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esd & associates was recently featured on healthline.com as a case study for companies across the nation offering employees incentives to encourage healthy living. The article highlighted how San Antonio’s largest digital marketing firm, esd & associates, is unyieldingly passionate about the well being of its employees. Throughout the agency’s 18-year history, it has earned a stream of awards recognizing exemplary employee wellness programs and for creative efforts for clients in the health sector.
Founders Christine Kleha and Erik Simpson encourage their employees to practice a healthy lifestyle by developing esd fit, a wellness program that emphasizes fun and achievable, rewarding goals. esd fit incorporates team fitness activities, incentive rewards, and a fitness tracking app developed in-house. The program is geared toward improving all aspects of employee health: nutrition, fitness and over well-being. The firm saw a huge increase in participation this past year in 2014 by implementing employee engagement tactics and teaming up with third-party local resources such as the American Heart Association’s Check Change Control and Fit City SA’s Million Pound Challenge.
Among other healthy activities, esd organizes weekly Friday workouts, company bike rides and a walking club. The company also reimburses employees for entry fees to official 5K runs, triathlons, and cycling races, prompting many to develop and advance their own personal fitness goals. In addition, esd fit has an incentive program built into the initiative, further motivating employees to participate in making changes towards a healthier lifestyle.
The San Antonio community took note of these efforts and 2014 esd was awarded first place in the small business division of the San Antonio Business Journal’s Healthiest Employer Awards. Additionally, the agency recently won the Gold Recognition in the  2014 Healthy Workplace Recognition Program (HWRP) for the third year in a row.
“We’re really honored to have been rewarded for our efforts as a team,” said Erik Simpson, esd’s chief creative officer. “We truly believe in fostering a work and home culture where total wellness is a necessity.”
Earlier this year, Healthcare Advertising Awards picked esd’s work for University Health Systems’ NICU calendar for a Gold Award in the competition’s 31st annual event. The agency also received a Silver Award for its total integrated marketing campaign, “Finally, Health Insurance for Every Budget,” prepared for Sendero Health Plans of Austin, Texas.
“Our work with healthcare is very rewarding,” said Simpson. “We are committed advocate wellness not only within our agency, but also with the work for our clients.”