Presenting the winners of PR Daily’s Media Relations Awards

Just like that you engrossed the media for days or weeks, nationally or internationally. It wasn’t easy, but you did it by demonstrating the most impressive media relations strategy we saw this year.

Your cause advocacy campaign kept our judges at the edge of their seats. Your striking video response to breaking news immediately calmed a public relations crisis or expanded your brand recognition hugely.

The point is, the work you submitted in PR Daily’s 2016 Media Relations Awards was stuff to brag about. We wanted to see the plans, the pitch and the earned media coverage, and boy, you delivered.

Thank you to everyone who entered this year. You work kept us on our toes, and we’re already looking forward to next year. Please join us in congratulating the winners of PR Daily’s 2016 Media Relations Awards!

MEDIA RELATIONS AWARDS WINNERS

Best Brand Messaging or Positioning

WINNER
RMANJ Dispels Myths Millennials Believe About Their Fertility
Reproductive Medicine Associates of New Jersey (RMANJ)

Honorable Mentions

  • “Asian Pop Artist, G.E.M. Crossover Campaign into North America”, Miller PR
  • ALWAYS UNSTOPPABLE #LIKEAGIRL, Hill+Knowlton Strategies. South Africa
  • Foster Farms Raises National Thanksgiving Turkey Fit for a President(ial Pardon), Fineman PR
  • FT-Nikkei Sale and Partnership, Financial Times
  • One Day Pay: Submit Today, Smile Tomorrow with Aflac, Aflac
  • Revamping TIDAL’s Image as a Chart-Topping Music Streaming App, TIDAL

Best Cause Advocacy Campaign

WINNER
Digital Deadwalkers: A Public and Media Relations Campaign
American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons

Honorable Mentions

  • "Be Good To Each Other" on behalf of CustomInk, Coburn Communication
  • Doritos Presents Doritos Rainbows – A Partnership with the It Gets Better Project in Celebration of the LGBT Community, Frito-Lay
  • Invest in Libraries, The New York Public Library
  • NorthPark50: Fifty Years of Giving, NorthPark Center
  • Subaru Drives Home the Shocking Need for Pet Safety, Subaru of America

Best Crowd Sourcing Campaign

WINNER
Thomas’ English Muffins and Bagels Harnesses the Power of Hometown Pride with the “Hometown Breakfast Battle” Campaign
Vault Communications

Honorable Mention

  • Strayer Success, Ogilvy Public Relations

Best Executive Visibility

WINNER
Building a Sustainable Health Care System
Cigna and Edelman

Honorable Mentions

  • Driving Deloitte’s Brand through the Industry’s First Female CEO, Deloitte
  • Executive Visibility for BoardProspects.com, Hollywood Public Relations
  • Garnering Exposure in the Hospitality Industry for Top Interior Design Firm Hirsch Bedner Associates (HBA), Murphy O'Brien Public Relations
  • Patch of Land, NRPR Group
  • Silicon Valley Comic Con, fortyseven communications

Best Global Media Relations

WINNER
Poland Patriot Surround Sound Campaign
Raytheon

Honorable Mention

  • CES Unveiled Paris, Consumer Technology Association

Best Innovation Media Relations

WINNER
T-Mobile’s Earnings Call Drinking Games
T-Mobile, Porter Novelli

Honorable Mentions

  • SITSum: The Social Influencers Travel Summit, Sensei Project LLC with Atlanta CVB
  • Uncle Ben’s- Ben’s Beginners™ PR Toolkits and Concierge Program, Porter Novelli

Best Integrated Marketing Communication

WINNER
Delight My Delay
The Bait Shoppe

Honorable Mentions

  • #ShareResponsibly with KidsLink, AR|PR
  • NorthPark50: Fifty Years of Giving, NorthPark Center
  • One Day Pay: Submit Today, Smile Tomorrow with Aflac, Aflac
  • Strayer Success Project, Ogilvy Public Relations
  • The 2015 Aflac WorkForces Report, Aflac
  • The Essence of Racing: Sunoco's Burnt Rubbèr, Allen & Gerritsen

Best Media Relations Video

WINNER
Pets Unleashed
T-Mobile, Porter Novelli

Honorable Mentions

  • LEGO® NINJAGO™ American Ninja Warrior Triumph, Flashpoint PR
  • Strayer Success Project, Ogilvy Public Relations

Best New Product or Service Launch

WINNER
Launch and Promotion of FT’s Time-Based Advertising Metric
Financial Times

Honorable Mentions

  • From Farm Field to Fuel Tank: Opening the World's Largest Cellulosic Ethanol Plant, DuPont Industrial Biosciences/The Glover Park Group
  • Guitar Hero Live Product Launch, PMK∙BNC
  • Introducing A Bright Way to Travel - Brightline, Brightline
  • Out of b8ta and In Stores, VSC
  • Starwood Hotels & Resorts Invites Travelers to Stay Independent with Launch of its 10th brand, Tribute Portfolio, Starwood Hotels & Resorts
  • T-Mobile launches Binge On with Un-carrier X, T-Mobile, Porter Novelli

Best Pitch

WINNER
National Honesty Index
Honest Tea and Creaxion

Honorable Mentions

  • The Upworthy Jump Ball, Allen & Gerritsen
  • Westgate Resorts Veterans Day Vacation Giveaway, TJM Communications, Inc.

Best Press Event or Media Tour

WINNER
High Flying Results for Foxwoods
SHIFT Communications

Honorable Mentions

  • Ben & Jerry's Boston Flavor Launch, PRLab at Boston University
  • Boys and Girls Clubs of America Youth of the Year, Agency MSI
  • CES Unveiled New York, Consumer Technology Association
  • Danny Pintauro "Beacon of Light" Tour, grapevine pr + consulting
  • KBIS at the Mandarin, Agency MSI
  • Silicon Valley Comic Con, fortyseven communications

Best Response to Breaking news

WINNER
Deliberate Fatal Crash of Germanwings Flight 9525: Publicizing Legal Expertise
Winuk Communications, Inc.

Honorable Mentions

  • Advocating the flexible workforce, Hill+Knowlton Strategies
  • Masglo´s Audacious Names, Agency: Fabiola Morera Comunicaciones Client: Masglo
  • NetBase Media Outreach, Idea Grove
  • Web Marketing Company Reverses the Cecil the Lion Controversy, Page 1 Solutions, LLC

Best Social Media Campaign

WINNER
#ChevyGoesEmoji
Chevrolet and FleishmanHillard

Honorable Mentions

  • No Fan Wasted: Activating Waste Management’s Social Media Followers, Waste Management
  • PCI Social Media Campaign, Preferred Connect Insurance Center, LLC
  • The Laughing Cow Love Your Local Events, Bel Brands USA/The Laughing Cow

Best Stunt or Special Event

WINNER
T-Mobile’s Earnings Call Drinking Games
T-Mobile, Porter Novelli

Honorable Mentions

  • OLD SPICE MANO E MANO CHALLENGE, Hill+Knowlton Strategies South Africa
  • Rise of Tomb Raider Launch, The Spaceship
  • SoCo Takes Flight with First Drone Delivery, Southern Comfort
  • The Future of Healthcare: The CAPP Event that Redefined Patient-Physician Relationships, Scott Public Relations
  • Travel Tacoma Portland Campaign, JayRay
  • Vault Communications Marks the Thomas’ Brand’s 135th Anniversary with Celebratory Event, Vault Communications

Best Trade Media Relations

WINNER
Back to Bourgogne
Sopexa

Honorable Mention

  • Crittercism iOS 9 Data, BLASTmedia

Best Use of a Celebrity or Personality

WINNER
I'm PsO Ready
Novartis Pharmaceutical Corporation

Honorable Mentions

  • Boys & Girls Clubs of America’s Alumni & Friends Club, Agency MSI for Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA)
  • Cetaphil Celebrates Camp Wonder 15th Anniversary, Cetaphil
  • Rise of Tomb Raider Launch, The Spaceship
  • Slidely Teams with Grammy-Award Winner Trey Songz for In Slow Motion Campaign, Rainier Communications
  • Strayer Success Project, Ogilvy Public Relations
  • Xbox Time to Shine, The Spaceship

Best Viral Media Relations Campaign

WINNER
Mother’s “Thank You Project” Goes Viral Via Innovative Media Relations
MediaSource

Honorable Mention

  • Love Your Lawyer Day, Nader Anise Lawyer Marketing, Inc.

Governmental or Public Affairs Media Relations

WINNER
COP21 Communications Campaign
World Wildlife Fund

Honorable Mention

  • RISE Scores Big with Abby Wambach Partnership, FleishmanHillard

GRAND PRIZE WINNERS

Grand Prize: Media Relations Campaign of the Year > Over $50,000

GRAND PRIZE
Innovative Media Relations Breaks All-Time Records
MediaSource and Nationwide Children's Hospital

Honorable Mentions

  • Boys & Girls Clubs of America, Agency MSI
  • Doritos Presents Doritos Rainbows – A Partnership with the It Gets Better Project in Celebration of the LGBT Community, Frito-Lay and Goodby, Silverstein & Partners
  • Flywheel dominates taxi-hailing app competition by positioning itself against transportation giants, Uber and Lyft, VSC
  • NorthPark50: Fifty Years of Giving, NorthPark Center
  • One Day Pay: Submit Today, Smile Tomorrow with Aflac, Aflac
  • The 2015 Aflac WorkForces Report, Aflac

Grand Prize: Media Relations Campaign of the Year > Under $50,000

GRAND PRIZE
2015 Most Dangerous Celebrity
Intel Security

Honorable Mentions

  • “Asian Pop Artist, G.E.M. Crossover Campaign into North America”, Miller PR
  • FT-Nikkei Sale and Partnership, Financial Times
  • Invest in Libraries, The New York Public Library
  • Silicon Valley Comic Con, fortyseven communications
  • Strayer University , Ogilvy Public Relations