Dubai, United Arab Emirates; 07 November 2015 – Aster DM Healthcare’s high impact My Health My Pledge wellness initiative was honoured with the Communications Campaign of the Year award at the recently conclude Daman Corporate Health Awards, the UAE’s first recognition programme honouring wellness initiatives in the workplace.

The My Health My Pledge campaign was aimed at encouraging the public to adopt a healthier lifestyle and make them more conscious. It identified a number of activities that people can incorporate into their lifestyles, such as drinking more water, taking the stairs, going for a walk or jog, and eating salads, which can make a huge difference towards improving and maintaining good health.

“This is a truly commendable initiative from Aster DM Healthcare, and deserves the recognition for engaging the broader community through an effective communications strategy, which is a critical aspect of having a successful wellness initiative, as it needs a committed buy-in from stakeholders that can only be effectively secured with the right messaging using a variety of communication tools and channels,” says Dr. Michael Bitzer, CEO, National Health Insurance Company-Daman.

The campaign ran for three months from December 2014 to February 2015 during which more than 190,000 people from the UAE, Oman, Qatar, and other parts of the world participated in the campaign by pledging to make a change in their lifestyle.

The success of the project was due in large part to its communications strategy and implementation, which included enlisting famous personalities such as Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar as well as Pakistani cricketers Misbah-ul-Haq, Shahid Afridi, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Umar Gul, Umar Akmal, Ahmed Shehzad and Sohail Tanvir. It also used strategically used a variety of tools and outlets (including broadcast, print, PR, digital, mobile or integrated multi-media) to deliver the message of the campaign and generate as many pledges as possible.

“Corporate health practices are only catching on in the UAE of late, and with Aster DM Healthcare’s successful communications initiative, could only boost awareness of the significance and beneficial impact of employee wellness programmes in the workplace,” says Becky Crayman, Head of Awards, MEED.

Other winners of the Daman Corporate Health Awards feted at a ceremony held at the Westin Mina Seyahi Beach Resort & Marina include Dubai Holding (Daman Award for Corporate Health and Wellness ‘Organization’ Award and the Corporate Wellness Team of the Year Award), Unilever Gulf FZE (CSR Employee Engagement of the Year as well as Health & Safety Initiative of the Year Awards), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (Daman Award for Corporate Health and Wellness Initiative Award), Lamprell Energy Limited (Daman Award for Improved Corporate Health and Wellness Performance Award), Roche Diagnostics Middle East (Innovation in Work Culture Award), DHL Express UAE, (Workplace of the Year Award); and Dr. Abdulla Al Karam, Chairman of the Board of Directors and Director General of the Knowledge and Human Development Authority (Corporate Wellness Leader of the Year Award).