Stevie-winner Otus is an educational technology company helping K-12 educators to harness and act on educational data to improve learner outcomes.

Otus provides educators with one platform to gather, visualize, and act on data. With an integrated suite of assessment and grading tools, educators can easily determine where students are now and use data to drive instruction and personalized learning plans forward.

Otus was created and built for teachers, by teachers. It saves educators time through the streamlined integration of assessment, performance tracking, and third-party data, while its gradebook and dashboard reports make it easier for teachers, administrators, and families to understand each student’s growth.

Since its conception in a Chicago middle school classroom in 2013, Otus has been adopted by over 2,500 schools across the United States and has delivered improved results for more than 1 million learners. Recently passing its 10th anniversary, Otus continues to improve and expand its team, its product, and its support of educators nationwide.

Developing the All-in-One Platform
Chris Hull—or “Chull” as his colleagues refer to him—is the Co-Founder and President of Otus. While the team has grown to include over 50      passionate members, Chris is still just as involved in the direction of the product and is as passionate about helping improve K-12 education as he was on day one.

Since Otus made its first sale to a public school system in 2016, the product and the company have both evolved in a myriad of ways, but Chris remains focused on putting educators first, viewing everything the company does from an educator’s perspective.

While most ed-tech solutions address one area of learning, such as assessment or grading, Otus addresses and enhances every step of the learning process. As an all-in-one, integrated platform, Otus eliminates the issue of scattered, siloed student data that plagues K-12 education, as well as the issues that come with implementing and maintaining multiple different ed-tech platforms.

With over 80,000 education apps available in the United States, educators have an abundance of options when it comes to choosing tools to help them in the classroom. Many tech giants such as Google and Microsoft have also released products that compete with Otus. For a company that just began selling to school districts in 2016, Otus has done an exceptional job of breaking into what is a vast and competitive ed-tech market.

In recent years, inflation has impacted school budgets, which has forced administrators to take a hard look at the software they use and, if need be, eliminate subscriptions to services that no longer serve them. For the year 2022, Otus had a net retention of 109.5%, which the company attributes to the quality of the product, service to users, and the reasonable price point per student.

During a time when tech companies across the board are letting employees go in droves, Otus has not only retained its staff but continues to grow its teams. This is an indication not only of the financial vitality of the company but also of employee satisfaction and their belief in Otus’ mission and vision.

As a company comprised largely of former educators, the team at Otus knows exactly what tools educators need and what quality ed-tech looks like. Their belief in the future of the company indicates that Otus is providing a service that speaks to educators and their ever-evolving needs.

Continued Evolution
Thanks to Otus’ continued commitment to listening to customer voices, the product has evolved into a comprehensive suite of integrated tools that truly benefits educators each day in the classroom.

Otus is constantly working to improve its offerings to better serve educators and students, not only through new enhancements to the platform and growth of its support teams but also by partnering with leading education organizations and integrating with other world-class ed-tech products. For example, in the last year, Otus has built new partnerships with respected ed-tech providers such as CenterPoint Education Solutions and Skyward, meaning more integrations that enhance users’ experience in the platform and, in some instances, make Otus easily accessible to users of partner platforms.

But while new partnerships and improvements to the platform can be indicators of success, there is no better source of truth than the customers themselves. According to a recent survey of Otus users, 98% say that Otus makes them more efficient educators—saving them an average of two hours every week. Additionally, Otus boasts a 98% chat approval rating and a response time of under three minutes. 

Otus is invested in the success of its users—from the district administrators and teachers to the students and families they serve. Otus says they are determined to provide a service that not only improves the K-12 education system but maximizes outcomes for the students who rely on it.

Otus's Co-founder and President Chris Hull won a Silver Stevie Award for Technology Executive of the Year; and Otus won two Bronze Stevie Awards for Customer Service Department of the Year and Company of the Year - Computer Software - Medium in The 2023 American Business Awards^®.

Interested in entering The 2024 American Business Awards^®?

Stevie-winner Prudential Financial Inc., is a global insurance company with operations spanning the United States, Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Offering a diverse range of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds, and investment management, Prudential has positioned itself as a driving force in the financial industry.

In response to an increasing demand for financial advice, Prudential launched "Stages for Retirement," an initiative driven by customer needs and designed with a customer-centric approach. The platform combines digital tools with access to a team of seasoned advisors, allowing users to receive personalized advice at their convenience. The online experience not only helps users envision their ideal retirement but also provides a proprietary confidence score to benchmark their readiness.

Recognizing the changing landscape where more Americans seek financial advice with varying preferences (i.e., online, virtual, or face-to-face), Prudential has reimagined its direct-to-consumer business model to stay relevant in an industry experiencing newfound flexibility.

The platform's agility and responsiveness to customer needs were evident in the rapid launch of "Stages for Retirement" in less than a year. This venture followed a meticulous three-phase approach, involving validation, discovery, and building the minimum viable product. The strategy included comprehensive testing, interviews, surveys, and prototype iterations, ensuring a harmonious alignment between customer needs and Prudential's expertise.

In a departure from traditional corporate approaches, Prudential embraced an agile startup mindset, seeking co-creation with customers through extensive testing and research. The Retirement Confidence Score, a unique differentiator, evaluates users' retirement readiness across key drivers and allows them to track their progress.

Prudential Financial won a Gold Stevie Award for Best Mobile Web & App in the Financial Services category and a Bronze Stevie Award for Achievement in Product Innovation in The 2023 American Business Awards^®.

Interested in entering The 2024 American Business Awards^®?

Prudential Stages is an umbrella marketing name for Pruco Securities LLC, (sometimes referred to as “Pruco”) under the marketing name Prudential Financial Planning Services (PFPS), pursuant to a separate agreement.  Investment advisory products and services are made available through Pruco, a registered investment adviser.

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Stevie-winner Black Knight, now part of ICE, is a leading provider of technology for the mortgage and real estate sectors. They offer a range of solutions that support the entire lifecycle of the mortgage loan process, including loan origination, servicing, and default management.

In September 2021, the company launched the LoanCatcher® loan origination system (LOS) to give independent mortgage brokers quality origination tools that could rival those used by even large financial institutions.

LoanCatcher Cloud-based Solution
To fully appreciate LoanCatcher, some context is needed. Mortgage brokers work with multiple wholesale lenders to help borrowers find the best loan products for their individual situations. As independent agents, mortgage brokers have the unique challenge of acting as an organization unto themselves—simultaneously juggling the responsibilities of loan advisor, customer service, marketing, operations and IT—with limited resources.

LoanCatcher solves mortgage brokers’ many challenges by folding multiple award-winning lending technologies into an all-in-one, easy-to-use LOS. Entirely cloud-based, LoanCatcher gives brokers affordable access to the same caliber of technology used by the nation’s largest and most successful lenders. In addition to a top-tier LOS, other core components of LoanCatcher include:

Point of sale
LoanCatcher’s white-labeled digital lending portal makes it easy for borrowers to complete their applications, uploading and eSigning documents from anywhere. The user-friendly interface is and helps create a positive consumer experience from the first step.

Customer relationship management (CRM) and marketing platform
LoanCatcher is integrated with Surefire^SM, the mortgage industry’s most-used CRM and marketing automation platform. Adding Surefire to LoanCatcher’s origination workflow means brokers can automatically send borrowers reminders and milestone updates as the loan progresses. Surefire also contains a library of creative content, with automated marketing campaigns designed to nurture leads, educate borrowers about the financing process and maintain client relationships after their loans have closed to improve recapture efforts down the line.

Product pricing engine (PPE)
LoanCatcher saves brokers the hassle of combing through loan product pricing sheets with seamless integration of the Loansifter® PPE. With Loansifter, brokers can instantly compare rates and product pricing across 120 wholesale investors to execute competitive, profitable lending strategies.

Workflow and Document Management
Pre-defined and configurable workflows allow brokers to work smarter and create an end-to-end origination process. Its easy-to-use document repository and communication tools support effective collaboration across teams.

After a broker’s loans are originated, LoanCatcher will automatically transfer files to wholesale lenders with supported integrations. System-agnostic, standardized files can also be downloaded and delivered to any wholesale lender, no matter their platform.

LoanCatcher is a single, cost-effective platform that puts brokers back in charge of their business. It helps them turn loans faster, provide a better consumer experience and grow their customer base.

Since Winning a Stevie^® Award
In the past 18 months, LoanCatcher has enhanced its borrower-facing point of sale with lead generation tools and automated marketing workflows designed to nurture leads, educate borrowers about the financing process, and maintain client relationships after close. Brokers now have access to interactive interest rate comparison tools and mortgage calculators to engage prospective homebuyers as they research financing a home.

Also new to LoanCatcher are plug-and-play automated marketing campaigns that let brokers elevate their brand and achieve major marketing impact with minimal hands-on effort. Multichannel workflows that include interactive video, graphic, and narrative content distributed over email, text, phone, and direct mail to drive borrower interest and engagement.

Black Knight won a Silver Stevie Award for Best FinTech Solution in The 2023 American Business Awards^®.

Interested in entering The 2024 American Business Awards^®?

Stevie-winner BB Imaging is a large independent provider of high-risk obstetrical ultrasound.

BB Imaging was founded in 2005 to bring high-quality, compassionate, and complete ultrasound care to patients across a spectrum of needs. Through the development of working relationships with healthcare providers, BB Imaging services patients in a variety of settings and circumstances, including rural locations across Kansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Florida, Washington, Virginia, and Texas.

BB Imaging’s mission is to improve health outcomes by making high-quality ultrasound services accessible to all women regardless of their zip code or economic status. To do this, they partner with physicians, clinics, and hospitals to provide full-service, turnkey ultrasound departments that provide the highest level of ultrasound care and diagnostic accuracy.

They also developed TeleScan^®, a SaaS offering that brings expert sonography care to even the remotest of locations. Teleultrasound, or telesonography, refers to the use of telemedicine technology to perform and analyze ultrasounds remotely. A healthcare professional in one location performs the exam, and a telesonographer in another location provides diagnostics and a preliminary report. The report will be passed to a provider, who relays results to the patient.

TeleScan is focused on high-risk obstetrical care. While remote ultrasound solutions exist for cardiovascular care, the complexity of scanning a "body inside of a body" has garnered few competitors. Even fewer competitors have solved for the complexity of maternal-fetal ultrasound, the sonographer shortage, and the accessibility of equipment.

Both these care models connect underserved or understaffed areas with expert sonographers, flex to meet patient demand, and improve patient outcomes through early detection. Both models also rely on partnerships with physicians, clinics, and hospitals.

Seventeen years ago, their journey began with a single obstetrician. Starting services in Austin, Texas, in 2006, they have since expanded. In 2013, they ventured into the Indian Health System in Oklahoma, later adding Kansas and Missouri in 2019. Recently, New Mexico joined the list, and they then expanded into four new states: Florida, Washington, Oregon, and Virginia.

In July 2022, Sonoquick, a cardiac ultrasound service provider, partnered with BB Imaging. They have since added expert cardiac sonographers to the Texas team. This exponential growth positions BB Imaging as a prominent independent provider of high-risk obstetrical ultrasound services on a national scale.

BB Imaging won a Silver Stevie^® Award for Minority-Owned Business of the Year in The 2023 American Business Awards^®.

Interested in entering The 2024 American Business Awards^®?

Stevie-winner 5W Public Relations (5WPR), based in New York City, is a full-service public relations (PR) agency renowned for its comprehensive and results-driven approach.

Specializing in strategic communications, the agency covers a wide spectrum of industries, including consumer goods, technology, healthcare, beauty, lifestyle, and more. With a commitment to delivering impactful campaigns, 5WPR leverages its expertise in media relations, influencer marketing, digital strategy, and event planning to craft compelling narratives that resonate with target audiences.

The agency prides itself on its ability to navigate the ever-evolving media landscape, securing placements in top-tier outlets and effectively managing crisis communications when needed.

Boasting a client-centric philosophy, 5WPR tailors its strategies to meet the unique needs and goals of each client, ensuring a customized and dynamic approach to PR that drives brand visibility, enhances reputation, and ultimately contributes to business success.

As an employer, 5W believes in the power of giving back to the communities in which we live and work. They encourage and support employees in their philanthropic efforts by providing PTO specifically to volunteer, as well as matching monetary donations to a variety of charities.

Through their 5W University training program, they also strive to ensure employees are always learning and growing, from enhancing PR skills to leadership development. Senior leaders guide employees at all levels through a range of training sessions.

Nurturing Tomorrow's Leaders
5WPR Co-CEO Matthew Caiola has been a driving force since joining the agency—especially since 2021—transforming 5WPR, alongside Co-CEO Dara Busch, into a company built for the future with significant strides in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DE&I) in workplace culture, employee benefits, and career support.

Matthew quickly moved through the ranks, and after 13 years, was promoted to Co-CEO in February 2022, making him the youngest CEO of a Top 10 PR agency in the United States. Matthew has been a key leader of teams responsible for the reputation of some of the most sophisticated companies and visible public figures in the world, along with emerging brands and technologies.

A hallmark of Matthew’s career has been leading and scaling teams. As he progressed quickly through the staff ranks into leadership, Matt took over 5WPR’s emerging technology practice, leading that team to 50%+ growth each year, for three years. As a result, 5W attracted marquee brands like Amazon, Samsung, and VIZIO.

Matt has spearheaded numerous initiatives to enhance 5W's commitment to DE&I. These efforts include forging recruiting partnerships with Historically Black Colleges and Universities, establishing a DE&I staff committee to assess 5W's performance, revamping the approved-vendor list to include minority and women-owned businesses, elevating the charitable donation match for DE&I-focused causes, and introducing a new leadership role within the company for Head of People & Culture to drive further transformation.

5WPR won a Gold and Bronze Stevie Awards for Best Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing – Consumer Products; Public Relations Agency of the Year; and 5WPR's Matthew Caiola won a Silver Stevie Award for Best Communications, Investor Relations, or PR Executive of the Year in The 2023 American Business Awards^®.

Interested in entering The 2024 American Business Awards^®?

Twenty outstanding technology executives from across the United States have been named Finalists in four HCLTech Supercharging Progress categories in The 21st Annual American Business Awards®, the top honors for achievement in the workplace in the USA.

A jury of technology professionals from around the world will determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie® Award placements from among the Finalists. The placements will be revealed during The American Business Awards’ banquet at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City on Tuesday, June 13.

The Finalists are:

Excellence in Transforming Business
Finalists:
Fiserv Inc., Brookfield, Wisconsin: Samir Ghuge, Head Strategy & Planning, Office of COO
Marriott International, Memphis, Tennessee: Naveen Manga, CTO
Papa Johns, Louisville, Kentucky: Yasaswi Pulavarti, VP, Digital Transformation and Engineering
Tenet Healthcare, Dallas, Texas: Paola Arbour, CIO
Verizon, Irving, Texas: Senthil Muthusamy, VP
WestRock Fulfillment Company, Duluth, Georgia: Joseph Hinkle, Vice President

Leadership in Next Gen Technology
Finalists:
Canadian Tire Corporation, Toronto, Ontario, Canada: Linda Siksna, SVP
Legend Biotech, Somerset, New Jersey: Dadong Li, Head of Information Technology
Sonoco Products Company, Hartsville, South Carolina: Andrea White, CIO
Verizon, New York, New York: Praveen Atreya, VP

Leading Through Uncertainty
Finalists:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of NC, Durham, North Carolina: Jo Abernathy, Chief Information Officer
Disney Parks Experience and Products, Orlando, Florida: Gail Evans, EVP-Chief Digital & Technology Officer
Ford Motor Company, Dearborn, Michigan: Sucheta Walimbe, Global Head Infrastructure
Keurig Dr Pepper Inc., Boston, Massachusetts: John A. Gigerich, CIO
Stanley Black & Decker, Hartford, Connecticut: Stephen Desiderio, VP Global IT Operation

New Normal Digital Transformer
Finalists:
GlaxoSmithKline, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Agam Upadhyay, SVP & Chief Technology Officer
Portland General Electric, Portland, Oregon: John Kochavatr, CIO and VP, Customer & Digital Solutions
IHG, Atlanta, Georgia: Alvin Smith, Vice President Global Infrastructure Architecture
The Walt Disney Company, Seattle, Washington: Diane Jurgens, Executive Vice President & Chief Information Officer
True Value, Chicago, Illinois: John Armbrecht, CTO & CIO

HCLTech is a long-time sponsor of The American Business Awards. HCLTech is a global technology company, home to more than 225,900 people across 60 countries, delivering industry-leading capabilities centered around digital, engineering and cloud, powered by a broad portfolio of technology services and products. We work with clients across all major verticals, providing industry solutions for Financial Services, Manufacturing, Life Sciences and Healthcare, Technology and Services, Telecom and Media, Retail and CPG, and Public Services. Consolidated revenues as of 12 months ending March 2023 totaled $12.6 billion. To learn how we can supercharge progress for you, visit hcltech.com.

Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller commented on the Finalists: “We’re privileged to have HCLTech continue as a sponsor of the ABAs and to have so many accomplished technology executives as Finalists for Stevie Awards. All of them will be recognized as Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie winners, and we look forward to welcoming them on stage to receive their due recognition on June 13.”

The American Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace, from customer service and marketing to management, new product development, and technology. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze winners in other categories in the ABAs were announced in April. The full list of those winners is featured at www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Sponsors of The 2023 American Business Awards include HCLTech, Melissa Sones Consulting, and SoftPro.

AT&T Wins Organization of the Year for the Second Year in a Row

The Stevie® Awards announced today the Grand Stevie Award winners in The 21^st Annual American Business Awards^® competition. Winners will be honored during the ABAs’ awards banquet on June 13, 2023 in New York City. Registration for the event is now open.

All organizations operating in the U.S.A. - large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit - are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs in a wide range of categories, honoring achievement in every aspect of work life, from customer service and management to public relations and product development.

This year more than 3,700 nominations were considered in the judging process by more than 240 professionals, whose average ratings determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners announced earlier this month. For a complete list of the 2023 Stevie Award winners, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

The Best of the ABA Awards are best-of-competition prizes awarded to the organizations that submit the best body of work to the competition, in their own name or in the names of one or more clients, or have the highest-rated nomination in the competition. Grand Stevie Awards cannot be applied for directly.

2023 Grand Stevie winners in The American Business Awards are as follows:

Highest-rated New Product or Service of the Year: There is a tie this year for this Grand Stevie Award, with both nominations receiving average scores from the judges of 9.0/10.  Both are in the competition’s categories that recognize excellence in education-related products and services:

• The Chief Information Security Officer Business Simulation, nominated by Advantexe Learning Solutions, West Conshohocken, PA, also won a Gold Stevie for Best Game-based Curriculum Solution
• Kiddopia, Wilmington, DE, a subscription-based early learning app for kids ages 2-7, also won Gold for Best PreK / Early Childhood Learning Solution 

Highest-Rated Nomination of the Year: With a perfect score from the judges of 10.0/10.0, the “Ask The Question - Suicide Awareness PSA Campaign,” submitted by Avera Health, an integrated health system based in Sioux Falls, SD, also won Gold for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year – Healthcare in the competition’s public relations categories.

Most Honored Marketing Agency of the Year: FG|PG, Huntington, CA is one of the largest WBENC-certified woman-owned marketing experience creative and production agencies in the country.  The agency earned 27 award points for nine Gold Stevie Awards in the competition’s event categories, all for the immersive experience event it created for Marvel SNAP, a partnership among Bytedance, Marvel, and Nuverse.

Most Honored Public Relations Agency: Lumina Communications, with offices in New York and Silicon Valley, earned 27.5 award points for Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie wins for nominations submitted on behalf of clients Aryaka, Cowbell Cyber, DoControl, Gluware Inc., Keysight Technologies, Salt Security, SlashNext, Solvo, and Whatfix.

Organization of the Year: For the second year in a row the winner is AT&T, Dallas, TX, which earned 39 points for Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevies earned primarily by AT&T Business Multimedia Solutions. As the first truly modern media company, AT&T has been changing the way people live, work and play for the past 145 years. AT&T also won Grand Stevie Awards in the ABAs from 2013-2016. This award is determined by the total number of awards won in the ABAs, with a Gold Stevie win counting for 3 points, a Silver Stevie for 2 points, and a Bronze Stevie counting for 1.5.  

Sponsors of The 2023 American Business Awards include HCLTech, Melissa Sones Consulting, and SoftPro.

The Stevie® Awards, organizers of the world’s premier business awards programs, today announced the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners in The 21st American Business Awards®.

All organizations operating in the USA–large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit–are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs in a wide range of categories, honoring achievement in every aspect of work life, from customer service and management to public relations and product development. More than 3,700 nominations were considered in the judging process this year by more than 240 professionals worldwide, whose average scores determined the winners.

Winners of three or more Gold Stevie Awards include:

Align Technology (Tempe, AZ), AT&T Business Multimedia Solutions (Huntington Beach, CA), Bursali (Bursa, Turkey), Cisco (San Jose, CA), Delta Dental of Kansas (Wichita, KS), EY (London, United Kingdom), FG|PG (Huntington, CA), Hearts & Science (New York, NY), IBM (Armonk, NY), Lumin Digital (San Ramon, CA), Mayfield Consulting, Inc. (Conford, NC), Praxis AI (Clemson, SC), Premier Inc. (Charlotte, NC), Radicle Science (San Diego, CA), Shoe Gummi LLC (Calabasas, CA), Skillsoft (Nashua, NH), Tek Leaders Inc (Frisco, TX), Texas Department of Transportation (Austin, TX), The Home Depot Backyard (Atlanta, GA), and Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. (New York, NY).

Among other winners, organizations with five or more Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie wins include:

AutoLeap (Atlanta, GA), C-Strategies Inc. (Chicago IL), Evisort (San Francisco, CA), Fidelity Investments (Smithfield, RI), George P Johnson Experiential Marketing (Auburn Hills, MI), Innovation Refunds (Des Moines, IA), Matrex Exhibits (Addison IL), MetLife Legal Plans (Cleveland, OH), Nuance Communications, Inc (Burlington, MA), SnappConner PR (Lehi, UT), SoftPro (Raleigh, NC), Squarespace, Inc. (New York, NY), SucceedSmart (Los Altos, CA), Tata Consultancy Services (New York, NY), and Vanguard (Malvern PA).

For a complete list of the Stevie Award winners announced today, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Winners of six best-of-show prizes will be awarded Grand Stevie Award trophies, to be announced the week of May 8. Also in May, Stevie winners in four HCLTech Supercharging Progress categories, sponsored by HCL Technologies, will be announced.

2023 Stevie winners will be celebrated during an awards banquet on Tuesday, June 13 at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Tickets for the event are now on sale.

The categories that recognize outstanding new products and services introduced in the USA are among the most heavily subscribed in the ABAs. Every new product or service nominated in The 2023 American Business Awards is included in voting for the People's Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite New Products, a worldwide public vote. Voting opens April 28 at http://peopleschoice.stevieawards.com and will conclude on May 26. People’s Choice Stevie winners will be announced the week of May 29 and will be honored during the June 13 awards presentations.

“We are thrilled to be able to recognize such a wide array of American organizations in The 2023 American Business Awards. American organizations have had to pivot in the face of COVID-19, remote and hybrid work, and other challenges,” said Stevie Awards President Maggie Miller. “This year’s Stevie-winning nominations in The American Business Awards are testament to the commitment, passion, adaptability, and creativity of American professionals. We look forward to celebrating Stevie winners on June 13 in New York City.”

Sponsors of The 2023 American Business Awards include HCL Technologies, Melissa Sones Consulting, and SoftPro.

Stevie-winner Hooked On Code (HOC) is a women-owned, simplicity-focused WordPress website agency, working with businesses and organizations globally. 

The HOC mission is to eliminate the convoluted and inefficient nature of building websites for B2B enterprises. Their refined “no-bull process” has been delivering results efficiently since 2014. They assert that their proven process and specific toolset helps them combat negative experiences such as missed deadlines, poor communication, and hard-to-edit websites.

In mid-2019, HOC launched the maintenance branch of their agency, offering monthly website “Care Plans” to assist with website updates and whatever changes their customers may need.

Maintaining the Customer Experience Throughout the Pandemic
In 2020, HOC saw project work almost disappear with the COVID crisis. They decided to dedicate themselves to the happiness of their current client-base, which would, if retained, support the agency through the decline in new projects. 

Next, they launched a Customer Appreciation Program, including Client Appreciation Week, when clients were publicly recognized on social media and each client was personally called by team members.

They also refreshed training for the support team, compiled a new manual for working on client tickets, and started tracking client compliments and complaints in order to address potential issues preemptively.

Over time, what began as a boot-strapped company with no marketing budget saw significant organic growth year over year, completely from referrals.

In a survey sent to clients during Client Appreciation Week, 100% of participants responded 5/5 rating our work quality, timely delivery, responsiveness, satisfaction, and willingness to refer.

Hooked On Code went from being unranked in all categories to ranking between #1 and #4 out of tens of thousands of web design agencies across multiple high-value categories on Clutch, a third-party review platform for B2B service providers.

Since Winning Their Stevie Award
The HOC team has added Elementor to their agency arsenal, which has allowed them to adopt maintenance retainers for websites built by other agencies, often for global-sized corporations that demand faster and more reliable service than their previous agency offered. 

They have also  since launched their first Shopify and Squarespace projects. The decision to venture outside of the WordPress/Divi toolset and into select closed-source platforms was made in response to the growing need for a lower cost product that could be easily managed by clients in-house. This allows their team to service clients who would otherwise be dependent on a maintenance plan that their business model doesn’t financially justify.

With many notable accolades and statistics to report, HOC notes that the statistic they are most proud of is that they have never missed a project launch date—ever.

Hooked On Code won a Silver Stevie Award for Achievement in Customer Satisfaction in both the 2022 and the 2023 editions of The American Business Awards®. 

Interested in entering The American Business Awards?

Stevie-winner Merck Manuals is committed to making the best current medical information accessible to health care professionals and patients on every continent. They believe that health information is a universal right and that every person is entitled to accurate and accessible medical information.

First published in 1899 as a small reference book for physicians and pharmacists, The Merck Manual has since grown in size and scope to become one of the world’s most widely used comprehensive medical resources for professionals and consumers. Today its medical information is available in more than 241 countries and in nearly a dozen languages, free in digital form to professionals and patients.

As the Manual has evolved, it is continually expanding the reach and depth of its offerings to a wide cross-section of users, including medical professionals and students, veterinarians and veterinary students, and consumers.

Merck Manuals won a Bronze Stevie Award for their #MindOverMyth marketing campaign that aimed to help break the stigma surrounding discussing and seeking mental health support.

The #MindOverMyth Campaign for Mental Health Awareness
Almost half of adults experience symptoms of mental illness at some point. Despite this high prevalence of mental illness, only about 20% of people who have a mental illness receive professional help according to MerckManuals.com research. While tremendous advances have been made in the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses, the stigma surrounding them persists.

Their campaign, #MindOverMyth, seeks to further break down the stigma and bring these issues into the light so patients and health care professionals can feel more comfortable talking about mental health issues and asking for help. 

They looked at the most common mental health topics affecting both children and adults today and developed a marketing campaign with the goal of bringing greater awareness to these topics via social media through graphics and short videos as well as by driving visitors to the website to further educate themselves.

They launched the campaign in June of 2021 across all channels in the United States and then rolled out across global channels, translating each post to their respective market language. 

Thanks to the Mind Over Myth campaign, they were able to bring more awareness of mental health issues to people across the globe, accruing 18.1 million social media impressions and 1.25 million link clicks to their website content on these topics from April-December 2021.This campaign became very timely for their health care professionals in both human and animal health who were struggling to take care of themselves during the pandemic.

Since Winning Their Stevie Award
In response to an urgent request from the Ukraine team to help medical professionals deliver the best care during the invasion of Ukraine, The Manuals team launched a Ukrainian translation of the site for medical professionals in record time. 

Merck Manuals won a Bronze Stevie Award for Marketing Campaign of the Year - Healthcare - Disease Education & Awareness in The 2022 American Business Awards®.

Interested in entering this year’s edition of The American Business Awards?