Agency earns top Telly Award for third year in a row

In May 2020, Strategic America (SA) earned four Telly Awards for video work for the Food Bank of Iowa, the Iowa Finance Authority, Broadlawns Medical Center and the Iowa Lottery. The Telly Awards honor excellence in video and television across all screens on an international scale. This was the fifth consecutive year Strategic America was recognized at the Telly Awards. It is also the third consecutive year the agency was awarded a Gold Telly—the highest possible award from the organization.

Honored videos demonstrate the diversity of client work produced by the West Des Moines-based agency—including a public service announcement, awareness videos for financial resources and business-to-consumer work.

“We’re honored to accept four Telly Awards for our clients’ work over the last year,” said John Schreurs, CEO of Strategic America. “However, seeing how our work impacts our clients’ organizations in a positive way is even more rewarding.”

Of the four awards earned, See Yourself Hungry for Food Bank of Iowa earned a Gold Telly, the highest possible award, in the Local TV, General Social Responsibility category. Real Money for the Iowa Finance Authority and For Our Community for Broadlawns Medical Center earned Silver Tellys. Finally, Suite Seats for the Iowa Lottery earned a Bronze Telly.

Here are the 2020 award-winning videos from Strategic America:

See Yourself Hungry
Food Bank of Iowa
Gold Telly
Local TV, General Social Responsibility

One in 10 Iowans currently struggle with food insecurity. In this video, three characters see themselves in two different lives—one where they live knowing each day where their next meal will come from, and another where they live with the stress of food insecurity. The spot was created to highlight how hunger is closer to our lives than we might ever imagine.


Real Money
Iowa Finance Authority
Silver Telly
Local TV, Finance

Real money for first-time homeowners? Sounds fake, but it’s very real. This video played on that disbelief using the campaign’s mascot, Arthur. He’s Des Moines’ own version of the Loch Ness Monster. But just like down payment assistance from the Iowa Finance Authority, he’s very real.


For Our Community
Broadlawns Medical Center
Silver Telly
Local TV, Business to Consumer Campaign

For this campaign, Broadlawns Medical Center asked Strategic America to highlight some of the important, lesser-known services it provides to the Des Moines community. The cutting-edge medical treatments coming from Broadlawns help Iowans get back to doing what they love every day.

Suite Seats
Iowa Lottery
Bronze Telly
Regional TV, General Entertainment

When advertising along major sporting events, brands have to get creative. When offering lottery players the opportunity to sit courtside at the NCAA basketball tournament, SA shifted the focus to the real stars of the show—the lottery tickets.

To see a complete list of winners for 2020, please visit www.tellyawards.com.