Best media relations
Celebrating 50 years of the family expenditure survey by ONS
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) monitors household spending and how spending patterns vary depending upon income, household composition and region.
Spending is measured by using a 'basket' of goods, and this guides the Government's monetary policies. For the 50th anniversary of the Family Expenditure Survey in 2007, it decided to illustrate the differences between spending when the survey began in 1957 compared with 2007.
The ONS team hired a room at Simpsons in the Strand and built two kitchens - a 1957 and a 2007 one - and staffed them with 'housewives'.
The 1950s housewife prepared a typical breakfast made of eggs, thickly sliced white bread and ham while her 2007 counterpart chatted on her mobile phone while putting items into her microwave and using her laptop.
Corporate comms
The People's Millions by Big Lottery Fund
The Big Lottery Fund (BIG) is responsible for giving out half the money for Good Causes raised by the National Lottery.
The People's Millions is a competition run in partnership with ITV Wales to allow the Welsh public to decide which community projects win a share of the £400,000 BIG Good Cause pot to improve local environments and amenities.
Last year BIG increased coverage by ten per cent in Wales. Most articles were positive, and included front page splashes in weekly papers, including Welsh language paper Y Dydd.
Outstanding pr consultancy
Working Word PR
Established in 1999, Cardiff-based Working Word PR is one of Wales' largest PR firms. The 12-strong agency hatched a plan to become Wales' most respected, profitable and sustainable comms business.
Outstanding in-house PR Team
South Wales Police Authority
The judges deemed the team's approach to public consultation as refreshing. Despite limited budgets, it provides PR services that are 'above the call of duty'.
Community Relations
Power Puff Stadium Tours by MGB PR
Npower renewables is one of the UK's leading renewable energy companies, but is also the main sponsor of Ospreys rugby.
MGB created a community relations programme aimed at schools, communicating its messages to the residents in the area.
The judges were particularly impressed by the creativity that linked health, renewable energy and the sponsorship links with rugby.
Business and trade
CooperVision Proclear 1 Day & Breast Cancer Care by Remarkable Group
Remarkable was asked to launch the partnership between CooperVision and its new daily contact lenses Proclear 1 Day and Breast Cancer Care - £1 for every month's supply of the lenses was donated to the charity.
The partnership launched in October 2007, Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Journalist 'ambassadors' were secured in trade press and a campaign fact sheet was distributed along with features.
Optician magazine agreed to turn its masthead pink - the colour of Breast Cancer Care - to mark the launch and a competition to create the best pink window in an opticians was run. A national 'pink day' was held at CooperVision's offices.
Sales of Proclear 1 Day doubled during the campaign period and trade press coverage with an AVE of £75,000 was secured. Judges said the campaigns tactics were 'bright and eye-catching'.
Outstanding Pr consultancy
Remarkable Group
The agency has an impressive growth record since it was started in 2004, breaking into PRWeek's Top 150 this year, with a sound ethos as an employee.
Outstanding small consultancy
Watershed PR & Marketing
Watershed has demonstrated a strong record of growth and client retention since its 2005 launch. It punches above its weight from its Bridport base.
Best use of media relations
Golden Sailors photoshoot by Skandia
While sailing is Britain's most successful Olympic sport, it lacks the high profile of other sports. As part of a wider campaign to raise the profile of Skandia Team GBR ahead of the Beijing Olympics, Skandia arranged a photshoot with five potential Olympic gold-winning sailors posing naked, painted in gold body paint.
The sailors, including Sydney gold medallist Iain Percy MBE, were photographed over two days at a studio in Brixton. They posed with and without Union Jack flags, and had personal 'mantras' painted on their backs.
Coverage for the photoshoot spanned national newspapers, regional titles, online, and the sailing press, reaching in excess of five and a half million readers.
Public Sector
Stop the Bugs by Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust and Starfish Creative Design
Portsmouth Hospitals ran its first ever public PR campaign to raise awareness of its fight against hospital infection.
An internal campaign focused on the importance of hand hygiene, and the external campaign included a website, school visits, billboards and posters including bus sides and bus stops, and a press launch of the posters featuring the children who starred in them.
Judges said the campaign 'showed just how effective a simple clear message can be'.
Best use of photography
The British Bean and Pea Campaign 2007-08 by Pam Lloyd PR
With only one news angle - the start of the British bean and pea season - media coverage for the UK's leading bean and pea growers relies heavily on the quality and photography to bring its campaign to life.
Pam Lloyd PR launched a campaign in 2007 teaching children where their food comes from, with bean and pea growers visiting their local schools for visits and photocalls. For 2008, a series of new recipes for beans and peas were created along with striking recipe and generic photographs for consumers and the media. A website, tasteofsummer.co.uk, was launched to hold the photography.
The campaign generated more than £380,000 AVE of print coverage in 2007 and hits to the website have risen by more than 50 per cent per month since its launch in February 2008. Sales of beans rose by 17 per cent and peas 10 per cent in 2007.
Outstanding Pr consultancy
Trimedia (West of England)
In January 2007 Trimedia merged with Harrison Cowley. The WoE office pulled in more than £1.7m in fees last year and is 24 per cent ahead of budget for 2008.
Outstanding in-house pr team
Oldbury Power Station
Three significant campaigns in the past 18 months include work to secure permission from the Health and Safety Executive to decommission the site.
Internal comms
Inform, Enable, Connect by UCAS
Following a company restructure in 2006, admissions service UCAS put together a strategy for internal comms.
The 12-section strategy was launched during a dedicated week and events included a guest speaker from the Institute of Customer Service, a survey and special lunches for staff recognised for excellent work.
New comms channels put in place include an e-newsletter, staff forums and brunches, induction sessions, a new intranet with discussion forums, feedback boards and plasma screens in each department with UCAS and external news feeds.
Judges commended 'clever use of a broad range of media' and noted that the progress was recognised by an independent Investors in People assessor.
Low budget
Turning up the music by Montpellier PR
Icanplayit.com joins budding musicians with leading artists for downloadable, interactive music lessons. Montpellier was asked to launch the product to the market and raise awareness of the founders.
Music website, forums and social media were targeted to drive traffic to the icanplayit website. The agency also targeted business, financial, music, lifestyle, consumer and regional media.
'Montpellier PR did a fantastic job on an extremely low budget,' said judges, pointing to a Financial Times story and extensive coverage in music and regional press.
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