PRide Awards celebrate outstanding Welsh PR

Around 300 public relations professionals from across Wales gathered at Cardiff’s City Hall last Friday for the nation’s annual PRide Awards ceremony. 

Creative communications agency Equinox claimed four gold awards, including the coveted Outstanding PR Consultancy prize. The consultancy’s haul included three awards for a campaign with the Welsh Government's environment service, Cadw.

The campaign – launched on St David’s Day – brought the tale of two dragons to life through a blend of multi-channel storytelling and helped generate over £5m for Cadw. Judges praised the campaign for its “cearly identified aims and immaculately planned strategy and tactics”.

jamjar PR also struck gold in four separate categories. The agency took home two gold awards for #JoinCwmTaf - an innovative campaign that boosted recruitment for nurses for Cwm Taf University Health Board.

John Wilkinson Chart.PR, FCIPR was named Wales’ Outstanding Independent Practitioner, while Elrha’s Liz Rawlins MCIPR won the Outstanding Young Communicator Award.

CIPR Cymru Wales Chair, Eoghan Mortell FCIPR said:

“It’s a huge encouragement to all of us involved in the PR industry in Wales to meet fellow professionals at the annual PRide awards and compare notes on the high-quality work that has been going on throughout the year. As usual, there are plenty of really impressive campaigns and excellent examples of how PR is proving its worth in many sectors of the economy and society. Warm congratulations to all award winners and finalists”

Full Gold Award winners from the 2017 CIPR Cymru Wales PRide Awards:

• Corporate and Business Communications Campaign - Working Word, Liberty ‘steels’ the show
• Internal Communications Campaign - Wales & West Utilities, Colleague Behaviours: Launching our new Behavioural Competency Framework
• Consumer Relations Campaign – BrandContent, FairFX: disrupting consumer norms
• Public Sector Campaign - Equinox and Cadw, The Dragon Effect
• Community Relations Campaign - Dwr Cymru Welsh Water, Capital investment programme
• Not-for-Profit Campaign - jamjar PR, Techniquest is 30
• Healthcare Campaign - jamjar PR and Cwm Taf University Health Board, #JoinCwmTaf
• Integrated Campaign - Equinox and Cadw, The Dragon Effect
• Low Budget Campaign - Cowshed and National Trust Wales, Save The Herd
• STEM Campaign - jamjar PR, Techniquest is 30
• Arts, Culture or Sport Campaign - Equinox and Cadw, The Dragon Effect
• Education Communications Campaign - Cardiff University, #Social7: Rules to live by on social media
• Best Use of Media Relations – BrandContent, FairFX: Achieving total media domination
• Best Use of Digital - jamjar PR and Cwm Taf University Health Board, #JoinCwmTaf
• Best Use of Social Media - Working Word & Amgueddfa Cymru - National Museum Wales, Hatching the ‘Dino on the Loose'
• Best Publication - Cardiff University, Cardiff Connect Spring 2017
• Best Event - Smart Energy GB, Engaging consumers in Wales
• Outstanding Young Communicator - Liz Rawlins MCIPR, Elrha 
• Outstanding Independent Practitioner - John Wilkinson Chart.PR, FCIPR, Wilkinson PR & Communications 
• Public Sector Team of the Year - Swansea University 
• Outstanding In-House Public Relations Team - Confused.com 
• Outstanding Small Public Relations Consultancy - BrandContent 
• Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy - Equinox