Company: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Providence, RI
Company Description: For 70 years, Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) has been providing superior health insurance services to our members.Our mission is to provide our members with peace of mind and improved health by representing them in their pursuit of affordable high-quality healthcare.
Nomination Category: Corporate Literature Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best House Organ

Nomination Title: Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island's Quarterly Member Magazine - CHOICES

The date on which this nominated material was first distributed or otherwise made public:

Choices is the quarterly member magazine created by Blue Cross & Blue Shield of
Rhode Island (BCBSRI). The magazine is sent to approximately 300,000
households. Our circulation is larger than the three most popular non-controled
publications in our state combined: Providence Journal Newspaper, Providence
Business News Newspaper and RI Monthly Magazine.

The magazine started in 1999 under the name Healthcare Directions. In 2002, the
magazine was renamed Choices because the editorial focus of the magazine
changed. Instead of being a publication focused exclusively on health and
wellness, the magazine also featured articles related to healthcare cost
drivers and affordability. In 2006, the magazine was brought entirely in-house
and underwent a significant redesign to make it look and feel more like an
engaging, reader-friendly consumer publication. In 2008, BCBSRI produced and
distributed four seasonal issues of Choices magazine.

Briefly describe this entry’s communications objectives and how it met those objectives (up to 100 words):

Conmunication Objective: To determine whether the redesign of Choices
contributed to member satisfaction with the magazine.

Measurement: Choices Readership Survey: Five hundred members (300 Rhode Island
members and 200 out-of-state members) were surveyed via telephone.

Results:
More members today are aware of and read Choices (compared to Healthcare
Directions):
o 81 percent of respondents are aware of Choices versus 74 percent in 2002 for
Healthcare Directions
o 69 percent of readers read at least one issue of Choices in the past year; 61
percent of readers read at least one issue of Healthcare Directions in 2002.

An overwhelming majority of readers, 81 percent, think Choices is easy to read.

The majority of readers think Choices is useful and valuable:
o 67 percent said it has useful health and wellness information
o 64 percent said it is a valuable source of health information

Our readers hare happy with the length and information level of Choices articles
o 87 percent agreed the length of articles is "about the right length."
o 79 percent think the information is at "about the right level."

Reading Choices has prompted more than a third of the readers (37 percent) to
take action based on something they read in Choices(e.g.) quit smoking, lose
weight.

More than half strongly agree or somewhat agree that reading Choices makes them
feel more positively about BCBSRI.

A majority (63 percent) of out-of-state members feel the articles are balanced
and not too focused on Rhode Island.

List the appropriate creative and production credits for this entry: Advertising Agency/City: Client: Art Director: Cinematographer: Creative Director: Designer: Director: Illustrator/City: Music Producer/City: Photographer/City: Printer/City: Producer: Production Company/City: Programmer: Writer: Web Development Firm/City:

Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island - Providence
Chief Communication Officer: Chris Medici
Assistant Vice President, Communication Services: Laura Calenda
Editor: Julie O'Connell
Art Director: Juan Cano
Production Manager: Denise Nilsen
Publication Manager: Erin Killoran
Operations Manager: Kathy Palumbo