The winners of “The VETTYs”, the first and only marketing competition dedicated to animal health, were revealed at the NAVC Conference held in Orlando, Florida February 4-7, 2017. The North American Veterinary Community, the leading non-profit organization committed to supporting the growth and development of the veterinary health care community, introduced the annual competition last year.

Animal health is a nearly $60 billion industry in the United States. The VETTYs is the first marketing award show that focuses on the marketing, public relations, digital, social, design and creative work created on its behalf. As the awards nickname suggests, The VETTYs are focused on products and services available through veterinarians or that support the veterinary profession, including pharmaceuticals, pet foods, diagnostic equipment, professional associations, pet advocate organizations and more.

“Just as the NAVC supports and celebrates the advancement of veterinary medicine, we wanted to recognize the dedication, intelligence and creativity of North America’s animal health marketing teams and agencies,” said NAVC CEO Tom Bohn.

“For years, we’ve seen great work created to support our industry, only to see it be overlooked by other award shows and marketing outlets. It’s a real honor for us to be able to shine a spotlight on the women and men who create all of this powerful and meaningful work that does so much to support both pet health and our industry’s overall growth and success.”

In all, the competition produced 35 Gold, 40 Silver and 73 Bronze awards to veterinary-focused companies and associations and their marketing agencies. The NAVC then revealed the VETTYs Grand Prizes in a special presentation held before the conference’s traditional Monday night concert presented by Merck Animal Health, which this year featured Gramm Award-winning recording artist Darius Rucker.

Canada’s Cat Healthy, in conjunction with their agency Woodruff Sweitzer, nabbed the Best of Show Award (Non-Profit) for their “That’s Cat For…” public awareness campaign. Zoetis and their agency partner Guidemark Health received the Best of Show Award (For-Profit) for their “SimparicaTM (sarolaner) Early Mailer” entry.

Judge’s Awards went to Abaxis and their agency Access TCA; Merck Animal Health and Stein IAS; and Merial, a Boehringer Ingelheim company, and their marketing partner Shepherd. The Spotlight Award, chosen by NAVC leadership, went to greyhealth group’s tradeshow booth for Hill’s Pet Nutrition.

Said Bohn, “We are thrilled by the level of participation and the response to this year’s VETTYs. We’re already working on ways to make Year 2 even better, so stay tuned…and keep the great work coming.”