UnitedHealthcare’s CFO Secures Top North Carolina Business Awards

UnitedHealthcare’s CFO Secures Top North Carolina Business Awards

For most large companies, it is a struggle to find the balance between positioning themselves as both a national yet local company in the many communities they serve. While people are often familiar with these national companies at a high level, they are much less likely to connect with what the company is doing in their home state. By adding a local touch, national companies and organizations can create strong ties with the local communities they operate in. To help promote UnitedHealthcare's local presence, we strategized with Beth Kasai, Chief Financial Officer for UnitedHealthcare of the Carolinas, to identify opportunities to enter local business awards.

As an employee of UnitedHealthcare for more than two decades, Beth Kasai has a wide range of work experience and involvement in local community. From an actuary to top exec, Beth has a great story to tell and we were eager to share it. By entering Beth into local business awards, we had an opportunity to showcase her business achievements and community outreach while also demonstrating UnitedHealthcare's presence in North Carolina.

Largemouth Communications helped submit Beth for two top business awards in the area: the Triad Business Journal's Women in Business Awards and the 2014 Financial Executive of the Year Awards. After helping craft Beth's story, it's no surprise that Beth won both awards!

These awards reinforced UnitedHealthcare's presence in the local community, helping to localize a national name. Alongside effective media outreach, this strategy is a powerful tool for helping showcase your client and building their brand. If you are considering entering your company into local awards, here are three best practices to follow:

  • Plan ahead. Awards take time and, very often, several people are involved in the process. Don't wait until one week before the submission is due. Give yourself at least three weeks in advance to begin drafting the award. These awards require smart, thoughtful responses. You'll be grateful you started early!

  • Do your research. Don't just enter your company into any and every business award you stumble upon. Think strategically about WHY you should enter this award and HOW your company or executive is a good fit. As mentioned earlier, these awards take time so you want to make sure you are going after the best opportunities.

  • Expand your reach. Very often, the organization will promote the award and its winners through their website and social media channels. But don't just stop there. Use your own media channels to share this award with your audiences. For instance, if the awards organization has a Twitter account, tag them in a tweet about the awards to expand the reach of your message. If you are going to put in the effort to submit an award (and win), make sure you are doing everything you can to promote it!

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Posted By Heidi Deja

Heidi has a habit of staying connected at all hours of the day and night, so don’t be surprised to see a news clip in your inbox that she found at 5 a.m. When she finally does disconnect from work, it usually means she’s on a 15-hour flight to some adventure in the southern hemisphere.