Devon Health Services

Company: Devon Health Services
Company Description: Devon Health Services, Inc. is a National Health Care Cost Management Company and Preferred Provider Organization that offers complete healthcare benefit programs customized to meet each client’s specific needs.
Nomination Category: Individual Awards Categories
Nomination Sub Category: Best Marketer

Nomination Title: Jessica Parker-Smith, Director of Marketing and Public Relations

   1. Tell the story about what this nominee achieved in 2004 (up to 500 words). Focus on specific accomplishments, and relate these accomplishments to past performance or industry norms. Be sure to mention obstacles overcome, innovations or discoveries made, and outcomes:

In 2004, Ms. Smith worked closely with the company’s executive management. 
She established brand-building initiatives to three main target audiences (client,
provider and member), created company-marketing items, and managed their
distribution through fax, e-mail, and mail campaigns.   She spear-headed
researching advertising opportunities, maintained web site and Intranet content,
and scheduled conferences and seminars.  She established joint-marketing
initiative program with PPO preferred providers, designed and published media
advertisements, and she managed company projects and relationships for optimal
performance and cost containment.

Several major events took place in 2004.  The Marketing and Public Relations
department expanded from three employees to seven.  Ms. Smith was able to hire
additional marketers and a graphic designer.  With the new hires came new
projects.  One of which is the Market Research Team.  This team is dedicated to
providing information, on a variety of topics, to those who need it.  Some examples
are competitive analysis, market trends, possible partnerships and product
overviews.  The second initiative is expanded media relations through press
release writing, whiter papers, and health-related articles.  One of the major PR
goals of 2005 will be the launch of the Devon Wellness Seminars program that
brings together providers and employees in an educational setting.  Providers are
currently being contacted.   Finally, with the addition of the graphic designer,
Devon is now able to take their marketing materials to the next level with a more
streamlined, professional look.  With this, also came the establishment of the
Sales Presentation in 2004 built entirely in Flash MX.  This presentation is
interactive, pleasing to look at, and simple to use.  Devon plans to launch an
entire series of presentations to various audiences in 2005.  See the sales presentation link for more information.

Ms. Smith skills as innovator and leader are the drivers for each of these projects
she and her department have accomplished in 2004.  Her ability to identify and
harness talent, see corporate needs and meet them, and the ability to develop and
implement her visions are the reason for her success.  She is a true motivator and
extremely creative.  Ms. Smith built a department from the ground up that is
impacting revenue and advancing Devon’s brand and corporate image.  She is an
invaluable resource at Devon.

   2. List hyperlinks to any online news stories, press releases, or other documents that support the claims made in the section above. IMPORTANT: List each link on a separate line, begin each link with http://, and enclose each link in square brackets; for example, [http://www.website.com]:

http://www.devonhealth.com/sales_presentation/default.html
http://www.devonhealth.com/
http://www.devonhealth.com/pages/corp_headquarters/media_inquiries/press_release.html
http://dev.www.devonhealth.com/newsletter/default.htm

   3. Provide a brief (up to 100 words) biography about this nominee:

Jessica Parker-Smith has 7 years managed care experience with Devon. She
graduated from West Chester University in 1995 with a degree in Social Work and
Studio Art. At Devon, Ms. Smith went from an entry-level position to the
director of two growing and thriving departments: Marketing/ Public Relations and Client Services.  In the Marketing and Public Relations Department, a department she created from scratch, Ms. Smith focuses on brand development, company
promotion, and the development of the company culture.  She was instrumental in
the formation of the Client Services department, establishing many of the policies
and procedures in use today.