The American Society of Association Executives announced today the winners of its 2021 Gold Circle Awards, which denote excellence, innovation and achievement in association/nonprofit marketing, membership and communications programs. PPB’s supplement, The Playbook To Restart Businesses, won the award in the e-magazine category.

This year’s Gold Circle competition drew a record-breaking 300 submissions across 15 categories and involved more than 100 judges from a variety of associations, nonprofits and for-profit organizations to evaluate this year’s entries.

The 2021 Gold Circle Award winners will be recognized in a virtual ceremony on June 4 during ASAE’s 2021 Marketing, Membership & Communications Conference (MMCC).

“The ASAE Gold Circle Award is the epitome of excellence and we are honored that our publication has earned such high recognition,” says Tina Berres Filipski, PPAI director of publications/editor. The Playbook To Restart Businesses, produced in July 2020, is designed to give distributors fresh ideas for using promotional products to help clients reopen their businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two versions are available for free download (one for distributors and one without supplier resources for buyers) from the PPAI Media site.

Jill Treby, chair of ASAE’s Gold Circle Awards Committee and senior director of membership and marketing at the Association for Psychological Science, says, “We are thrilled to have received so many submissions. We had no idea what to expect for this GCA cycle, but association professionals turned challenges into opportunities and the work did not stop in 2020.”

The 2021 Gold Circle Award winners are:

Overall Excellence Award Winner
American Nurses Association: ANA Member Acquisition COVID Surge

Advocacy Campaign
Radiology Business Management Association: Preventing the Proposed 11% Cuts to Radiology

Convention/Meetings Marketing Campaign
American Nurses Association: ANCC Virtual Summit™

Digital Content
North Carolina Nurses Association: 2020 Nurses Week

E-Magazine
Promotional Products Association International: The Playbook to Restart Businesses

E-Newsletter
Infectious Diseases Society of America: IDSA News COVID-19 Edition

Media/Public Relations Campaign
Wisconsin Restaurant Association: Ready to Serve Safely

Member Retention Campaign
American College of Radiology: ACR 2020 Member Retention Campaign – Your JOURNEY to Radiologic Excellence

Membership Recruitment Campaign
American Nurses Association: ANA Member Acquisition COVID Surge

Member/Volunteer Engagement Campaign
National Certification Commission for Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine: NCCAOM COVID-19 Diplomate Resource and Outreach

New Product/Service Launch
Professional Management Associates LLC: Cat Friendly Certificate Program

Print Magazine
NHIA: INFUSION magazine

Rebranding Campaign
California Water Environment Association: CWEA, Champions of Wastewater

Sponsorship/Exhibits/Advertising Promotion
Building Owners and Managers Association of Georgia: BOMA Show Enhanced Exposure Experience

Video
American Bankers Association: Banks Step Up Video

Website
Infectious Diseases Society of America: COVID-19 Real-Time Learning Network

The Gold Circle Awards Committee also recognized 14 organizations for a Merit Award, a distinguished recognition for applicants that had a very strong submission and project. The 2021 Merit Award winners are:

Advocacy Campaign
American Pharmacists Association: Campaign to Expand Pharmacists’ Practice Authority During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Digital Content
American Bankers Association: #BanksNeverAskThat Anti-Phishing Campaign
American Psychological Association: “Speaking of Psychology,” podcast

Media/Public Relations Campaign
Association of Equipment Manufacturers Headquarters: Crisis Communications & Public Relations in support of CONEXPO-CON/AGG 2020
National Foundation for Infectious Diseases: #StopTheSpread: COVID-19, Influenza, and Pneumococcal Disease
RBFF: Inspiring Americans to Leave Pandemic Stress in Their Wake

Member Retention Campaign
American Health Information Management Association: Premier Upgrade Membership Renewal

Member/Volunteer Engagement Campaign
American Medical Association: AMA Ambassador Program
International Association of Bomb Technicians and Investigators: IABTI: See you on Webinar Wednesday!

New Product/Service Launch
International Spa Association: ISPA Spa Reopening Toolkit
National Society of Black Engineers: An Opportunity to Support Social Justice - the NSBE ALL IN Summit

Rebranding Campaign
Hartford Medical Society: Reviving the Hartford Medical Society

Website
American Association of Anatomists: Website: anatomy.org
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: ACOG Website

ASAE is a membership organization of more than 48,000 association executives and industry partners representing 7,400 organizations. Since it was established 100 years ago, its members have and continue to lead, manage and work in or partner with organizations in more than a dozen association management disciplines, from executive management to finance to technology. With the support of the ASAE Research Foundation, a separate nonprofit entity, ASAE is the premier source of learning, knowledge, and future-oriented research for the association and nonprofit profession and provides resources, education, ideas, and advocacy to enhance the power and performance of the association and nonprofit community. The Gold Circle Awards are sponsored by HighRoad Solutions, an association-specific digital marketing agency that helps associations leverage email marketing and marketing automation to grow revenue.