New York City-Based Communications and PR Agency Recognized for Elevating HR Tech Company Payroll Integrations in Financial Wellness Conversations Through Annual Research Report
New York, NY—Channel V Media (CVM), a communications strategy and PR firm that specializes in building market momentum for Fortune 500 industry leaders and emerging venture‑backed innovators, was named a Platinum winner in the 2026 Hermes Creative Awards. The company received the top honor in the PR and Comms: Research/Study category for its work developing and launching Payroll Integrations’ Employee Financial Wellness Report.
Channel V Media created Payroll Integrations’ Employee Financial Wellness Report to broaden the conversations around employee financial wellness, which the company directly improves by automating payroll and benefits processes for 20,000+ organizations so HR can focus more on their employees, and less on admin work. While Payroll Integrations was known as a payroll connectivity solution among its payroll and benefit partners, it wanted to reach broader industry and business audiences. CVM turned to original research to introduce the conversations around employee financial wellness that Payroll Integrations wanted to have, but the market wasn’t yet talking about.
Payroll Integrations and CVM surveyed HR leaders and employees across the U.S. on financial wellness support, benefit alignment and benefit education needs. The results uncovered critical insights into the disconnect between employer intentions and employee realities. The 20+ page Employee Financial Wellness Report was designed and written by the CVM team and supported by a custom landing page. CVM launched the report in two phases, each anchored to a specific theme, to extend visibility and maximize coverage. Following its success, CVM repeated the approach for the 2025 edition, which drew year-over-year comparisons and expanded into retirement readiness and withdrawal trends.
The Employee Financial Wellness Report has earned Payroll Integrations top-tier business and trade media coverage, including feature stories in Forbes, CNBC, Fortune, MarketWatch and Newsweek, plus leading HR, benefits and retirement trades such as SHRM, Employee Benefit News, BenefitsPro, Investopedia and 401(k) Specialist. The report broke beyond business and trade press into viral social and podcast coverage, including the finance-focused account unusual_whales (3.2 million followers). CVM also used the report as a platform to position Payroll Integrations CEO and Co-Founder Doug Sabella as a financial wellness thought leader.
The Employee Financial Wellness Report is now an annual initiative for Payroll Integrations, continuing to reinforce the company’s expertise beyond its technology and solidify its position as a financial wellness leader.
“This recognition is about more than a report, it’s about building research that’s changed how the market talks about Payroll Integrations,” said Victoria Jones, Vice President, Channel V Media. “Two years in, the data keeps giving us new, credible ways to get the company into the conversations they need to be in and put them in front of the audiences that matter.”
The Hermes Creative Awards, administered by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), is an international competition that recognizes excellence in marketing and communications across a wide range of industries and mediums. The complete list of 2026 Hermes Creative Awards winners can be viewed here.
The recognition adds to an already strong, award-winning year for CVM. The agency also picked up a 2026 PR News Content Marketing Award, a 2026 MarCom Award and a 2026 Stevie Award for its research-driven work.