The announcement of the list, which is published in full below, comes ahead of the Virtual Awards Ceremony on 21 January 2021. Click here to register to watch.
The new Awards spotlight the best campaigns, agencies, in-house teams and individuals across corporate and financial comms, and in public affairs, in the UK.
The shortlist has been put together following a series of panel judging sessions by teams of industry experts.
Thanks to all the judges, and to everyone who entered.
The shortlist
Best Proactive Lobbying Campaign on an Issue or Cause
'Axe the Reading Tax' by PPA
'Get HS2 done' by Field Consulting for High Speed Rail Group
'#LetTheMusicPlay' by Blakeney for LIVE
'Planet Positive' by Brands2Life for Tetra Pak
Best Use of Media Relations in a Campaign
'Farting cows make dairy butter more harmful to planet than margarine' by APCO Worldwide and 72 Point for Upfield
'Raising hygiene standards during the Coronavirus pandemic' by Brands2life for Rentokil Initial
'Save pub life' by 3 Monkeys Zeno for Budweiser Brewing Group
Best Handling of a De/merger or Acquisition Deal
'Investec Asset Management’s demerger from Investec Group, rebrand and listing as Ninety One' by FTI Consulting for Ninety One (formerly Investec Asset Management)
'Prudential plc demerger: creating two FTSE 100 businesses' by Prudential plc
'Royal London acquires Police Mutual' by Royal London
Best Crisis Comms Around the Coronavirus
'Back Don't Block' by Newsworks and Bluestripe Group
'Mitigating cricket’s greatest ever test' by England and Wales Cricket Board
'NatWest Group response to COVID-19' by NatWest Group Commercial Banking Corporate Affairs Team
'Pizza Hut team members: delivering for Britain' by Hanover Communications for Pizza Hut
'Responding to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector' by Energy UK
'The lighthouse of Storm COVID' by Cognito Media for HW Fisher, Chartered Accountants
Best Campaign to Actively Form or Shift Government Policy
'Axe the Reading Tax' by PPA
'Home and dry – the commercial fishing safety campaign' by Mindfully Wired Communications for Fishing Industry Safety Group
'Kickstarting employment support from government' by BECG for Communities that Work
'#LetTheMusicPlay' by Blakeney for LIVE
Best Use of Social Media and/or Influencers in a Campaign
'#ABetterPlantBasedFuture' by APCO Worldwide & Automated Creative for Upfield
'Celebrate the single' by Grayling for Lloyds Bank
'Go carton' by Brands2Life for Tetra Pak
Best Corporate Internal Comms or Employee Engagement Campaign
'Delivering for the country: Then. Now. Always.' by Royal Mail
'Internal comms takes centre stage during a global pandemic' by Upfield
'Pizza Hut team members: delivering for Britain' by Hanover Communications for Pizza Hut
RELX Corporate Communications
Public Affairs Newcomer of the Year
Amy Owens, public affairs executive, PPA
Sam Winter, account manager, Grayling
Corporate and/or Financial Comms Newcomer of the Year
Ewan White, account manager, Grayling
Molly Woodward, account manager, Grayling
Corporate and/or Financial Comms Professional of the Year (in-house)
Sarah de Lagarde, global head of communications, Janus Henderson
Bill Myers, managing director, external communications and corporate responsibility, Liberty Global
Best Corporate In-house Comms Team
Janus Henderson
Lloyds Banking Group, group corporate affairs
NatWest Group, group corporate affairs
O2, corporate affairs
Best Agency for Corporate and/or Financial Comms
Blurred
Hanover Communications
Headland Consultancy
Houston
Lansons
Portland Communications
Best Agency for Public Affairs
Blakeney
Engine MHP
FTI Consulting
Headland Consultancy
Interel Consulting UK
Winners in these categories will be announced at the virtual event: Best handling of an IPO, Public affairs professional of the year (agency) and Best crisis comms (excluding the coronavirus).
Click here to register for the Virtual Awards Ceremony.
