relations. SMITH has honed its planning and creative skills on blue-chip and Fortune 500 brands, including Papa John’s, Hershey, Ruth's Chris, Microsoft, Harley Davidson, Southeastern Regional Medical Center, First Bank of N.C., S.C. and Va., Jeep and Miller, as well as leading travel destinations such as Hilton Head Island, Augusta, Sarasota, Asheville, North Carolina's Brunswick Islands, Charlotte Harbor & the Gulf Islands, Fl., and Blowing Rock, N.C.

For more information on SMITH Advertising, call (910) 222-5071 or visit www.smithadv.com.

Southeastern Regional Medical Center (SRMC) has been one of the top healthcare providers for southeastern North Carolina since 1953. The 337-bed medical center features a comprehensive offering of specialized departments and services and serves more than 15,000 inpatients and over 71,000 emergency room patients annually.

SRMC is accredited by The Joint Commission, which consists of its parent organizations, the American College of Physicians, American College of Surgeons, American Dental Association, American Hospital Association, and American Medical Association.

For more information on Southeastern Regional Medical Center, call (910) 671-5000 or visit www.srmc.org.

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