3 examples of content marketing excellence
A deeper look at Ragan Award-winning campaigns.

A great content marketing campaign shows us that there’s more than one way to share a story. Variety in platforms, tactics and strategy help the best campaigns stand head and shoulders above the rest, informing audiences about a product, service or organization.
We’ve selected three 2024 Ragan PR Daily Content Marketing Awards winners to showcase strategies behind the selected entries. We’re focusing on the best campaigns to emerge from the field for this edition of our awards showcase. Remember to fill out your application by the February 21 deadline to apply to next year’s awards edition.
Best DEI Strategy Campaign: Hensel Phelps, “Building Together”
The background: When Hensel Phelps wanted to showcase diversity in its workplace, it turned to the people who make up the organization to tell their stories.
The “Building Together” campaign had a twofold goal at the outset. First, it aimed to educate employees about the diverse backgrounds of the company’s employee base. Second, it strived to create meaningful dialogues about the value of inclusion and differences in the modern workplace.
Once a month, a different Hensel Phelps office takes the reins in creating content for the campaign, whether it’s about Black History Month, community involvement or another DEI-related subject that ties into that office’s employees. The stories of employee interaction with diversity efforts are shared on social media, showcasing the company’s commitment to diversity to prospective clients and employees.
Additionally, there’s an internal element of the campaign, dubbed “Toolbox Talk.” This begins with emails and posts on the intranet to get the discussion going, and content highlights like a customized workout plan for Men’s Health Month and a virtual cookbook celebrating the many cultures of the company’s employees. In addition, a video series for both internal and external audiences shows the first-hand experiences of the company’s employees, highlighting both the diversity of backgrounds and experience.
The campaign has found considerable success. The campaign’s videos have earned over 82,000 views and garnered positive employee feedback.
The takeaway: Diversity can manifest itself in many ways in a workplace. Telling the story of your employees’ rich backgrounds is best done through varied platforms, both internally and externally.
Best Influencer Marketing Campaign: American Cleaning Institute, “Class of Clean: Parents Weekend”
The background: When one thinks of a college dorm room, cleanliness isn’t likely the first thing that comes to mind. But with these potential messes, the American Cleaning Institute found an opportunity. In July 2023, it launched the “Class of Clean: Parents Weekend” campaign, encouraging parents to talk to their kids about proper cleanliness before they headed off to college in the fall.
The campaign began with a survey of parents of undergraduate students. The survey found that parents felt a lack of motivation (56%) or time (46%) were factors behind not cleaning up. With concrete data in tow, the American Cleaning Institute next turned to influencers to reach this ultra-connected generation of students and their parents via social media. The chosen influencers included:
- Harlan Cohen, author of “The Naked Roommate,” a book about the challenges new college students face.
- Grown and Flown, two mothers of teens that provide advice to other parents.
- Mason Shipp, a football player at Yale who gives tips to students about how they can stay healthy and safe on campus via TikTok.
- Morgan Long, a student at James Madison University who explains her Sunday cleaning routine on TikTok.
These four influencers reached an audience of 2.7 million people. Their work secured over 100,000 views and more than 1,000 clicks to the Class of Clean home page.
The takeaway: Stories can be boosted by niche influencers. They can help your message break through to audiences you might not have been able to crack before.
Best Public Health Campaign: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), “Talk. They Hear You.”
The background: The dangers of excessive alcohol consumption can be especially problematic for those under the age of 21. Despite what television and movies might have you believe, when parents talk openly about underage drinking, their kids often listen.
SAMHSA’s original focus for the “Talk. They Hear You.” program was on kids from ages 9 to 15 and helping parents talk about the realities of alcohol consumption. Research shows that the older kids get, the more willing they are to experiment. For instance, almost 70% of high school students will have tried alcohol by their senior year.
With this in mind, SAMHSA expanded the scope of the campaign to include all people under 21 and their parents and guardians. The aim is to arm parents with knowledge of underage drinking’s dangers and give them the skills and confidence to talk about it with their kids. The increased scope of the campaign includes tools like PSAs, written guides for parents, resources on a YouTube channel, and more.
The campaign sends out a monthly email newsletter to over 1,500 local partners across the United States with updated data and resources like fact sheets and guides on how to answer tough questions from kids about drinking underage. In addition, the campaign has branched out to equip parents with the knowledge to talk about the dangers of underage marijuana consumption and opioid abuse.
The takeaway: Having the right data and skills at hand can be a major asset when you need to have a tough conversation.
Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time, he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.