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Best-in-Class Communications
Axios HQ’s Best-in-Class Communications Awards celebrate the organizations redefining what great communications looks like today. From aligning teams to engaging communities, our 2026 winners transform clarity into trust, momentum, and measurable impact.
Cox Enterprises
As Cox Enterprises grew to 45,000 employees, its communications team faced the challenge of keeping a complex organization aligned without overwhelming inboxes. The team partnered with Axios HQ to redesign Inside Cox, a biweekly all-staff newsletter built for collaboration and Smart Brevity.
The approach delivers clarity at scale: Inside Cox has increased its open rate and consistently earns praise for being clear, concise, and respectful of employees’ time.
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Bechtel
With a highly dispersed workforce across 33 countries, Bechtel faced the challenge of keeping a rapidly evolving global organization aligned. The company partnered with Axios HQ to reimagine The Bechtel Brief, a weekly all-staff newsletter built on Smart Brevity and a shared editorial model.
The results reinforce global alignment: Open rates jumped more than 18% and now hold around 80%, making The Bechtel Brief Bechtel’s most trusted and unifying internal channel.
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Ramsey School District
Serving families across five schools, Ramsey School District needed a clearer, more consistent way to keep its community informed and connected. The district partnered with Axios HQ to turn the Ramsey Review into a weekly community newsletter — a single, trusted source of districtwide updates.
Families feel the difference: According to the district’s Spring 2025 Family Survey, 85% of families are satisfied with district communication and 82% say it feels open and transparent.
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INTEGRIS Health
With 13,000 caregivers across hospitals and clinics statewide, INTEGRIS Health needed a clearer, more consistent way to reinforce safety beyond daily huddles. The organization partnered with Axios HQ to launch Safety Share, a weekly newsletter built with Smart Brevity to elevate caregiver voices and spread safety learnings at scale.
The impact is lifesaving: INTEGRIS Health saw a 41% reduction in serious safety events and a measurable increase in caregiver engagement and trust.
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CSX
CSX needed a faster, more engaging way to deliver industry-critical news to its board, executives, and communications team. The company partnered with Axios HQ to transform The Mainline into a daily Smart Brevity digest that explains what’s happening, why it matters, and what leaders may need to do next.
Momentum followed quickly: Readership grew nearly 4× in three months and continues to grow, with board open rates reaching 100% and executive open rates rising to nearly 80%.
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Citrin Cooperman
Citrin Cooperman grew from $300M to nearly $900M through rapid expansion and acquisitions. To support their growing population of leaders, in 2024 the firm established a monthly communication as a cornerstone of their change comms strategy — designed to align partners around priorities, what's changing, and why it matters — so they could continue to lead their teams with confidence.
Key results: The monthly update has become a trusted go-to for leadership alignment during a period of growth and change.
