2015 Summit Award Winner - Communicator

The Summit for Communicator of the Year recognizes an organization that develops a concept and successfully delivers compelling content to promotes a better environment for urban animals. Our winner this year, by acclamation, is…

Alison Cross, Ontario SPCA

The Ontario SPCA partnered with the Ontario Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) on a new campaign called Got a Pet? Get a Vet!™ Promoting the importance for pet owners to develop a relationship with their veterinarian, the campaign quickly became national.

Got a Pet? Get a Vet! shared how it’s important to establish a relationship with a veterinarian when you have a pet. Including pointing out that just one veterinary check-up a year would help protect against a variety of potentially life-threatening diseases, detect health problems sooner, and avoid unexpected costs. It encouraged pet owners to not wait until something went wrong to take their pet in for a check-up and that scheduling a visit with a local veterinarian would help ensure a longer, healthier life for pet(s). The campaign shared images of real life vets with their patients.

The campaign was shared with SPCAs and Humane Society all across Ontario and Canada allowing the local Society to add their own logo and work with their local vets to encourage this message. In addition, pet owners were encouraged to nominate their favourite veterinarian clinic for the Got a Pet? Get a Vet! Award.

The campaign ran for one month and was promoted on the Ontario SPCA and OVMA’s Facebook pages, on their twitter accounts, as well as through paid advertising on Facebook and through Google. Posters were given to SPCAs and Humane Societies all across the province and Canada to be posted at the local shelter. E-blasts from the Ontario SPCA as well as through the OVMA network were sent out to promote the campaign and the contest.

Over 780 clinics were nominated for the Got a Pet? Get a Vet! Award and almost 14,000 votes were cast for those nominated. The campaign received over half a million online impressions and was embraced by over 15 SPCAs, Humane Societies and Associations across Canada.

Urban Animal is grateful to Pets Plus Us for sponsoring the Summit Awards.

2015 Summit Awards Revealed by InfoStream

Urban Animal is pleased to advise the completion of the Summit Awards program. Urban Animal has engaged CW Communications to complete this project. During the next two weeks the 2015 Summit Awards will be revealed each day using InfoStream. The 2015 Summit Awards will then be turned over to local representatives of Pets Plus Us, the 2015 Sponsor, for delivery and presentation where possible.

For ten years the Summit Awards have represented the recognition component of the Urban Animal program in North America. Nominees for the Summits include individuals and organizations active in the Urban Animal Industry. Nominations are confirmed by the Urban Animal Action Council, who review the nominations, voting, process and results to ensure the established criteria are met and that no nominating or voting irregularities are present. The decision of the Action Council with respect to these matters is final.

This year's award program signified the most involvement from urban animal subscribers to date, with 35 nominees in 12 categories and an outstanding 16,144 ballots cast in the process. Thank you to everyone who nominated, voted and helped recognize the initiatives and accomplishments of all the nominees.

Continue to read InfoStream as we announce the winners of:

Breeder

Collaborators

Communicator

Community

Distinguished Service Provider

Homing

Individual Achievement

Lifetime Achievement

Pet Owner

Retailer

Sheltering

and Wellness Summit Awards.

2015 Summit Awards - Communicator of the Year

The Communicator of the Year Award recognizes an organization that develops a concept and successfully delivers compelling content to promotes a better environment for urban animals. Nominate someone today! 

Previous winners of the Communication Summit Award:

• 2010 - Dogs in Canada Magazine
• 2011 - Nova Scotia SPCA
• 2012 - Ontario SPCA - Alison Cross
• 2013 - Associate Veterinary Clinics (Jane Takahashi) for recognizing the need and for establishing programs that enhance the pet owner experience at AVC hospitals and clinics across Canada.
• 2014 - Rodney Habib, Planet Paws Pet Essentials for his success in pet nutrition blogging and social media.

The Urban Animal program’s mission is to illuminate successful strategies for urban animals and to provide recognition for those who lead and innovate. The Summit Awards are an essential element of delivering on this mission. The Summits are presented annually using an academy style system of nominations followed by an open polling process.

For more information about the awards, process or merit criteria please visit Urban Animal.