-- CommonHealth Becomes First CLIO Healthcare Awards Sponsor --

New York, July 1, 2009 – The Nielsen Company, a leading global information and media company and the CLIO Awards, one of the world's most recognized international advertising and design competitions, announced today that the first-ever CLIO Healthcare Awards is now accepting online entry submissions at www.CLIOHealthcare.com. The submission deadline is August 7, 2009 for all work appearing between January 1, 2008 and June 30, 2009.

“We are looking forward to seeing the creative and innovative work of healthcare advertising and communication professionals,” said Karl Vontz, Director of Events, AdweekMedia Events and CLIO Awards, The Nielsen Company.  “It is our hope that CLIO can help to raise the bar in creative excellence in an industry that is so highly regulated.”

CommonHealth, one of the world’s leading healthcare communications companies with a network of 14 business units with expertise in every discipline of healthcare and a broad range therapeutic categories, has agreed to become the first sponsor of the 2009 CLIO Healthcare Awards program to be held in New York City this October.

The CLIO Healthcare Awards will honor creative excellence and innovation in advertising and communications in the healthcare industry.  The entry system recognizes the differences in advertising that is direct to professional versus direct to consumer and covers the key areas of the healthcare industry, including pharmaceuticals, device and diagnostics, disease awareness, over the counter, and health services with an opportunity to submit for print, poster, billboard, direct mail, innovative, interactive, TV/cinema/digital, radio, strategic communications/public relations and integrated campaigns.  Full details on the entry process and qualifications can be found at www.CLIOHealthcare.com.

“The stellar reputation of the CLIO Awards is well known in the advertising community.  CLIO’s presence in the healthcare advertising arena is a very welcome addition,” said Matt Giegerich, president and CEO of CommonHealth.  “CommonHealth is both thrilled and honored to sponsor this inaugural event.”

About The CLIO Healthcare Awards
The CLIO Healthcare Awards is an extension of The CLIO Awards, one of the world’s most recognized awards competitions for advertising, design and interactive, which celebrated its 50^th Anniversary in 2009.  They were created because healthcare accounts for more than one-third of the U.S. gross national product and has become one of the most visible sectors of advertising, promotion and creative design in the last few years, particularly on TV and online. 

The awards also acknowledge and account for the fact that healthcare advertising and communications has become critical to the health and well being of the nation and is regulated differently and more stringently than traditional advertising and promotion.  The CLIO Healthcare Awards will be executed using the same rigorous standards and commitment to excellence, but levels the playing field to qualify and judge this particular and massive industry sector more fairly and appropriately.  The CLIO Awards and CLIO Healthcare Awards are produced by Nielsen Business Media, a part of The Nielsen Company, a global information and media company.  For more information about the CLIO Healthcare Awards, go to www.CLIOHealthcare.com.  Follow the CLIO Healthcare Awards on your favorite social networks: Twitter, LinkedIn, and Facebook.

About The Nielsen Company
The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in New York, USA. For more information, please visit www.nielsen.com.

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