As a region we have an enormous amount to offer the public relations and comms industry. It is pleasing to see that more North West professionals have the opportunity to work on national and international campaigns.
The North West is an energetic, vibrant place to do business, full of talented people who aren't shy of hard work, and this is reflected in the campaigns showcased here.
The 2004 PRide Awards ceremony in Manchester once more proved to be a highly enjoyable evening. For those not able to join us, this book gives a flavour of the quality of this year's winners. And for the award winners, it's a lasting reminder of their success.
Let's hope 2005 brings more opportunities for North West PROs to get their teeth into exciting, challenging campaigns, so that next year's entries raise the bar even higher.
Sally Sykes, chairman, IPR North West
If the activities of 2004 reflect the future of the North West PR scene, companies in the region and beyond should cover their ears - agencies have begun to holler with gusto as the scene becomes ever more young, vibrant and diverse. Failing to do your own PR now equals invisibility - a fact a few long-standing agencies found out in the nick of time.
Rumblings from a cross-section of agencies in the North West have drowned out counterparts in other regions, as fledgling outfits such as Manchester-based Brazen PR storm the industry and win enviable accounts. The rise of the smaller practitioner may have been last year's story, but consolidation is the buzz word at the established end of the scale, with Mason Williams the only agency not part of a national network. Staniforth, Communique, Mason Williams and Euro RSCG Leedex may be the top performers in terms of income, but newer outfits such as Sadler PR, MC2 and Fido continue to bag high-profile accounts.
An emerging theme is corporate social responsibility. Manchester's Tangerine and Creative Concern, as well as Liverpool's Leapfrog, all specialise in these issues, which add another twist to the North West mix.
Michael Taylor, editor, North West Business Insider
AWARD WINNERS PICK UP THEIR ACCOLADES
PR TEAM OF THE YEAR - CONSULTANCY - GOLD AWARD
Brazen PR This was a unanimous decision by the judges - the out-and-out favourite. Brazen PR stands head and shoulders above the competition, with consistently high standards of creative campaigns across a number of entry categories. A pleasure to judge, they said. Its cheeky, well-targeted programmes, such as the highly successful one for clothing retailer Footie Chick, were spot on. Celebrity involvement was employed sensibly where appropriate. Extensive coverage, often from a standing start, has been the cornerstone of this agency's work for clients, from the fun of National Game Playing Week to the sober topic of missing persons. One of its executives was also highly commended as a young communicator, indicating that there is much more to come from Brazen.
PR TEAM OF THE YEAR - IN-HOUSE - GOLD AWARD
Cumbria County Council This is a team that clearly work hard to deliver a range of solutions across a wide range of issues, both internally and externally. The judges agreed that their performance showed a commitment to delivering key messages with a strong work ethic, a broad range of skills and the employment of sound evaluation techniques. Internal comms activities were particularly strong, with the Front line Focus campaign a key help in the council achieving Investors in People accreditation.
The content of its internal publication, Newsroom, was also highly praised.
Campaigns on non-existent budgets, such as the use of cartoon brand ambassador Katie Chemical, which appealed to children and adults alike, demonstrated an ability to target effectively. In all, the team produced successful outcomes on a range of activity.
GRAND PRIX - GOLD AWARD
Communique PR BigD Says Nuts to Testicular Cancer (BigD) was really good value, targeting with cheek and style an audience that is notorious for turning out health messages to 20- to 35-year-old men.
Communique's approach to making males aware of testicular cancer wrapped hard-headed information in a laddish exterior in a bid to make men 'have a feel and check yourself regularly'. Using pubs as the battleground, information displays at bars and in urinals explained the importance of self-checking.
A website, checkyournuts.com, was fun and irreverent, but contained enough serious facts to make the target group think. This excellent campaign clearly increased sales and was in the best traditions of British smut.
All in all, this drive has been a great way to get people talking about a difficult issue.
CONSULTANCY VALUE - SPONSORED BY THE PRCA
GOLD AWARD - COMMUNIQUe PR
Going Nuts for BigD
This excellent campaign clearly increased sales. It was a cheeky,
appropriately smutty approach to a serious issue - testicular cancer.
SILVER AWARD - CATAPULT PR
Send Shirts to Skopje (Yorkshire Building Society)
A clever campaign using the competitive spirit of football to get people
to donate old sports shirts for disadvantaged and disabled children and
adults in Macedonia.
CHARITY OR NON-PROFIT CAMPAIGN
GOLD AWARD - CONNECTPOINT
Super Heroes
Clever drive persuading people to become community heroes.
GOLD AWARD - COMMUNIQUe PR
BigD says Nuts to Testicular Cancer
Great way to get people talking about a difficult issue.
SILVER AWARD - BRAZEN PR
Missing Persons Wall (Printworks)
Effective visuals and positive results.
SILVER AWARD - MERE COMMUNICATION
Healthy Eyes (Healthsure)
Great visuals and a clever booklet.
NEWSLETTER
GOLD AWARD - BOLTON METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL
Bolton Scene
The presentation is determined by the publishing deal with the local
newspaper. This newsletter has very good content.
SILVER AWARD - CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL
Newsroom
Although some judges considered the publication to be a little
old-fashioned in appearance, the content and use of colour was appealing
and appropriate for staff. Good evaluation techniques have been
employed.
COMMUNITY CAMPAIGN
GOLD AWARD - SPIN MEDIA
Oldham Beyond (Oldham LSP)
The repositioning of the thought bubble was an intelligent and creative
idea that impressed the team of judges and resulted in high community
buy-in to the project. The agency's claim that it has a powerful
understanding of what the media requires was backed up by impressive
coverage achieved on a local, national and trade level.
INTEGRATED PR CAMPAIGN
GOLD AWARD - BRAZEN PR
National Game Playing Week (Hasbro)
Standing head and shoulders above the rest, this wide-ranging programme
involved lots of user participation. Outstanding results across a wide
range of media.
SILVER AWARD - STOCKPORT METROPOLITAN BOROUGH COUNCIL
Kooth.com 24/7 Counselling
A campaign that was specifically targeted at a difficult-to-reach
audience. The approach provided decent results - in fact, a good job
considering the budget.
USE OF INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
GOLD AWARD - CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL
Frontline Focus
The judges felt that the wide range of techniques employed by Cumbria
County Council's PR team was very impressive in this internal
communications campaign. And it was this breadth of activity that
contributed to sound results for a commendable, cost-effective programme
which, while keeping staff informed, helped the council to achieve
Investors in People accreditation.
USE OF PHOTOGRAPHY, DESIGN OR NEW MEDIA
GOLD AWARD - BRAZEN PR
Cheap Shot for Wizcom (Wizcom)
The judges felt that Brazen showed good use of stunning photography in
this campaign. This, combined with a link to a website, produced
excellent results. Nicely executed and perfectly targeted.
SILVER AWARD - BRAZEN PR
Look Book (Onitsuka Tiger)
The judges really liked the Japanese bamboo theme running through this
campaign, which was well-researched and developed. Good targeting of
celebrities who have an influence on the key audience.
BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS CAMPAIGN
GOLD AWARD - CONNECTPOINT PR
The Hard Shoe Shuffle (Sadolin)
This quirky drive made a boring topic interesting, and the shoe was a
very clever hook to grab people's attention. The talk of the show.
SILVER AWARD - SPIN MEDIA
Close Up and Personal (Close Invoicing Financing)
A dry and dusty subject was made entertaining. Overall, a good solid PR
campaign from Spin Media that achieved extensive local coverage.
CONSUMER CAMPAIGN
GOLD AWARD - BRAZEN PR
Scoring with Footie Chick
A great, fun campaign that was spot on for the sexy, sassy target
audience. Good celebrity involvement and photo opportunities helped to
deliver impressive results from a standing start.
SILVER AWARD - BRAZEN PR
National Game Playing Week (Hasbro)
This was a wide-ranging campaign from Brazen, which involved a lot of
user participation to achieve extensive coverage. The PR team
demonstrated outstanding results across a wide range of media.
LOW-BUDGET CAMPAIGN
GOLD AWARD - STANIFORTH
Home is where the Art is (Manchester Art Gallery)
This was a three-stranded campaign that rose well above the ordinary
approach, by way of its unique 'tranquillity tours' concept for soothing
stressed-out city office workers. By using the gallery's collection of
'relaxing' paintings, this exciting programme stimulated the interest of
a wide range of media and attracted incredible numbers of new visitors
for the client.
PUBLIC SECTOR PROGRAMME
GOLD AWARD - MANCHESTER CITY COUNCIL
Challenge Manchester - 100 Days to a Clean City
A thorough countdown programme that used a wide range of media and
achieved significant results. This confident challenge of a campaign
resulted in strong buy-in from local stakeholders.
SILVER AWARD - CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL
Katie Chemical
Cartoon brand ambassador Katie Chemical appealed to children and adults
alike. A range of targeting meant the campaign reached all relevant
audiences on a tiny budget.
SMALL TEAM/SOLE PRACTITIONER
WINNER
PEPPERMINT PR
Susie Sinyor's Peppermint PR evidently carries out good-quality
campaigns for its broad portfolio of clients with considerable success,
according to the judges. A wide range of skills and activity was clear
from its submission, and the judges were particularly impressed by the
amount of time that the agency dedicated to charity and non-profit work.
IN-HOUSE CAMPAIGN
SILVER AWARD - LANCASHIRE TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS TRUST
Hospital Hearts and Minds
The PR team came up with a feel-good campaign to deal with a highly
emotive issue, since relocating the unit was potentially a crisis
waiting to happen. But sympathetic handling from the in-house team
ensured that the positive aspects of the relocation were the chosen
media angles, rather than the closure. A worthy winner.
TRADE OR TECHNICAL CAMPAIGN
SILVER AWARD - CONTEXT PR
Creating the Future of Light (Lumileds Lighting)
This was an illuminating campaign that resulted in strong international
coverage in a specialist area. What set this apart from other entries in
the judges' mind was Context's particularly impressive decision to
promote its client within vertical markets. The campaign demonstrated a
good use of language skills - internal resources - to foreign
journalists.
ISSUES OF CRISIS MANAGEMENT
SILVER AWARD - RATTLE PR
Right Said Fred (George Wimpey, Manchester)
The judges were impressed by this campaign, which they felt demonstrated
a sound handling of a local issue that had the potential to both create
ill feeling and attract adverse media comment. The agency's engagement
of the late steeplejack and TV figure Fred Dibnah was a good example of
the successful use of a celebrity opinion leader.
YOUNG COMMUNICATOR
WINNER - HELEN MANN
Stockport Council
The judges said Helen displayed exceptional talent and great maturity in
her approach to communication. Her innovative, creative approach in
traditionally difficult areas of PR activities achieved remarkable
results.
HIGHLY COMMENDED
CHRIS DUNNE
Brazen PR This talented events PR specialist has made a significant
contribution to his agency's development and is passionate about his
work.
All finalists can be found at www.ipr.org.uk/prideawards.
