Die Kategorien für Unternehmenskommunikation, Investor Relations und Public Relations der German Stevie® Awards 2022

Kommunikation beeinflusst. Dabei entscheidet nicht selten der erste Eindruck über das Gefühl, das wir einem Menschen oder einer Marke entgegenbringen. Mithilfe kommunikationspolitischer Maßnahmen wird die Wahrnehmung eines Unternehmens gesteuert. Dabei sollen vor allem Image und Reputation der Organisation positiv beeinflusst und Skandale vermieden werden. Vertrauen und Glaubwürdigkeit herzustellen, ist das A und O.

Unternehmenskommunikation, Investor Relations und Public Relations gehen dabei Hand in Hand, um auf einem übersättigten Markt den entscheidenden Unterschied herauszustellen und Alleinstellungmerkmale von Organisationen und Unternehmen ins Spotlight zu rücken. Sie sind das Fundament, um das Vertrauen der Öffentlichkeit und jeder besonderen Zielgruppe zu gewinnen, aber auch um Fachkräfte zu binden.

Entscheidend dabei ist eine systematische, geplante Vorgehensweise, die auf einen längeren Zeithorizont ausgerichtet ist, um die Erwartung des Marktes bezüglich der Unternehmensbewertung möglichst passgenau beeinflussen zu können.

Professionell gestaltete Kommunikation im Rampenlicht

Solch professionell gestaltete Kommunikation wird bei den German Stevie® Awards in den Kategorien für Unternehmenskommunikation, Investor Relations und Public Relations ins Rampenlicht gerückt. Dazu gehören alle Funktionen von Unternehmenskommunikation, Investor Relations, Gemeinschaftsangelegenheiten/Community Affairs und Public Relations. Die Nominierungen können in insgesamt über 40 Bereichen in den folgenden zwei großen Überkategorien eingereicht werden:

Kategorien für PR-Experten und PR-Innovationen

• PR-Agentur des Jahres
• Kommunikationsabteilung des Jahres
• Kommunikationsteam des Jahres
• Führungskraft des Jahres in den Bereichen Kommunikation, Investor Relation oder PR
• Kommunikationsfachkraft des Jahres 
• PR-Innovation des Jahres

Kommunikations- oder PR-Kampagne des Jahres in über 30 Bereichen, unter anderem

• Community Engagement
• Consumer PR für ein bestehendes Produkt
• Digitale Medienarbeit
• Einführung neuer Produkte
• Finanzdienstleistungen &Investor Relations
• Interne Kommunikation
• Krisenmanagement
• Marketing – Business to Business
• v.m.

Haben Sie und Ihr Team auch herausragende Leistungen im Bereich PR und Unternehmenskommunikation geleistet? Dann nutzen Sie noch bis zum 19. Januar 2022 die Chance, sich um einen Stevie Award im Bereich PR zu bewerben. 

Diese Kampagnen konnten bei den German Stevie® Awards 2021 punkten

Mit gleich drei goldenen Awards wurde die Deutz AG aus Bonn für das Live-Stream-Event unter dem Motto Motto „DEUTZ bringt die CONEXPO zu Ihnen nach Hause“ ausgezeichnet.

Zu einer der wichtigsten Branchen-Messen, der CONEXPO 2020 in Las Vegas, hatte die Deutz AG zahlreiche wichtige Kunden an den Messestand eingeladen. Kurz vor Beginn der Messe am 10.03.2020 verschärfte sich die pandemische Situation in vielen Ländern drastisch. Dies hatte zur Folge, dass ein Großteil der Kunden der DEUTZ AG praktisch unmittelbar vor Messebeginn ihre Teilnahme absagte. Die Messe sowie die Vorstellung der neuen Produkte drohten unter diesen Umständen kläglich zu scheitern. 

Um dies zu verhindern, musste in kürzester Zeit – in weniger als 2 Werktagen – eine Krisenkommunikation installiert werden, die einen alternativen Teilnahmeweg für die Kunden sowie für die DEUTZ AG eine Vorstellung der Produkte ermöglichte. Zugleich musste diese der sich stetig verändernden und zunehmend verschärfenden Vor-Ort-Situation in Sachen Sicherheit und damit einhergehenden Machbarkeit gerecht werden.

Hierzu entwickelte und organisierte die Agentur MMK einen viralen Online-Kommunikationskanal via hochagilen Live-Stream-Events, mit denen täglich von der Messe berichtet werden konnte, und über den die Kunden und Zuschauer mit den Deutz-Vertretern und dem Moderator interagieren konnten.

Die Übertragung erfolgte auf mehreren Social-Media-Kanälen, hauptsächlich auf dem YouTube-Kanal des Influencers. Die Live-Stream-Events erzielten eine herausragende Akzeptanz und erreichten rund 78.000 Views während der Übertragung. Durch die transparente, progressive wie agile Krisenkommunikation konnten die Kunden der DEUTZ AG dennoch erreicht und die Messe trotz weniger Vor-Ort-Besucher und des vorzeitigen Abbruchs der Messe erfolgreich abgeschlossen werden.

Die Aufbereitung des Live-Streams auf dem Deutz YouTube-Kanal finde Sie hier. 

Die PB3C GmbH aus Berlin wurde im letzten Jahr mit zwei Gold Awards für das Projekt "Transparenz im Off-Market-Segment für Immobilien" ausgezeichnet.

Das „Off-Market-Segment“ sollte bei diesem Projekt als relevantes Marktsegment ins Licht der Fachöffentlichkeit gerückt werden. Dazu wurden jährliche Studien geplant, die jeweils neue Aspekte von Off-Market-Transaktionen beleuchten. Die Ergebnisse wurden anschließend im Rahmen einer integrierten Kommunikationskampagne (PR, Social Media) öffentlich präsentiert. Das Marksegment Off-Market wurde hierbei besonders transparent erschlossen, um dadurch besser vom “normalen” Markt abgegrenzt zu werden. 
Die Umsetzung des Projekts erfolgte mit mit bulwiengesa. Das Institut bulwiengesa veröffentlicht u.a. mit Empirica für den ZIA jährlich den „Bericht der Immobilienweisen“. 
Für die Pressearbeit wurden Pressegespräche u.a. mit den Top-Medien FAZ, Immobilien Zeitung, Börsen Zeitung geführt.

Das Ergebnis war eine Sensation: Die Studie hatte zum Ergebnis, dass das Off-Market-Segment 40 Mrd. Euro groß ist. Es handelt sich im Vergleich zum normalen On-Market mit damals 70 Mrd. Euro also nicht nur um einen unbedeutenden Nischenmarkt.
Im zweiten Jahr lag das Ergebnis sogar bei bis zu 70 Mrd. Euro versus 80 Milliarden Euro im On-Market-Segment.
Im Winter 2019 waren 84 Prozent der Marktteilnehmer bereit, höhere Preise zu bezahlen, wenn sie an Immobilien über Off-Market herankommen.
Insgesamt gab es durch die Studie höhere Abschlussquoten im Off-Market: Bei den Käufern liegt der Anteil positiver Abschlüsse um 40 Prozentpunkte, bei den Verkäufern um 26 Prozentpunkte höher als bei On-Market-Deals.

Eine vollständige Liste der Gewinner finden Sie hier.

The Stevie Awards have opened entries for The 18th Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 60 nations and territories each year.

All individuals and organizations worldwide - public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small - may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. The early-bird entry deadline, with reduced entry fees, is 13 April. The final entry deadline is 12 May, but late entries will be accepted through 16 June with payment of a late fee. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

Juries featuring more than 150 executives around the world will determine the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners. Winners be announced on 12 August, and celebrated at a gala banquet in Paris, France on 23 October, conditions permitting.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Management Awards 
• COVID-19 Response Awards
• Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards 
• Human Resources Awards 
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards 
• New Product Awards 
• Public Relations Awards 
• Web Site, App, Event, Video and other media awards

There are many new and revised features of The International Business Awards for 2021:

• Seven new marketing campaign/program categories, four new communications/public relations categories, three new website categories, and 13 new product and service categories.
• Nominations that won Gold, Silver, or Bronze Stevie Awards in The 2020 International Business Awards® may be nominated again in the 2021 IBAs, as long as they are submitted to categories different from those in which they won in 2020.

• There are no entry fees for nominations in the Company of the Year categories and other select categories.

• The Best of the IBA awards have been revised.  Fewer Grand Stevie Award trophies will be conferred. 

Stevie Award winners in the 2020 IBAs included Deutsche Telekom Services Europe (Slovakia), Ernst & Young (USA), IBM (USA), Facebook India Online Services (India), Freelancer.com (Australia), Ooredoo Group (Qatar), REMAP (Canada), Türkiye İş Bankası (Turkey), Thai Life Insurance (Thailand), Telecommunication Services Limited (Hong Kong), LLYC (Spain), Warner Media (USA), and many more.

Interested in entering The 2021 International Business Awards?

Die Kategorien für Unternehmenskommunikation, Investor Relations und Public Relations der German Stevie® Awards 2021

Kommunikation beeinflusst. Dabei entscheidet nicht selten der erste Eindruck über das Gefühl, das wir einem Menschen oder einer Marke entgegenbringen. Mithilfe kommunikationspolitischer Maßnahmen wird die Wahrnehmung eines Unternehmens gesteuert. Dabei sollen vor allem Image und Reputation der Organisation positiv beeinflusst und Skandale vermieden werden. Vertrauen und Glaubwürdigkeit herzustellen, ist das A und O.

Unternehmenskommunikation, Investor Relations und Public Relations gehen dabei Hand in Hand, um auf einem übersättigten Markt den entscheidenden Unterschied herauszustellen und Alleinstellungmerkmale von Organisationen und Unternehmen ins Spotlight zu rücken. Sie sind das Fundament, um das Vertrauen der Öffentlichkeit und jeder besonderen Zielgruppe zu gewinnen, aber auch um Fachkräfte zu binden.

Entscheidend dabei ist eine systematische, geplante Vorgehensweise, die auf einen längeren Zeithorizont ausgerichtet ist, um die Erwartung des Marktes bezüglich der Unternehmensbewertung möglichst passgenau beeinflussen zu können.

Professionell gestaltete Kommunikation im Rampenlicht

Solch professionell gestaltete Kommunikation wird bei den German Stevie® Awards in den Kategorien für Unternehmenskommunikation, Investor Relations und Public Relations ins Rampenlicht gerückt. Dazu gehören alle Funktionen von Unternehmenskommunikation, Investor Relations, Gemeinschaftsangelegenheiten/Community Affairs und Public Relations. Die Nominierungen können in insgesamt über 40 Bereichen in den folgenden zwei großen Überkategorien eingereicht werden:

Kategorien für PR-Experten und PR-Innovationen

• PR-Agentur des Jahres
• Kommunikationsabteilung des Jahres
• Kommunikationsteam des Jahres
• Führungskraft des Jahres in den Bereichen Kommunikation, Investor Relation oder PR
• Kommunikationsfachkraft des Jahres 
• PR-Innovation des Jahres

Kommunikations- oder PR-Kampagne/PR-Programm des Jahres

• Community Engagement
• Consumer PR für ein bestehendes Produkt
• Digitale Medienarbeit
• Einführung neuer Produkte
• Finanzdienstleistungen &Investor Relations
• Interne Kommunikation
• Krisenmanagement
• Marketing – Business to Business
• v.m.

Diese Kampagnen konnten bei den German Stevie Awards 2020 punkten

Die Deutsche Post DHL Group mit Sitz in Bonn wurde mit einem Gold Stevie für die Community Engagement Kampagne des Jahres ausgezeichnet. 

Das vor 10 Jahres von DHL entwickelte FIRST CHOICE-Programm dient zur kontinuierlichen, internen Verbesserung. Das Unternehmen hatte im Januar 2019 erstmalig die weltweite „FIRST CHOICE week“ Kampagne durchgeführt. Während dieser Woche wurde in allen Geschäftsbereichen des Konzerns aktiv FIRST CHOICE kommuniziert und Aktionen in den Ländern durchgeführt. Zur Unterstützung der Geschäftsbereiche und einer konsistenten globalen Umsetzung wurde ein Kommunikationspaket für die Länder entwickelt. Darin befindet sich Kommunikationsmaterial zur online und offline Verwendung, sowie eine Auswahl an Aktivitäten zur Durchführung in der Aktions-Woche.

Die Beteiligung der Divisionen und Länder war überragend und übertraf sämtliche Erwartungen. Mehr als 110 Länderorganisationen haben an der FIRST CHOICE week teilgenommen und als Teil der weltweiten Gemeinschaft ihren Beitrag geleistet.

Die 744 Werbeagentur GmbH aus Düsseldorf ging mit einer europaweiten Influencer-Kampagne an den Start. Für Singapore Airlines und Singapore Tourism Board entwickelte das Unternehmen eine außergewöhnliche europaweite Kampagne, die die Airline und die Destination Singapur bewarb. Um möglichst viele Aspekte von Singapore Airlines und Singapur zeigen zu können, wurde die Influencer Kampagne in zwei Kampagnen-Flights mit unterschiedlichem Fokus geteilt.

Insgesamt wurden zwölf bekannte Food- und Travel-Influencer aus sechs europäischen nach Singapur geschickt. Beide Kampagnen-Flights waren ein großer Erfolg. Die Influencer streuten die Inhalte zur Kampagne auf möglichst vielen Kanälen und erzielten eine große Resonanz. Insgesamt wurden über 8,4 Millionen Menschen mit über 180 Inhalten (Posts, Stories, Videos) erreicht. Die Kampagne erzielte ein Engagement von über 600.000 Interactions und eine durchschnittliche Engagement Rate von knapp 4,5%.

Die Reichweite und Brand Awareness von Singapore Airlines wurde enorm gesteigert und die Destination Singapur wurde von den Influencern perfekt als optimales Reiseziel beworben. Damit wurden die zuvor festgelegten Ziele insgesamt weit übertroffen und sogar verfünffacht. Für diese herausragende Kampagne wurde die 744 Werbeagnetur GmbH mit einem goldenen Award für die PR-Kampagne des Jahres für Digitale Medienarbeit geehrt.

Für das PR-Programm des Jahres im Bereich interne Kommunikation wurde keySquare Communications UG für das Projekt „Kolibri-Handbuch“, das im Auftrag vom Kolibri-Games entstand, mit einem Gold Stevie ausgezeichnet.

Das schnell wachsende Startup benötigte ein Tool, um neu eingestellte Mitarbeiter auf den neusten Stand der Firmenkultur zu bringen. keySquare entwickelten ein Handbuch, das neuen Mitarbeitern zwei Wochen vor Dienstantritt mit einem Kennenlern-Paket (Notizblock, Kugelschreiber, T-Shirt, Tasche) zugeschickt wird.

Das Buch ist großzügig gelayoutet, leicht zu konsumieren und stellt vor allem die Kernwerte des Unternehmens sowie eine Handvoll grundsätzlicher Verhaltensweisen von Kolibri-Mitarbeitern dar. Die Firma setzt das Buch seither wie geplant bei neuen Mitarbeitern ein, verteilt es aber auch wie eine Image-Broschüre an Journalisten und Partner, wenn sich die Gelegenheit ergibt.

Eine vollständige Liste der Gewinner finden Sie hier.

Haben Sie und Ihr Team auch herausragende Leistungen im Bereich PR und Unternehmenskommunikation geleistet? Dann nutzen Sie noch bis zum 20. Januar 2021 die Chance, sich um einen Stevie Award im Bereich PR zu bewerben. 

The Stevie® Awards has opened entries for The 16th Annual International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition, which attracts nominations from organizations in more than 70 nations and territories each year.

All individuals and organizations worldwide—public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small—may submit nominations to The International Business Awards. The early-bird entry deadline, with reduced entry fees, is 10 April. The final entry deadline is 8 May, but late entries will be accepted through 12 June with payment of a late fee. Entry details are available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

Juries featuring more than 150 executives will determine the Stevie Award winners. The Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners will be announced pm 13 August. Stevie Award winners will be presented their awards at a gala banquet in Vienna, Austria on 19 October.

The International Business Awards recognize achievement in every facet of the workplace. Categories include:

• Management Awards 
• Entrepreneur of the Year Awards
• Company of the Year Awards
• Customer Service Awards 
• Human Resources Awards 
• Information Technology Awards
• Marketing Awards 
• New Product Awards 
• Public Relations Awards 
• Web Site Awards, Smartphone and Tablet App, and other media awards

There are many new and revised features of the IBAs for 2019:

• A variety of new categories, including the IT categories Best Technical Support Strategy and Implementation and Best Technical Support Solution. In categories for business-related media, there are many new Live Event, Publication, and Video categories.
• Entry fees have been eliminated for nominations to the Company of the Year categories. Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners in these these 35 by-industry categories will again be included in the worldwide public vote called the People’s Choice Stevie Awards for Favorite Companies.
• In the Marketing, New Product & Service, and Public Relations categories, nominees may now submit a video of up to five minutes in length, instead of the traditional written Stevie Awards essay or case study.

Stevie Award winners in the 2018 IBAs included DHL Express (worldwide), Dubai Health Authority (United Arab Emirates), GXEVER (China), iFinance Canada, Kia Motors Corporation (South Korea), LLORENTE & CUENCA (Spain), Megaworld Foundation (Philippines), NBCUniversal (USA), Net World Sports (Wales), Shinhan Bank (South Korea), Telkom Indonesia, and many more.

With the influx of electric car companies, automobile functionality and design are finally becoming smarter, but are car-related rules and regulations keeping up? Artificial intelligence capabilities are migrating from our phones and finding new ways to be helpful behind the steering wheel, but these advances in computers, sensors, and software mean legislation needs to address new problems and situations. Simply put, these laws must provide a more nuanced and modern take on what today’s drivers need.

Automobile Club d’Italia (ACI) is a public institution dedicated to promoting and safeguarding the interests of Italian motorists. They carry out their mission to promote road safety, to act for a sustainable mobility, and to support and to develop motorsports by enhancing their positive attributes. The company also aims for all Italian citizens to have equal access to mobility-related services. To that end, they provide the necessary support to ensure social programs are never negatively affected by any kind of private profit.

Over 100 Years of Service

ACI and motorists want new measures aimed primarily at eliminating older and obsolete vehicles. This will contribute to decreased pollution, as well as less vehicular accidents (in number and severity).

Luckily, ACI is a governmental institution. Ludovico Fois, the external relations and institutional affairs advisor at ACI, speaks to that.

“It’s our duty to provide all citizens with proper, correct information and assistance concerning all mobility-related matters, regardless of the interests from various business players.”

ACI has been working for mobile Italian citizens for over 100 years, guiding and assisting Italian motorists, as well as supporting the development of a new mobility culture. As a result, Italian road users recognize ACI as their reference point for many mobility-connected matters.

“Public policy considerations clearly guide all our activities, and we commit ourselves to establishing a concept of mobility that’s smart, sustainable, accessible, and inclusive.”

Electric Challenges

Intelligent transport systems and services, digital applications, electric-powered engines, and a litany of unforeseen changes all look to contribute to future mobility challenges. Deep technological changes in the automotive sector will require more dynamic, rational, flexible, and environmentally friendly responses to sustain this new mobility culture.

ACI spent years creating a wide network of field offices, acting as a model for other companies looking to create concrete change through legislative bodies. They eventually covered the entire national territory and had a main office based in Rome, Italy. This led to widespread cooperation with governmental Italian institutions, trade associations, and European organizations, a critical synergy for progress.

ACI also organizes a wide range of activities, including road safety and driver education classes, roadside assistance, vehicle paperwork, traffic information services, and motorsport events. The breadth of offerings is indicative of the complex needs of the industry which will have to be monitored as the technologies evolve.

Just like ride-sharing companies, such as Uber and Lyft, and countless tech firms trying to eliminate or to mitigate driving-related annoyances with new technological advances, ACI is traversing this wild west of mobility. For their campaign to promote a new mobility culture, ACI won a Bronze Stevie for Communications or PR Campaign of the Year in The International Business Awards®.

“We’ve worked very hard to achieve a deep culture shift, and we’ve definitely learned it needs the generalized involvement of decision makers, designers, and technicians, as well as road users.”

Whether it’s an entrepreneur starting out in an office or garage or if it’s a Fortune 500 company, any business must be visible to potential customers before a sale can be made. In most cases, awareness of a company is created through great stories, which elicit engagement and relationships with those potential customers.

Whether dealing with website traffic, email subscriber data growth, social media accounts, or hundreds of other engagement metrics, they’re all interconnected by one thing: an attempt to create a continuous relationship between the customer and the business.

With so many companies marketing that way, though, how do you stand out in a sea of legitimately competent competitors?

PAN Communications is an integrated marketing and public relations agency based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. They focus on B2B technology and health care industries that want a customer-first business model. They deliver this through PR and social, content, and influencer marketing. They also use data analytics and creative services.

“To bring great stories to life, that’s the core message,” says President & CEO, Philip A. Nardone Jr.. “Those great stories are about the companies—their technologies and innovations—that are changing lives.”

The company’s ability to bring resonant, engaging stories to life contributed to them winning the 2018 Gold Stevie® for Public Relations Agency of the Year at The American Business Awards.

PAN Communications is one of the industry’s most trusted communications partners., It demonstrates that it takes an entire team of dedicated marketing and PR specialists to help clients exceed expectations.

Move Ideas and Build Relationships

Success in any venture doesn’t happen overnight. No matter how good you are at something or how certain you are about how to improve a problem, it takes time to develop and to hone sustainable relationships with your audience or paying customers.

The success of PAN Communications is due to the firm’s unique ability to offer the agility and personalized service of a midsized agency while also leveraging national and international relationships. This allows them to manage large-scale communications programs for brands such as SAP, AppDirect, Radial, and MediaMath. PAN Communications provides services, moves ideas, and builds relationships with customers at a level which competitors find difficult to match.

The PAN Communications business model demonstrates one thing clearly: Successful businesses must make their services and messaging available to potential customers over a variety of platforms.

Give Back and Put People First

The belief that great people can do great things is an underlying tenet of the PAN Communications mind-set. That’s why they focus on putting people and culture first.

“By fostering an environment free of office politics and rich in support and diversity, we believe we can rise above the industry noise and win the race,” says Nardone. “The CEO of PAN believes his agency’s greatest assets go down the elevator every night: the people. Phil [CEO of PAN Communications] and the rest of the leadership team devote time and energy to cultivating the award-winning culture that currently exists at PAN. The agency takes a people-first approach and prioritizes a strong work-life balance for its employees.”

PAN Communications also believes in giving back to the communities that built the foundation of their agency. To that end, the firm launched a philanthropic program, PANcares, in November 2017. This allowed the agency to become involved in its local markets more consistently. As part of the program, PAN Communications partners with four nonprofit organizations dedicated to fighting against youth homelessness. Representing a cross-country collaborative, the partners are based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States; San Francisco, California, United States; New York City, New York, United States; and Orlando, Florida, United States.

As PAN Communications demonstrates, today’s PR agencies must distinguish themselves by delivering exceptional services and innovations to their clients. As a result, the industry is thriving. Brands demand more from agencies than ever before, asking these companies to prepare them for every stage of growth and to act as trusted partners along the way. PAN Communications is just one agency that shows the exceptional results that are possible when that happens.

“Publicity is absolutely critical. A good PR story is infinitely more effective than a front-page ad.” —Richard Branson

Richard Branson is the prominent British business mogul with over 400 companies under the Virgin Group and a net worth of $5.1 billion. His insights on public relations (PR) and advertising come, quite obviously, from a great amount of success and experience.

The sentiment also simply makes sense. The art of storytelling has connected generations, communities, and cultures for as long as humans have existed. Storytelling—or, in a broader sense, communication—is a foundational pillar of any civilization, culture, or people. The story and the emotion it elicits are why songs sell and why people celebrate holidays, attend events, and, ultimately, make purchases. 

PR tells a company’s story, and that story often connects a business with people in a stronger way than an often-overlooked print ad or a radio clip that goes in one ear and out the other. PR doesn’t act in a vacuum, though. PR, marketing, and advertising are all connected, and this trifecta can make or break a brand.

PR and marketing services are changing and evolving in the world’s fast-paced, global, and tech-saturated economy. Business analysts already project marketing services will be greatly affected by advancements in artificial intelligence.

Now, agencies are converging PR and marketing services to compete and to rise above the digital clutter.

This makes sense, given PR and marketing are connected at their cores. Offering digital marketing and PR services in tandem only strengthens the deliverables and elevates the brand. This isn’t a new idea; it’s just being reinvented on a digital platform.

SparkPR, who won the Bronze Stevie® for Public Relations Agency of the Year in the 2018 American Business Awards, has 20 years of experience in digital marketing. Specializing in helping innovation-minded companies transform their brands with powerful storytelling programs, SparkPR uses the latest digital analytics to amplify PR programs. Services include content and social development, programmatic distribution, paid media, and data-driven insights to inform strategic planning and to measure go-to-market plans.

This strategy has proved successful. Some of the world’s most innovative startups and industry leaders, including eBay, Electronic Arts, Flickr, Mozilla.org, Nokia, NVIDIA, Skype, the Economist, Trulia, Verizon, Visa, Yahoo!, and Walmart Labs, have partnered with SparkPR and reaped the ROI.

The methods SparkPR uses are adaptable to quickly growing tech and investment programs, too. For example, SparkPR provided comprehensive strategic communications and marketing services for blockchain and cryptocurrency leaders through what they call “Sparkchain.” This guides successful token sales to growing companies post-ICO, and Spark has emerged globally as the preferred partner for these highly specialized services.

The company’s ability to deliver has strengthened startup opportunities. A startup that might normally prepare for months to secure venture funding is able to create a business, launch it, and raise tens of millions of dollars in less than three months.

“Funding was secured for concepts, not betas, and money was often from wealthy individual investors, not VCs,” says Spark's co-founder Donna Burke.

Zucker develops strategies for written and creative content for their clients. She notes that many of the company’s startup clients successfully exit through acquisitions or go public through IPO, thus demonstrating how a successful partnership with SparkPR delivers ROI.

SparkPR aims to constantly stay updated with developments in cutting-edge technology, as well as to maintain the ability to translate those changes into a wider landscape.

“Collaborating with like-minded innovators is always ideal—especially those who are creating the next era of the Internet,” says CEO, Alan Soucy. “It’s truly an era of transparency, efficiency, and trust.”

SparkPR is one example of a company that has sought to raise the global tide and is fighting to stay ahead of the rapid changes. They also seek to be adaptable by offering various mobilized marketing and PR services, which have traditionally been separated—at least by department in the business world.

True to their storytelling mind-set, SparkPR believes their client successes and awards, such as the recent Stevie Award, will elevate their brand as well as their story, as the world enters a new digital age of marketing and the Internet. And, as Branson aptly stated, that story will do far more for them than any front-page ad.

The Stevie® Awards have announced the winners of the Best of the IBA Awards in The 2018 (15^th Annual) International Business Awards®, the world’s premier business awards competition.

Nominees in the 2018 IBAs were not able to apply for the Best of the IBA Awards directly. Winners were determined by a points system based on the total number of awards won in the IBAs with a Gold Stevie win counting for three points, a Silver Stevie win for two points, and a Bronze Stevie win for 1.5 points. 

This year’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners in The International Business Awards were announced on 9 August. The winners of the Best of the IBA Awards will be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies at The 15^th Annual International Business Awards banquet at the Intercontinental London Park Lane Hotel on 20 October. 

Winners of the 2018 Grand Stevie Awards are:

Most Honored Organization: International mail and logistics company DP DHL Group, with 84.5 award points earned by Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie-winning entries submitted by their offices and affiliates in 30 countries. With approximately 520,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories, the Group generated revenues of more than 60 billion Euros in 2017.

Most Honored Public Relations Agency: ASDA’A BCW, with a total of 53 award points earned by Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie-winning entries submitted on behalf of clients like Ford and GEMS Education. The company, headquartered in Dubai with 11 offices in the Middle East, also won a Top 10 Grand Stevie Award in 2017.

Most Honored Marketing Agency: GXEVER, with a total of 25 points earned by Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie-winning entries submitted by their headquarters in Beijing and offices in Shanghai, Chongqing, and most of China’s smaller cities.

Most Honored Interactive Services Agency: Magnet20, with 26.5 points earned by Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie-winning entries submitted by their office in Istanbul, Turkey for Stevies won on behalf of clients including GSK Turkey Company and Akçansa Company.

Top 10: These are the top Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie winners among all other organizations honored in the 2018 IBAs. They’ll also be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies.  Because of ties there are 11 honorees in the Top 10 this year:

1. Telkom Indonesia – Jakarta (83.5 points)
2. PT Petrokimia Gresik – Gresik, Indonesia (31.5)
3. Ooredoo Group – worldwide (30.5)
4. PJ Lhuillier, Inc (PJLI) – Manila, Philippines (30)
5. FIS – Jacksonville, FL USA (29.5)
6. (tie) Akbank – Istanbul, Turkey (28)

            Yapi Kredi Bank – Istanbul, Turkey (28)

8. Turk Telekom – Istanbul, Turkey (26)
9. LLORENTE & CUENCA – Madrid, Spain (25.5)
10. (tie) Makers Nutrition – Hauppauge, NY USA (23)

              Jeunesse Global – Lake Mary, FL USA (23)

“Of all the outstanding organizations and achievements that were recognized among this year’s record-breaking number of IBA nominations, these 15 organizations stand out as the ones with the widest breadth of achievement,” said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. “The Best of the IBA Awards are intended to honor organizations that show an especially strong dedication to honoring the work of their employees, commitment to their clients, and a sense of innovation, and we look forward to celebrating these firms with Grand Stevie Award trophies at our gala event in London on 20 October.”

The International Business Awards feature a wide variety of categories to recognize achievement in every facet of work life, including management awards, new product awards, marketing awards, PR awards, customer service awards, website awards, and more.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award placements in the 2018 IBAs were determined by the average scores of more than 200 professionals worldwide in the three-month judging process.

For more information about The International Business Awards, including a complete list of all Stevie Award winners in the 2018 competition, visit www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

Business Awards Program to Celebrate Excellence Worldwide at London Event

High-achieving organizations and executives around the world have been recognized as Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie® Award winners in The 15th Annual International Business Awards®, the world's only international, all-encompassing business awards program.

Nicknamed the Stevies from the Greek word "crowned," the awards will be presented at a gala event on Saturday, 20 October at the InterContinental London Park Lane Hotel in London, United Kingdom. Tickets for the event are on sale now at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie winners were selected from more than 3,900 nominations received from organizations and individuals in 74 nations. All organizations worldwide are eligible to compete in The International Business Awards, and can submit entries in a wide range of categories, including management awards, company of the year awards, marketing awards, public relations awards, customer service awards, human resources awards, new product awards, IT awards, web site awards and more. 

More than 270 executives worldwide participated on 12 juries this year to determine the Stevie winners.

Among the top winners of Gold Stevie Awards are Telkom Indonesia with 14; Switching-Time, China (six); ASDA’A BCW, United Arab Emirates (five); Makers Nutrition, USA (five); PJ Lhuillier, Inc, Philippines (five); and Reklam5 Digital Agency, Turkey (five). Winners of four Gold Stevie Awards include Akbank, Turkey; Cisco, worldwide; FIS, USA; GXEVER, China; Jeunesse Global, USA; LLORENTE & CUENCA, Spain; Magnet20, Turkey; Ooredoo Group, worldwide; PT Petrokimia Gresik, Indonesia; Ribose, Hong Kong; Thai Life Insurance, Thailand; Turk Telekom, Turkey; and Yapi Kredi Bank, Turkey.

DHL Express, worldwide, have 46 Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award wins. Other organizations with eight or more Stevie wins include CROWDCONSULTANTS 360 Gmbh, Germany; Manila Electric Company, Philippines; Marco de Comunicación, Spain; Port It Global, Kenya; Sahibinden.com, Turkey; Thai Life Insurance, Thailand; Twenty Twenty Media Pvt. Ltd, India; and Vakifbank, Turkey. The five countries that have the most winning nominations are the United States, Turkey, South Korea, the United Kingdom and Indonesia.

A complete list of all 2018 Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevie Award winners by category is available at www.StevieAwards.com/IBA.

During the week of 20 August the winners of the Best of the IBA Awards, five best-of-competition prizes, will be announced.  Winners will be determined by a tally of the total number of Gold, Silver and Bronze Stevies won by organizations, and will be presented with Grand Stevie Award trophies in London.

For high-resolution photos of the Stevie Award trophy or International Business Awards logo, visit http://stevieawards.com/iba/photos-and-logos. Other information and resources for press are available at http://stevieawards.com/iba/media-inquiries-news-service-list

The Stevie® Awards announced today the Grand Stevie Award winners in The 16th Annual American Business Awards^® competition. Winners will be presented their Grand Stevie Awards trophies at the ABA’s gala banquet on June 11 in New York.

FIS, the Jacksonville, FL-based leader in financial services technology, will be presented the Grand Stevie Award for Most Honored Organization of the Year. FIS earned 70 award points, more than any other entrant. Stevie Award-winning organizations are accorded three points for each Gold Stevie win, two points per Silver Stevie win, and one-and-a-half points for each Bronze Stevie win.

10Fold Communications, with offices in San Francisco, the Bay Area, Southern California, Texas, and Colorado, has won the Grand Stevie for Most Honored PR Agency of the Year with 29 points earned on behalf of clients including Agiloft, Attack IQ, and Versa, among others.

Other top ABA Grand Stevie winners include George P. Johnson Experience Marketing (Auburn Hills, MI) for Most Honored Interactive Agency of the Year with 21.5 points and Merkle (Columbia, MD) for Most Honored Marketing Agency of the Year with 18.5 points.

Grand Stevies were also awarded to the 10 other organizations with the most points in the 2018 competition.

The Top 10 winners are:

1. PAIRELATIONS, Centennial, CO, on behalf of clients including Audigy, Beltone, Formativ Health, GN ReSound, Gorilla Safety, Soleo Health, and TekLeaders (48.5)
2. Reltio, Redwood Shores, CA (38)
3. Jeunesse Global, Orlando, FL (27.5)
4. Makers Nutrition, Hauppauge, NY (21)
5. Cisco Systems, nationwide (20.5)

6. (tie) Aflac, Columbus, GA (18)
          John Hancock Signature Services, Boston, MA (18)
7. (tie) Franklin Covey, Salt Lake City, UT (16.5)
           PAN Communications, with offices in Boston, New York, Orlando, and San Francisco (16.5)
            TopSpot, Houston, TX (16.5)

All organizations operating in the U.S.– large and small, public and private, for-profit and non-profit—are eligible to submit nominations to the ABAs in a wide range of categories, honoring achievement in every aspect of work life, from customer service and management to public relations and product development. More than 3,700 nominations submitted to the 2018 competition were reviewed and rated in the judging process by more than 200 professionals, whose average scores determined the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Stevie Award winners who were announced earlier this month. The June 11 awards presentations will be broadcast live via Livestream.

For a complete list of the 2018 Stevie Award winners, visit http://www.StevieAwards.com/ABA.

Sponsors of The 2018 American Business Awards include HCL America, John Hancock Signature Services, and SoftPro.