Public Relations Awards

Winners have been announced in the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition.

See the full list of 2013 winners here.   Among the top winners with multiple awards are Bacardi Limited, Citi, MSLGroup, and Weber Shandwick.

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, was open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

The number of categories in the GWA doubled this year, with separate categories for Agency and for Inhouse entries. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include: Community Relations, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Digital Media Relations, Event Management, Internal Communications, Launch of a New Product, PR on a Shoestring, Publications, Social Media for PR, and Technology, among others.

Entries submitted to the Golden World Awards competition were judged by an international panel of senior practitioners.

The GWA are managed on behalf of IPRA by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes the world’s premier business awards programs including The International Business Awards, The American Business Awards, and the forthcoming Asia-Pacific Stevie Awards. Questions about IPRA’s Golden World Awards may be directed to GWA@thestevies.com.

Entries for the 2014 edition of the Golden World Awards for PR Excellence will open in January.  Join the mailing list to ensure that you are emailed the entry kit as soon as it's available.

Kevin Read, Managing Director of Bell Pottinger Business & Brand in London, U.K., will Chair the Corporate Communications Awards and PR Awards Final Judging Committee in The 2013 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition. (Judging for the 2013 IBAs is now underway and we invite you to apply to be a preliminary-round judge. If you qualify, you will be able to judge over the Internet at your convenience.) Here we talked with Kevin about his thoughts on the world of international communications.

As managing director of an international public relations company, what advice do you have for corporations on how PR can solve international communications challenges?
One of the great strengths of PR consultants, especially those involved with international work, is that they can simplify the way that global corporations seek to express themselves. Equally, they are past masters of finding solutions that will illustrate the core points of a business’s products and services.

Many corporations—even significant global brands—need PR consultants to help them distil and deliver crucial messages to their target audience. Highly experienced PR professional are culturally sensitive to the ways in which a message needs to be delivered.  They are acutely aware of the modern need to balance the emotional with the rational, and the visual with the verbal.

What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
I have been fascinated by the recent business news about the appointment of a Canadian as the new Governor of the Bank of England, one of the most traditional and conservative positions in the world. The media—with a little help from the Chancellor of the Exchequer—chose to portray Mark Carney both as the best man in the world for the job and as a new broom for a dusty old institution that has maybe felt too comfortable behind its giant stone walls. As Mr. Carney settles in to the job, it will be fascinating to measure any gains from improved communications with the outside world against the risks of market reactions to more regular interaction.

Do you have a favorite app that you use for business purposes?
One of the great pleasures of working on international PR campaigns is not only visiting many fascinating and vibrant cities but also having the opportunity to sample the cuisine of different cultures. The free and highly reliable OpenTable app has on many occasions—and usually at the last minute—provided me with fantastic recommendations and allowed a very smooth and easy booking process; and the ability to flick back from time to time to see where you last ate in a particular city is a great plus for the next time you visit.

If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
Most of my career in public relations has focused on trying to resolve urgent yet complex communications challenges in different fields.  I’ve frequently had to spend long hours studying a wide range of different topics in order to get up to speed as an expert in each of these fields. I would therefore very much enjoy the opportunity to work within academia where perhaps I could instead focus on just one issue and spend time looking into it in greater depth.  I would like to make a tiny contribution to the world’s total knowledge of one particular subject.

As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
There are two things about public relations which I still thoroughly enjoy: the first is coming into the office in the morning and a having a brand new brief land on my desk in an area about which I know very little, then spending the rest of the day trying to unravel the intricacies of something totally new; the second is that I still relish the process of pitching—the ideas, the structure, the performance, and, of course, winning … although it does on rare occasions involve losing.

About Kevin Read:
Kevin is a former political speechwriter and management lecturer. His main focus is on resolving complex, international communications problems, shaping fresh, modern strategies, and implementing integrated solutions that are typically spearheaded by PR.

He has more than 15 years’ senior consultancy experience and specializes in strategic planning and providing senior level business counsel. He has worked extensively for leading global brands (HSBC, British Gas, Unilever), a wide array of industry bodies (nuclear, food, telecommunications, cosmetics, beverages), government departments, NGOs, and professional services firms. 

About Bell Pottinger Private:
Bell Pottinger Private is an international, full-service communications business. The company has business experience in 60 countries, advising world leaders in politics and business, supporting communications executives in every industrial and commercial sector, and managing reputations and brands in every communications medium.  For more information go to www.bell-pottinger.co.uk.

 

Finalists are announced in the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition.

See the list of Finalists here.

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, was open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

The number of categories - and entries - in the GWA doubled this year, as now there are separate categories for Agency and for Inhouse entries. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include: Community Relations, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Digital Media Relations, Event Management, Internal Communications, Launch of a New Product, PR on a Shoestring, Publications, Social Media for PR, and Technology, among others.

Finalists were determined by an international panel of senior practitioners. Final judging to determine the overall category winners will take place in Cologne, Germany on July 12.

The 2013 GWA are managed on behalf of IPRA by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes the world’s premier business awards programs including The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards.  Questions about IPRA’s Golden World Awards may be directed to GWA@thestevies.com.

The final extended entry deadline for the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition, is 4 June. No additional late penalties or fees will be charged in association with the deadline extension.

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, is open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

To begin your submission process, you should:

1. Request an entry kit.
The entry kit will have all of the information you need regarding entry preparation and submission.

2. Review the 2013 categories.
The number of categories in the GWA has doubled this year, as now there are separate categories for Agency and for Inhouse entries. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include: Community Relations, Corporate Communications, Crisis Management, Digital Media Relations, Event Management, Internal Communications, Launch of a New Product, PR on a Shoestring, Publications, Social Media for PR, and Technology, among others. For a full list of categories, visit the GWA website at www.ipra.org/gwa.

3. Submit your entries.
To submit your entries, review the entry kit and website for complete instructions on how to choose your categories and prepare your entries. When you are ready to submit your entries, begin here.

Entries submitted to the Golden World Awards competition will be judged by an international panel of senior practitioners. In considering entries, the judges may grant one, several or no awards in each category.

The 2013 GWA are managed on behalf of IPRA by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes the world’s premier business awards programs including The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards.  Questions about IPRA’s Golden World Awards may be directed to GWA@thestevies.com.

Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2013 edition of IPRA's Golden World Awards for Excellence.

Monday, 20 May is the final entry deadline for the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition. Request the entry kit here and you will receive it right away.

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, is open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

Entries submitted to the Golden World Awards competition will be judged by an international panel of senior practitioners. In considering entries, the judges may grant one, several or no awards in each category.

The number of categories in the GWA has doubled this year, as now there are separate categories for Agency and for Inhouse entries. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include:

• Community Relations
  For community relations campaigns not conducted by government / local authorities.
• Corporate Communications
  For excellence in enhancing a company’s overall reputation through corporate communications.
• Crisis Management
  Example of excellent communications management during a crisis.
• Digital Media Relations
  For the successful use of digital media relations in a PR campaign.
• Event Management
  For the planning and delivery of a successful event with a public relations dimension.
• Internal Communications
  For a creative internal communications campaign that engaged and informed personnel.
• Launch of a New Product
  For well-planned PR activities around the launch of a product.
• PR on a Shoestring 
  For an imaginative PR campaign done on a small budget.
• Publications
  For PR publications such as newsletters or magazines that showed excellence and imagination in communicating with stakeholders. This can be in a print or electronic format.
• Social Media for PR
  For excellence in the use of social media as a public relations tool.
• Technology
  For the effective use of public relations in the technology sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.

For a full list of categories, visit the GWA website at www.ipra.org/gwa.

To submit your entries, review the entry kit and website for complete instructions on how to choose your categories and prepare your entries. When you are ready to submit your entries, begin here.

The 2013 GWA are managed on behalf of IPRA by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes the world’s premier business awards programs including The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards.  Questions about IPRA’s Golden World Awards may be directed to GWA@thestevies.com.

Contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2013 edition of IPRA's Golden World Awards for Excellence.

Today, 6 May, is the entry deadline for the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition. You'll avoid the £50/entry late fee if you submit your entries before 10:00 am GMT tomorrow. Late entries will be accepted through 20 May with payment of the late fee.

Get Your Entry Kit Here.

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, is open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

The number of categories in the GWA has doubled this year, as now there are separate categories for Agency and for Inhouse entries. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include:

• Community Relations
  For community relations campaigns not conducted by government / local authorities.
• Corporate Communications
  For excellence in enhancing a company’s overall reputation through corporate communications.
• Crisis Management
  Example of excellent communications management during a crisis.
• Digital Media Relations
  For the successful use of digital media relations in a PR campaign.
• Event Management
  For the planning and delivery of a successful event with a public relations dimension.
• Internal Communications
  For a creative internal communications campaign that engaged and informed personnel.
• Launch of a New Product
  For well-planned PR activities around the launch of a product.
• PR on a Shoestring 
  For an imaginative PR campaign done on a small budget.
• Publications
  For PR publications such as newsletters or magazines that showed excellence and imagination in communicating with stakeholders. This can be in a print or electronic format.
• Social Media for PR
  For excellence in the use of social media as a public relations tool.
• Technology
  For the effective use of public relations in the technology sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.

For a full list of categories, visit the GWA website at www.ipra.org/gwa.

Entries submitted to the Golden World Awards competition will be judged by an international panel of senior practitioners. In considering entries, the judges may grant one, several or no awards in each category. To submit your entries, review the entry kit and website for complete instructions on how to choose your categories and prepare your entries. When you are ready to submit your entries, begin here.

The 2013 GWA are managed on behalf of IPRA by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes the world’s premier business awards programs including The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards.  Questions about IPRA’s Golden World Awards may be directed to GWA@thestevies.com.

Contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2013 edition of IPRA's Golden World Awards for Excellence.

The entry deadline for the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition, is 6 May. If you haven't yet done so, you can get your entry kit here. (Late entries will be accepted through 20 May with payment of a £50/entry late fee.)

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, is open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

Entries submitted to the Golden World Awards competition will be judged by an international panel of senior practitioners. In considering entries, the judges may grant one, several or no awards in each category. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include:

• Community Relations
  For community relations campaigns not conducted by government / local authorities.
• Corporate Communications
  For excellence in enhancing a company’s overall reputation through corporate communications.
• Crisis Management
  Example of excellent communications management during a crisis.
• Digital Media Relations
  For the successful use of digital media relations in a PR campaign.
• Event Management
  For the planning and delivery of a successful event with a public relations dimension.
• Internal Communications
  For a creative internal communications campaign that engaged and informed personnel.
• Launch of a New Product
  For well-planned PR activities around the launch of a product.
• PR on a Shoestring 
  For an imaginative PR campaign done on a small budget.
• Publications
  For PR publications such as newsletters or magazines that showed excellence and imagination in communicating with stakeholders. This can be in a print or electronic format.
• Social Media for PR
  For excellence in the use of social media as a public relations tool.
• Technology
  For the effective use of public relations in the technology sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.

For a full list of categories, visit the GWA website at www.ipra.org/gwa.

To submit your entries, review the entry kit and website for complete instructions on how to choose your categories and prepare your entries. When you are ready to submit your entries, begin here.

The 2013 GWA are managed on behalf of IPRA by the Stevie® Awards, which organizes the world’s premier business awards programs including The International Business Awards and The American Business Awards.  Questions about IPRA’s Golden World Awards may be directed to GWA@thestevies.com.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2013 edition of IPRA's Golden World Awards for Excellence.

Burson-Marsteller in Sydney, Australia received the Gold Stevie® Award for Best PR Campaign of the Year in Community Relations in the PR awards categories of The 2012 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition. (The entry deadline for the 2013 IBAs is 15 May. If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here.) Here we look at the surprising way a health message was communicated.

Seven million Australians are estimated to be at serious risk of lung disease, a growing health issue that causes 350,000 hospitalizations in that country annually. The Australian Lung Foundation (ALF) had been trying to educate the public about this problem since 1990, but had been finding it a major challenge.

In 2011, Burson-Marsteller (B-M) encouraged the ALF to try a completely different approach. The result was the “Show Us Your Lungs” campaign, which engaged more Australians, through more mediums, than any ALF campaign before it.

Background
After five years of working with the ALF, B-M wanted to re-invigorate the annual ALF campaign to encourage Australians to take action against the symptoms of lung disease, but felt that a fresh approach was needed to achieve the necessary cut-through in public attention.

The concept that B-M developed embodied a cheeky call to action—“Show Us Your Lungs!”—With a serious message that would resonate with all audiences, but especially health professionals, patient groups, and consumers.

To ensure support from campaign stakeholders, B-M presented the initial strategy and creative concepts to approximately 40 key medical opinion leaders and corporate funding bodies.  It was accepted with resounding applause.

The project was implemented and run between July – October, 2011.

Background Research
In order to highlight the risks to the public of ignoring their lungs, research was undertaken in the form of a survey into general consumer attitudes towards lung health.

Celebrity Stakeholders
High profile Australians were partnered with to communicate key campaign messages, including Australia’s best-known GP, Dr. John D’Arcy, TV vet Dr. Harry Cooper, and actor John Jarratt, star of the popular Australian show Wolf Creek.

Teaser Campaign
B-M directed a quirky teaser video and full-length community service announcement, featuring John Jarratt and a couple of “flashers” in trench coats, who “flashed” people on the street, only to reveal healthy and unhealthy lungs painted on their bodies. These videos spearheaded the digital element of the campaign and were hosted on the ALF YouTube channel.

Using the findings of the initial survey to communicate how many Australians are at risk of lung disease, B-M developed a multi-media news release, which included media materials, research findings, and visual and audio content from the spokespeople. In addition to celebrities, the spokespeople included lung-disease patients and leading medical experts.

Flashing in Public
A public “flashing” event was held to launch the campaign on October 10, 2011. Actors in trench coats “flashed” commuters, revealing their body-painted lungs. This event had the dual purpose of engaging directly with the public to deliver campaign messages, and providing media visuals to support the national and state-based media outreach.

Collateral Material
A range of promotional campaign material was produced that encouraged people to take the ALF’s lung health checklist, visit online resources, and/or seek medical advice.

Outcomes

1. The campaign reached nearly a quarter of all Australians with an estimated reach of 5.5 million. This included 540 pieces of coverage across television, radio, print, and online outlets, including over 3,600 views of the YouTube videos.
2. Traffic to the ALF website doubled during the campaign launch, and there was a huge spike in social media activity.
3. The ALF received feedback from health care providers that there was a significant increase in enquiries about lung health over the duration of the campaign.

About Burson Marsteller Sydney:
Burson-Marsteller Sydney is a leading public relations and public affairs firm that has provided strategic communication services to some of Australia's largest and most reputable companies since 1980.  The agency has the benefit of a global, resource-rich network, while retaining a local, flexible, and nimble offering in Australia, making it a partner of choice to both large and small businesses.

The early-bird entry deadline for the 21st annual IPRA Golden World Awards, the top international public relations awards competition, is 15 April. You'll save £50 per entry if you submit your nominations through that date.

If you haven't yet done so, you can get your entry kit here.

The IPRA Golden World Awards for Excellence offer world-wide recognition and acclaim to world-class public relations programmes. The 2013 competition, conducted by the International Public Relations Association, is open to local, regional, national or international public relations programmes carried out or completed in 2012/2013.

The GWAs has doubled the number of categories this year,  as now there are separate categories for Agency and for Inhouse entries. Entrants may submit any number of nominations to any number of categories, which include:

• Community Relations
  For community relations campaigns not conducted by government / local authorities.
• Corporate Communications
  For excellence in enhancing a company’s overall reputation through corporate communications.
• Crisis Management
  Example of excellent communications management during a crisis.
• Digital Media Relations
  For the successful use of digital media relations in a PR campaign.
• Event Management
  For the planning and delivery of a successful event with a public relations dimension.
• Internal Communications
  For a creative internal communications campaign that engaged and informed personnel.
• Launch of a New Product
  For well-planned PR activities around the launch of a product.
• PR on a Shoestring 
  For an imaginative PR campaign done on a small budget.
• Publications
  For PR publications such as newsletters or magazines that showed excellence and imagination in communicating with stakeholders. This can be in a print or electronic format.
• Social Media for PR
  For excellence in the use of social media as a public relations tool.
• Technology
  For the effective use of public relations in the technology sector, including business-to-business and consumer campaigns.

For a full list of categories, visit the GWA website.

GWA now features three entry deadlines:

• 15 April - the early-bird deadline, with a discounted fee of £250 per entry
• 6 May - final entry deadline, entry fee is £300 per entry
• 20 May - last day that late entries will be accepted with payment of £50/entry late fee

Entry details are available at www.ipra.org/gwa.

To submit your entries, review the entry kit and website for complete instructions on how to choose your categories and prepare your entries. When you are ready to submit your entries, begin here.

Please don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in the 2013 edition of IPRA's Golden World Awards for Excellence.

Yulu Public Relations Inc. in Vancouver, Canada, received the Gold Stevie® Award for Best Public Service PR Campaign in the PR awards categories of The 2012 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition. (10 April is the early-bird entry deadline for the 2013 IBAs, take advantage of discounted entry fees for those entries submitted by 10 April, request your entry kit here. Interested in more PR categories? The Stevie Awards now manages the IPRA Golden World Awards, which will be accepting entries through 20 May.) Here we look at Yulu Communications award-winning work for the charity F*ck Cancer.

The communications awards winner, Yulu Public Relations Inc., was recognized by the IBAs for their media relations work with local charity F*ck Cancer’s international campaign titled “The Cancer Talk.”  On winning the award, Yulu’s co-founder Melissa Orozco commented: “When I lived in New York, PR agencies would battle tooth and nail for a Stevie award, so when we received the news that we had won gold, we were ecstatic.” She added: “Our work with F*ck Cancer has been extremely rewarding—and most of all, fun!”

Mission: To Start Talking
F*ck Cancer's objective is to put an end to late-stage cancer diagnosis by educating youth about early cancer detection. The ongoing mission has an ambitious, strong, and clear call-to-action: Empower Generation-Y (aka Millennials) to make a difference in fighting and educating people about cancer. The conversation begins at home with today's youth talking to their parents about early detection. Part of F*ck Cancer's mission through “The Cancer Talk” is to teach them how to get that conversation started.

Stigma
In mid-2011, F*ck Cancer recruited Yulu PR to assist in promoting the organization’s mission to eliminate the stigma and barrier experienced when millennials attempted to talk with their parents about checking regularly for cancer. F*ck Cancer had already spent two years building and executing engaging campaigns aimed at educating youth on ways to broach the subject of cancer with their parents, but the conversation was still an uncomfortable one. The mission with this campaign was to find a way to get the conversation started in a new, more effective way.

Pay It Forward
Inspired by an experience many of us have been through—that awkward "sex talk" our parents had with us growing up—F*ck Cancer launched a campaign called “The Cancer Talk." The message we should be sharing with today's youth is: "Your parents took the time to have the ‘sex talk’ with you because they love you and want to keep you safe. Now it's your turn to pay it forward and have the 'cancer talk' with them, because you love them and want to keep them safe.”

Celebrity Ambassadors
To execute this campaign, Yulu and F*ck Cancer collaboratively established relationships with influential media and celebrities and had them share the story of when their parents had the “sex talk” with them. Many of the campaign's ambassadors were selected specifically for their popularity and influence among millennials. The stories these celebrity ambassadors recorded were personal and funny, and each video ended with the star bringing the attention back to the main message: "Pay it forward and have the 'cancer talk' with your parents!" These celebrity “Cancer Talk” videos can be viewed here.

Sixteen celebrity endorsement videos were created for the campaign. The video featuring One Tree Hill's Sophia Bush spread to more than 54 million people in under three weeks thanks to the power of YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and Bush's celebrity fan site.

Massive Success
Yulu’s main role in this stage of the campaign was to share these celebrities’ videos with influential media. To capitalize on the massive success generated by the digital media campaign, Yulu facilitated a national media tour for F*ck Cancer's CEO Yael Cohen. Yulu secured interviews and coverage with leading media outlets including CNN, The Wall Street Journal, VOGUE, Forbes, ELLE, TeenVOGUE, Fitness Magazine, Fast Company, Glamour, Vanity Fair, Marie Claire, and many more.

From the top-ten media hits alone (out of approximately 400 traceable articles and videos, and not including Twitter and Facebook impressions), the campaign was viewed, read, and listened to by an audience of more than 49,564,141 people.

Since the campaign launched in the summer of 2011, Yael has been recognized by The Globe and Mail in Canada as one of twelve people changing philanthropy, alongside Bill Gates and Bono; and she has been listed on Fast Company's Top-100 Creative Business People, all thanks to the organization's unique approach to starting this vital conversation.

About Melissa Orozco:
Melissa Orozco is the principal and co-founder of Vancouver-based PR agency Yulu Public Relations Inc. She co-founded Yulu PR in 2011 after nearly a decade of PR experience, including a five-year stint working at top PR agencies in New York City. F*ck Cancer was Yulu's first client. The firm has since grown from one to eight employees. A natural storyteller, Melissa developed a knack for media relations early in her career, and has garnered coverage for her clients in most major publications and outlets including CNN, The New York Times, The TODAY Show, and VOGUE.

About Yulu Communicatons:
Yulu Public Relations Inc. is a full-service public relations and digital media agency that works with brands to cultivate their stories and share them in a meaningful way. Its clients range from non-profits to real estate and lifestyle brands that are being featured in Forbes, Fast Company, Self, The New York Times, The LA Times, on CNN, Anderson, CTV, CBC and Global.

About F*ck Cancer:
F*ck Cancer is a Vancouver-based charity that seeks to put an end to late-stage cancer diagnosis by educating Generation Y (AKA Millennials) about early cancer detection though creative, engaging campaigns. 90 per cent of cancers are curable if caught in stage one. F*ck Cancer’s mission is to share this message with today’s youth; creating a generation of early cancer detection ambassadors. For more information, go to http://cancertalk.letsfcancer.com/.