Lewiston, Maine & Franklinton, North Carolina, April 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Lewiston, Maine & Franklinton, N.C. — Rinck Advertising and Novonesis have earned a Silver ADDY Award for Illustration from the American Advertising Federation Baltimore (AAFB) for an animated safety video designed to improve how visitors understand and follow safety protocols in a biotechnology manufacturing setting.
Developed for Novonesis’ North America headquarters in Franklinton, North Carolina, the three-minute video prepares visitors for facility tours by clearly outlining essential safety protocols, including hazard awareness, site expectations, and emergency procedures.
Novonesis wanted a consistent way to prepare a wide range of visitors—from customers and legislators to partners and community members—for participating in site tours. While safety information was always covered, the approach could differ by guide and format, making it harder to ensure the same message was delivered every time and remembered the same way. As the first touchpoint upon arrival, the safety briefing needed to be clear, welcoming, and memorable.
Rinck Advertising is an agency focused on driving behavior change. The team turns insight into action by translating complex ideas into messages that resonate and shift habits. Rinck approached this as a communication challenge: how to deliver essential safety information in a way that is both consistent and easy to absorb. The result was an animated video that standardizes the experience, ensuring every visitor receives the same information in a format designed for clarity and recall.
Biology-Inspired Characters Designed to Improve Understanding
To capture attention, improve retention and help visitors feel welcome, Rinck created the BioBuddies, a cast of animated characters based on Novonesis’ core industry of biosolutions and microbiology.
Inspired by elements such as enzymes, yeast, and microbial structures, the characters are designed to reinforce key safety behaviors while creating a more approachable and memorable viewing experience. This format helps humanize technical information, improve recall, and create a consistent experience across every visitor touchpoint.
Working closely with Novonesis, Rinck developed a script for the BioBuddies that guides viewers through key procedures such as hazard awareness, site expectations, and emergency protocols in a way that sticks.
“Safety is critical, which means finding a way to make it memorable is equally important,” said Katie Greenlaw, VP of Public Relations and Influencer Marketing at Rinck Advertising and account manager for Novonesis. “By grounding the creative in Novonesis’ biology-based work and adding a bit of humor via our animated characters, we created something that captures attention and helps people understand what they need to do to stay safe and ensure adherence to manufacturing safety protocols.”
The video has been adopted as a standard part of the visitor experience, supporting more consistent communication across tours while improving clarity and retention. The BioBuddies platform also creates future opportunities for expanded use across on-site safety signage, education and community engagement. The ADDY recognition reinforces the effectiveness of the approach and positions the work among top creative executions in the industry.
“We knew it was essential to strike the right mix of humor, science and seriousness especially when it comes to safety,” said Kathy Humphrey, Head of Communications North America at Novonesis.
“From day one, our priority was to make the video feel welcoming without ever softening the message: safety comes first. The BioBuddies were shaped with input from our scientists to keep the content true to our work, and they give visitors an approachable way to learn what we do, using biology to help solve real-world challenges before they ever step onto the floor.”
The American Advertising Awards, commonly known as the ADDYs, are the advertising industry’s largest and most representative competition, attracting more than 25,000 entries each year across local, district, and national levels. Conducted annually by the American Advertising Federation, the ADDYs recognize creative excellence and the highest standards of professional work in advertising. The AAF Baltimore chapter represents one of the most competitive local markets, honoring outstanding work across agencies, brands, and disciplines.
###
About Rinck Advertising
Founded in 2001, Rinck is a nationally recognized marketing, advertising, and public relations agency headquartered in Maine with teams across the U.S. Rinck helps brands change minds and drive action through behavioral insight, culture-first strategy, and experience-led execution. The agency works with local, national, and global clients across public health and healthcare, consumer-packaged goods, biotechnology, restaurant service, and more. Learn more at www.rinckadvertising.com or check out @RinckAdvertising on Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn.
About Novonesis Novonesis is a global company leading the era of biosolutions. By leveraging the power of microbiology with science, we transform the way the world produces, consumes and lives. In more than 30 industries, our biosolutions are already creating value for thousands of customers and benefiting the planet. Our 10,000 people worldwide work closely with our partners and customers to transform business with biology.