The two medals are among the Institute’s highest honours, recognising exceptional achievement in PR practice and contribution made to the profession’s wider development.

President’s Medal - Rupert Younger

The 2026 President's Medal is awarded to Rupert Younger, Director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation and Senior Research Fellow and Tutor in Management at Worcester College, Oxford. By establishing the Centre, Rupert has played an important role in bringing the study of public relations into the University, with work spanning research, insight, and executive education including Oxford’s globally recognised Corporate Affairs Academy. In awarding the medal, Farzana cited the standard of that academic work and her belief in the value of intellectual rigour to the profession's development.

Sir Stephen Tallents’ Medal - Samantha Seewoosurrun

The 2026 Sir Stephen Tallents' Medal is awarded to Samantha Seewoosurrun Chart.PR, FCIPR, Founder and Managing Director of the PR and publishing agency Perpetual Motion. A Chartered Practitioner, CIPR Fellow and Council Member, Samantha founded the CIPR's International Network in Mauritius in 2019 and went on to chair the Institute's International Group from 2021 to 2024. She has served on the CIPR's Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Committee, been a judge for the CIPR Excellence Awards, and now sits on the Institute's Audit & Risk Committee while co-chairing the Council Working Group on Making the Case for Public Relations. She received the CIPR Volunteer Recognition Awards for Outstanding Long Service in 2024 and 2026. In awarding the medal, President Farzana Baduel recognised Samantha's sustained commitment to the Institute and her work to build and uphold its presence in Mauritius.

Miriam is joined by guests:

• Sarah Key, leader of the content team at NHS Blood and Transplant, and
• Tim Ridgway Chart.PR, the Strategic Stakeholder Engagement Manager at Surrey County Council.

Drawing on campaigns delivered across healthcare, local government, policing, and the charity sector, the panel discuss how practitioners can identify objectives, segment and map audiences to tailor messaging, and secure stakeholder buy-in. Listeners will hear about established planning approaches including the OASIS framework and PESO model, and the case for establishing strategies before reaching for tactics.

The panel concludes by examining how communicators can test novel approaches in their campaigns without chasing trends, what audiences reaction to influencer and AI-generated content reveals about the value of credible voices, and why evaluation and measurable indicators of performance belong in a campaign from its outset.

• Listen to the episode on Spotify
• Find out more about the CIPR Engage Podcast
• CIPR members can log 5 CPD points for listening to this episode

Now in its sixth successive year, the PR Research Fund supports independent research into questions facing the public relations profession. The 2026 projects cover ethics in internal and science communications, hidden disabilities, and the effects of secondary trauma on practitioners.

Successful applicants will receive grants of up to £2,000 and access to CIPR training courses to strengthen their research methods.

The projects commissioned under the 2026 Research Fund are:

• Living the Values: embedding ethical values through internal communications, by Katherine Bradshaw Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Invisible but Impactful: creating a more inclusive PR profession for people with hidden disabilities and long-term health conditions, by Samantha Livingstone Chart.PR, FCIPR
• Ethical and practical considerations in research communications, and how STEM PR professionals can provide fair and inclusive opportunity to diverse groups, by David Schley Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Vicarious and secondary trauma in PR: when telling the story takes a toll, by Crispin Thorold Chart.PR, FCIPR, FRSA

• For more information about the Fund, please visit our website
• Read the CIPR's latest Research Fund reports online

• Read the CIPR's 2025 Annual Report
• Register for the CIPR's AGM online

Now in its 42nd year, the prestigious awards will see 145 organisations and professionals compete across 33 categories. This year the In-House PR Team of the Year Award has been split into two categories recognising the best Private Sector Team and the best Not-for-Profit, Public, or Charity Sector Team. Three further new categories also join this year's awards

• Change Communications campaign
• Best In-House campaign
• Best Equity, Diversity and Inclusion campaign or initiative

Tickets are now available to purchase for the live awards ceremony on 1 July 2026 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London. Read the full shortlist below.

• Book your ticket to attend the Excellence Awards live ceremony

CIPR EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2026 SHORTLIST

Corporate and Business Communications Campaign

• Companies House
  Changes to UK Company Law - Identity Verification
• Currie & Brown
  Building Certainty Brand Campaign
• Luther Pendragon and London Market Group
  Creating a New Financial Services Market Worth Billions
• MHP Group
  Coca-Cola: The Bosses
• MHP Group with E.ON UK
  The Home Age
• Skipton Group
  Skipton Group Home Affordability Index: reshaping affordability conversations
• Sodali & Co
  Winning a contested takeover through integrated communications
• Sodexo UK & Ireland
  Making Sodexo UK & Ireland Famous for Food

Internal Communications or Employee Engagement Campaign

• 44 Communications and ITV
  A recognition campaign that united ITV's global workforce
• Air Astana supported by Definition
  Going Global
• Arup
  From blank canvas to shared strategy
• Currys x The fresh Group
  Currys - Right First Time
• Gallagher Communication
  Driving Clarity and Engagement Across a Global Transformation
• HMRC
  Connecting to purpose: creatively driving engagement and transformation
• Sopra Steria
  Orange Award Scheme
• Survitec
  Strategic Vision, Value-Driven Future

Change Communications Campaign

• 44 Communications and Greene King
  Turning digital change into a shared human experience
• British Beer and Pub Association
  The nation's pubs; the Government's U-Turn
• Gallagher Communication
  Driving Clarity and Engagement Across a Global Transformation
• Karbon Homes
  Empowering residents to transform waste management culture
• Manchester Airport
  Manchester Airport Transformation Programme – 'Your New T2'

Consumer Relations Campaign

• Bottle
  Bottle x Stannah LiftStyle Icon
• Golley Slater X Transport for Wales
  Yes, this is really train food
• Mischief
  Avanti: Your Presence is Presents Enough
• Ready10 & McDonald's
  The Draw How You Feel Meal
• Red Consultancy
  Mind the Grab
• Smarts
  Asda - Love is in the Aisles
• Smoking Gun
  Fry & Mighty: Taking back market share
• Weber Shandwick
  Knorrplay is the new foreplay

Public Sector Campaign

• Barley Communications
  Fighting AI cloning scams for National Trading Standards
• Kindred
  Probation in Verse
• Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner
  #NailDomesticAbuse
• MHP Group with The Met Office
  The Power of Weather Intelligence
• Mid Sussex District Council
  As Easy As 1,2,3 Rolling Out Food Waste
• National Grid Electricity Distribution
  National Grid's Winter Campaign: Don't Hang About
• Oxford City Council
  Explaining local government on Instagram and TikTok
• UK Civil Aviation Authority
  Protecting passengers and improving safety over Christmas

Social Purpose Campaign

• Blurred and coalition partners
  I Am Not A Typo
• Four Agency Worldwide x Centre for Ageing Better
  "It isn't ageing, it's ageism"
• HUNTER: UK, Forsman & Bodenfors, Goodstuff and NRG
  See What She Sees
• Skipton Building Society
  FROZEN OUT – Skipton Building Society, Age UK and National Energy Action
• The Heard
  STRUT SAFE: STRUT STOP
• Third City
  Pain Unmasked
• Tim Reid Media
  Tim Reid Media - Chinook Justice Campaign
• Vodafone with Tin Man and Chalk Strategy
  The Chatbot Bytes Breakfast Club

Public Affairs Campaign

• British Beer and Pub Association
  Saving pubs: achieving a rare Government U-Turn
• MHP Group with E.ON UK
  The Home Age
• National Farmers Union of England and Wales
  Stop the Family Farm Tax campaign
• Sodali & Co
  Delivering regulatory change to support UK farmers
• Tendo
  Turning EV Charging Accessibility Into Law
• The Blakeney Group
  Winning Tax Change Worth Millions for Live Music
• The National Housing Federation
  Securing a generational £40bn+ investment in affordable homes
• University of Bath
  Driving Action on Spice-Spiked Vapes in Schools

Not-for-Profit Campaign

• Forster Communications & Inflect
  Robbed: Big Tech's Little Victims
• Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity)
  GOSH Charity's activation at St Paul's
• Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity)
  GOSH Charity's School Photo Day
• Kindred
  No More Stiff Upper Lip
• Mediator
  Uncried Tears of Men
• Red Consultancy & Whizz Kidz
  Childhood Can't Wait
• Story Shop & The Maclean Brothers
  The Maclean Brothers Pacific Row
• WWF-UK
  A Prescription for Nature

Healthcare &/or Well Being Campaign

• Kindred
  No More Stiff Upper Lip
• Langland
  Wander Wise
• Mediator
  Uncried Tears of Men
• North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board
  Increasing urgent dental care online appointment bookings
• SAMH (Scottish Action for Mental Health)
  The Nook from SAMH
• Third City
  Pain Unmasked
• Tin Man x Innocent
  Fruity Couture: Giving Big Knit Energy

Integrated Campaign

• Democracy PR
  Top Of The Plots for Gardena
• Lesniak Swann for Promat by Etex
  Structural Steel: Get the Full Picture
• MHP Group
  Coca-Cola: The Bosses
• Mischief
  Avanti: Your Presence is Presents Enough
• Story Shop & The Maclean Brothers
  The Maclean Brothers Pacific Row
• Teneo
  #AxeTheRacingTax: British Horseracing Authority Campaign
• Third City
  Strengthen your Pension
• Weber Shandwick
  Knorrplay is the new foreplay

Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle Campaign

• Ideas Network
  Nomadic Watches - The Art of Watchmaking
• Umpf
  The Wonder Wall: Supernova Spectacle at St David's
• Words+Pixels
  FRAMELESS: The Art of Expression

Environmental Campaign

• Barley Communications
  Deep Decline: Communicating the environmental impact of overfishing
• Barley Communications and Keep Britain Tidy
  Fight Fly-tipping Fortnight - #RubbishDeal
• Dorset Council
  Using playful characters to spark serious climate action
• Portland Communications
  The One Ocean Science Congress
• Sara McCracken Consulting Ltd
  1.2 million people acting for climate and nature.
• Tin Man and London Luton Airport
  The Lilo-brary
• University of Oxford
  Climate and the environment at Oxford
• Words+Pixels
  Back Market: The Last Shot Gallery

Low Budget Campaign

• Cambridge University Press & Assessment
  What the Skibidi!? Cambridge Dictionary campaign
• Klaxonn
  FLATPACK WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
• Oxford University Press and Midas
  Teaching the AI-Native Generation
• Pic PR
  The Butterfly Resort
• Strike Communications
  Bring Turner Home
• The Heard
  STRUT SAFE: STRUT STOP
• Tin Man x London Luton Airport
  The Lilo-brary
• Viva
  The Secret Menu Bolton Food and Drink Festival

STEM Campaign

• Bradshaw Advisory Ltd
  Launching Holtec UK: from unknown to nuclear partner
• Canny Comms
  From engineering breakthrough to investor conversations
• Portland Communications
  The One Ocean Science Congress
• Quadram Institute
  Britain's Got Science Talent
• TFD - Think Feel Do
  TFD for IYQ: The Quantum 100
• UKCEH
  First UK Rice Trials

Sport or Entertainment Campaign

• Story Shop & Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026
  Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026 One Year To Go
• Umpf
  Trinity Leeds Campaign Visible from 'Smiles' Away
• VCCP
  Allwyn x VCCP: The Scratch Car
• Working Word & Welsh National Theatre
  A new Welsh National Theatre

Travel, Transport, or Tourism Campaign

• C/O Cymru Collective & Visit Wales
  Feel the Hwyl. Only in Wales.
• Golley Slater x Bluestone National Park Resort
  Turning Bluestone into the UK's Staycation Favourite
• LK Communications
  Experience Pennsylvania Live
• National Express & 72Point
  Long-Distance Love
• Pagefield
  Hitachi Rail – Railway200
• Pic PR
  The Butterfly Resort
• Railway 200
  A record-breaking national celebration
• Tin Man and Tourism New Zealand
  Tourism New Zealand x The Hardest Geezer

Education Campaign

• 23red
  Mumentum
• Brandnation and Soreen
  Wordplay
• Inspire Education Group
  Driving the Green Skills Agenda: A Regional Campaign
• Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner
  #NailDomesticAbuse
• Mansfield College - University of Oxford
  Rewriting the capital campaign playbook
• McCANN
  McCANN x Arden University - Silence Your Critic

Best Use of Media Relations

• Asda
  A Valentine's Proposal for less than £1
• British Beer and Pub Association
  Saving a national treasure: media delivers pubs' victory
• Imperial War Museums
  VE Day 80th Anniversary PR campaign
• Jam X Raisin UK
  The Newsroom That Simplified Saving
• Kindred
  No More Stiff Upper Lip
• LK Communications
  Luxury in the Limelight
• Story Shop & The Maclean Brothers
  The Maclean Brothers Pacific Row
• Tin Man and Tesco
  The Tesco Wedding Gift Registry

Best Channel Delivery

• Bank of England
  Bank of England's Mind Your Money Campaign
• Companies House
  Changes to UK Company Law - Identity Verification
• Montfort Communications & Hosking Partners
  Building Hosking Partners Brand Through a Digital-First Approach
• Tin Man and Tourism New Zealand
  Tourism New Zealand x The Hardest Geezer

Best Long-term campaign

• Aberfield Communications
  Establishing TCFG as a Star Performer in Grocery
• Golley Slater
  Inspiring Genius Decisions During Apprenticeship Week Wales
• Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity (GOSH Charity)
  GOSH Charity's Build it. Beat it. Campaign
• Hard Numbers
  Gigamon: Rewriting the security narrative of Hybrid Cloud
• Manchester Airport
  Manchester Airport: A Decade of Transformation
• Postcode Lottery
  Delivering Good News to the Nation
• SP Energy Networks
  Winter Awareness Campaign
• VCCP Roar
  Shining a Brighter Light on Inequality

Best Use of Content

• Aberfield Communications
  Content as crafted as the coffee itself
• BAE Systems Digital Intelligence
  Unleashing the Power of Perspective
• DCA Public Relations
  Because I Cannot See
• Lumo and Hull Trains
  Lumo & Hull Trains: The Poppy Selling Marathon
• MHP Group with Santander UK
  Fixing the Broken Chain
• The University of Bath
  Research With Impact
• Third City
  Strengthen your Pension
• Words+Pixels
  Back Market: The Last Shot Gallery

Best Event

• DTEK
  "Carol of the Bells" at a Destroyed TPP
• Go North East
  GoElectric26
• Golley Slater x Welsh Government
  Wales' Roadtrip to Excellence
• Inspire Education Group
  Launch of the Centre for Green Technology
• Liberty Communications
  Liberty Communications: Promoting the Portuguese Tech Ecosystem
• PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero)
  Semalam Tuntas: Cultural Storytelling for Sustainable Food System
• Third City
  Spot the Top
• Translink
  Translink Metro Menu

Best In-House Campaign

• Companies House
  Changes to UK Company Law - Identity Verification
• Defence Equipment and Support
  Reflections: stories of Remembrance, sacrifice and legacy
• King's College London
  Science at King's
• Royal Free Charity
  Brave New Heights
• Specsavers
  Specsavers Creative Roots: nurturing tomorrow's creative talent

Best long-term client care

• Barley Communications
  Communication that matters
• Distinctive Communications
  Distinctive client relationships: Brilliant basics create bold impact
• EatMoreFruit Communications
  Beyond the brief: A decade of partnership
• GingerMay
  GingerMay & MGID: A Partnership Built on Resilience
• Golley Slater X Skills, Higher Education and Lifelong Learning team at Welsh Government
  Golley Slater x SHELL Welsh Government
• Luther Pendragon
  Luther Pendragon: The Quiet Powerhouse
• Performance Communications
  Trust built over decades drives lasting client partnerships
• Twig Strategic Communications
  Beyond the brief: Nineteen years of relationship-first consultancy

Issues, Crisis, or Reputation Management

• DTEK
  The Light Holds On
• National Grid Electricity Distribution
  National Grid's Crisis Response to Storm Goretti
• NIE Networks
  In the Eye of the Storm

Best Equity, Diversity and Inclusion campaign or initiative

• Four Agency Worldwide x Centre for Ageing Better
  "It isn't ageing, it's ageism"
• Imperial College London
  Imperial As One Media Academy
• Sanctuary
  Behind the Mask - Disability History Month
• Taylor Bennett Foundation
  Summer Stars: Transforming access for diverse PR talent
• West Yorkshire Combined Authority
  'I Took A Seat'
• Words+Pixels
  FRAMELESS: The Art of Expression

Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year

• Emilija Juseviciute, Essex County Fire and Rescue Service
• Ericka Anicas, Northbourne Advisory
• Hannah Waters, Tendo
• Louis O'Halloran, Inflect
• Megan Russell, London Northwestern Railway & West Midlands Railway
• Sam Ard, CWA
• Yasmin Tampion, Colt Data Centre Services

Independent PR Practitioner of the Year

• Aberrant
• Georgia Turner Communications
• Tillymint Marketing & PR
• Tuesday Media
• Verity Cash, Alphabet Communications

In-House PR Team of the Year – Private Sector

• British Beer and Pub Association
• CWG
• Deloitte UK
• NCC Group
• QBE Insurance
• Skipton Building Society Public Relations Team
• Sodexo UK & Ireland
• UK Power Networks

In-House PR Team of the Year – Not for profit/Public/Charity Sector

• Beatson Cancer Charity
• Inspire Education Group
• LNER
• Lothian Buses
• Ministry of Defence Guard Service
• Quadram Institute
• Sanctuary
• Wheatley Group

Specialist PR Consultancy of the Year

• Barley Communications
• Battenhall
• Cartwright
• Kindred
• Stakked
• The Flywheelers
• Vested
• Words+Pixels

Small PR Consultancy of the Year

• 1284 Communications
• Aberfield Communications
• Honest Communications
• Inflect
• Stakked
• Strike
• The Heard
• Viva

PR Consultancy of the Year

• Golley Slater
• MHP Group
• Ready10
• Stakked
• The Jargon Group
• Third City
• Tin Man
• Words+Pixels

The survey captures practitioner perspectives on the health of the profession including skills and training needs, salaries, the reputation of PR, and how practitioners are responding to developments in artificial intelligence and the global news agenda.

Now in its fourteenth year, the State of the Profession survey is the largest and longest-running survey of its kind. The insight gathered supports the Institute to benchmark standards, guide its policy agenda, and make effective representations on behalf of the profession to business, partners, and legislators.

The survey is open to all, takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, and all participants can enter a prize draw for a £100 gift card on completion.

• Take the survey. It is open to all, CIPR member or not, and can be completed on any device in less than 10 minutes. Respondents can enter a prize draw to win a £100 gift card on completion.

The CIPR is pleased to confirm that former CIPR Presidents who remain active members of the Institute have been awarded Honorary Fellowships. In addition, Dan Slee has been awarded an Honorary Fellowship, while Andy West has been awarded a Fellowship of the Institute.

Honorary Fellowships are granted by the CIPR Board of Directors in recognition of exceptionally outstanding service to the Institute and the development of the public relations profession. Fellowships are awarded to members who have demonstrated outstanding professional achievement, notable service to the CIPR, and significant contributions to the profession. CIPR Fellows and Honorary Fellows play an important role in promoting professionalism, championing best practice, and raising awareness of the value of CIPR membership.

Honorary Fellowships – former CIPR Presidents

(ordered by most recent)

Advita Patel
Rachael Clamp
Steve Shepperson-Smith
Rachel Roberts
Mandy Pearse
Jenni Field
Emma Leech
Sarah Waddington CBE
Jason MacKenzie
Rob Brown
Sarah Pinch
Sally Sykes
Lionel Zetter
Chris Genasi
Ian Wright
Alison Clarke
Philip Dewhurst
Tony Spalding

Honorary Fellowships have been awarded to former Presidents who are current and active CIPR members. Previous Presidents who already hold Honorary Fellowship status include Stephen Waddington, Paul Mylrea, Kevin Taylor, Tony Bradley, Anne Gregory, John Aspery, Peter Walker, Simon Lewis OBE, Douglas Smith, Reginald Watts, Peter M Smith, Neville E Wade, Norah L Owen, Wilfred P Howard, Denis J E Inchbald, Herbert Lloyd, F C Gillman MVO OBE, R A Paget-Cooke MBE, and Alan Campbell-Johnson OBE.

Dan Slee Hon.FCIPR

Dan Slee has made an exceptional contribution to the public sector PR and communications profession. He served on the CIPR’s Local Public Services Group and founded Public Sector Headspace, a peer-to-peer community of more than 8,000 members providing daily support, practical advice and professional development. He also created Commscamp, a free unconference for public sector communicators, authored influential papers on digital communications, and delivers affordable training on social media, video, media relations and data-led practice. Widely respected for his leadership and generosity, Dan is known for mentoring and supporting communications professionals across the sector, helping to build capability and confidence.

Andy West Chart.PR, FCIPR

Andy West is a Chartered PR Practitioner and long-standing member of the CIPR, with more than three decades of active service to the profession. He served as Chair of the CIPR Greater London Group and continues to support the Institute and the profession through committee work, judging industry awards, and championing professional standards, ethics, and evaluation best practice. A former senior agency leader, Andy is now an independent advisor, board member and mentor. He is a recognised industry voice through his consultancy, public speaking and writing, and is committed to building a more inclusive profession through his support for underrepresented talent.

For over four decades, the Excellence Awards have set the benchmark for creativity, innovation, and strategic thinking in public relations. Now in its 42nd year, the industry’s flagship awards will celebrate the profession’s most impactful campaigns, teams, and individuals. This year’s ceremony features 33 award categories including three new awards for the best Change Communication Campaign, In-House Campaign, and Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Initiative.

The dates to enter the Excellence Awards 2026 are:

• Early Bird Entry Deadline - 5 March 2026
• Standard Entry Deadline - 12 March 2026
• Final Entry Deadline - 19 March 2026

• Visit the Excellence Awards page for more information on the ceremony and to view details of the award categories.
• The winners will be announced at the prestigious awards ceremony at The Royal Lancaster, London in July.

The PR Population Report: UK-wide edition was produced in partnership with Chalkstream and represents the first dataset to combine Census 2021 and 2022 occupational data for PR practitioners across all four nations. It provides the most comprehensive picture to date of the size and makeup of the UK's population of PR professionals, identifying 69,470 practitioners across the country.

Among the report's headline findings, Scotland's PR sector stands out on gender equity at senior levels. It is the only UK nation where women hold the majority of director-level roles, with 51% of Scottish PR directors being female compared to 46–47% elsewhere. Across the rest of the UK, the analysis confirms a continued gender imbalance, with women making up the majority of the profession while remaining underrepresented at senior levels.

More key findings from the report include:

• The number of PR practitioners in the UK grew by 53% since 2011, rising from 45,359 to 69,470.
• Women make up 60% of PR practitioners UK-wide but only 47% of directors.
• 17% of Scotland's PR practitioners report a disability that limits daily activities, compared with 8% in England and Wales.
• 14% of Scotland's practitioners report fair, bad or very bad health, compared with 6% in England and Wales.
• 44% of UK practitioners are aged 16–34, though Scotland has a higher proportion of practitioners aged 50–74 than anywhere else in the UK.

• Download the PR Population Report: UK-wide edition
• Note: The ONS notes that the ‘Census 2021 was during a unique period of rapid change’ because of the Covid-19 pandemic, and care should be taken when using this data for planning purposes.

Everyday Ethics in PR Volume II features seven anonymised case studies drawn from enquiries to the CIPR's Ethics Hotline. Written by the CIPR’s Professional Practice and Ethics Consultant, Chris Lines Chart.PR, each case study presents a real ethical dilemma faced by practitioners and provides considerations and advice for each. It is designed to help readers reflect on how they would respond in similar situations and strengthen their ability to recognise and address ethical challenges in their work.

The guide is available free to download for members, worth 5 CIPR CPD points, and also fulfils the requirement to log 5 ethics points.

• Download the CIPR’s Everyday Ethics in PR Guide - Volume II
• Find out more about our free and confidential Ethics Hotline
• Log the 5 CPD points on MyCPD

• Join the CIPR's Neuroinclusion in PR LinkedIn Group
• Learn more about the CIPR Neuroinclusion for Managers training

Episode 20 - Causing the right kind of trouble – overcoming bias in decision-making - examines the advisory role PR practitioners play in challenging flawed decision-making processes. Hosted by Ben Verinder, managing director of Chalkstream, the episode features Dr Jon White Chart.PR, Hon FCIPR, a consultant in public relations and organisational development, and Shayoni Lynn, CEO and founder of behavioural science communications consultancy Lynn Group.

The conversation covers the nature of cognitive bias, from heuristics and system one thinking to the limitations of rational decision-making. The guests examine real-world examples including Apple's decade-long Project Titan initiative, groupthink in the lead-up to the 2008 financial crisis, and how confirmation bias and optimism bias affected the UK's COVID-19 response.

Their discussion addresses many contemporary and evolving challenges facing PR, including bias in artificial intelligence systems, the ethical application of behavioural science in communications, and growing issues around ageism.

• Listen to the Engage Podcast on Apple or Spotify
• Find out more about the CIPR's Engage Podcast
• CIPR members can log 5 CPD points for listening to this episode
• Find out more about the CIPR's Behavioural Science training

Dan is Associate Director at Liz Male Consulting and brings more than a decade of experience working with the CIPR, including four years on its Board of Directors and two years on Council. His career spans both agency and in-house roles, including his position as former Head of Communications, Asia Pacific, for global architecture practice Broadway Malyan, where he led regional communication strategies across diverse markets. 

Dan will serve another three-year term on the Board of Directors, beginning 1 January 2026 and ending 31 December 2028, assuming the role of President-Elect in 2026, President in 2027, and Past-President in 2028. 

Statement from the returning officer

At the close of voting, 17:00 on Friday 17 October 2025, 434 votes had been cast of 8,049 ballots issued, a turnout of 5.4%. The count was conducted by the Single Transferable Vote system. Dan Gerrella was elected at Stage 2. There were no appeals or complaints within the statutory 48 hours from the close of voting. I therefore declare Dan Gerrella duly elected as CIPR President-Elect 2026. 

Honorary Fellowships are granted by the Board of Directors in recognition of exceptionally outstanding services to the Institute and/or the development of the public relations profession. Fellowships are bestowed upon members in recognition of distinction in the public relations profession.

Dr Kevin Ruck Hon FCIPR 

Kevin began his career at BT where he developed his special interest in internal comms and employee engagement. Recognising a need for a qualification in this topic he set up the PR Academy and initiated and developed both the internal comms certificate and diploma courses for the CIPR.

He is the editor and co-author of the textbook, Exploring Internal Communication, leads the European Affiliate Group of the Internal Communication Research Hub (formed in 2024 as part of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications), and is a former Chair of the CIPR Inside Group (2012-2013). He additionally serves on the Editorial Advisory Board of the Journal of Communication Management.

The awards were announced in person at the Institute’s annual Fellows’ lunch held at the Gherkin in London.

Sir Stephen Tallents’ Medal

The 2025 Sir Stephen Tallents' Medal was awarded to Anne-Marie Lacey, Founder of Filament PR. Anne-Marie is a CIPR Fellow, sits on the Institute's Board of Directors, and serves as a Senior Lecturer in Public Relations at Newcastle University. Her distinguished career includes winning the Outstanding Young Communicator Award at the 2014 CIPR North East PRide Awards, before winning the accolade nationally at CIPR's Excellence Award in 2017. She has since gone on to judge both schemes at a regional and national level. In awarding the Sir Stephen Tallents’ Medal, President Advita Patel noted Anne-Marie's "commitment and dedication to the CIPR and advocacy for professionalism, Chartership, and qualifications", in addition to praising her recent work on the CIPR's syllabus review.

CIPR President’s Medal

Sheeraz Gulsher, Co-founder of People Like Us, was awarded the 2025 CIPR President's Medal in recognition of his work championing diversity and inclusion within the public relations industry. People Like Us is an award-winning not-for-profit dedicated to celebrating and supporting UK professionals from Black, Asian, Mixed Race, and minoritised ethnic backgrounds. Through innovative campaigns and advocacy work, Sheeraz has established a reputation for supporting and amplifying under-represented voices within and beyond the industry. CIPR President Advita Patel highlighted Sheeraz’s "incredible work with People Like Us", noting that his continuous work and campaigns have made "significant contributions both politically and within the industry itself".

Following a government consultation, the HCPC will be given powers to bar NHS board-level leaders who commit serious misconduct or silence whistleblowers from practising in senior roles. Directors of Communications who sit on NHS boards or report directly to them will fall under the new regulatory regime, while other NHS communications managers will be regulated under separate standards.

CIPR members working for the health service anywhere in the UK are bound by the Institute's Code of Conduct, which establishes clear professional standards for ethical communications practice. The new regulatory framework will ensure NHS communications leaders are held to similar standards of accountability, with patient and public safety taking clear precedence over reputation management.

Sponsored by Cision One, PA Mediapoint, and Specialist Speakers, 'Leadership & Impact: The Future of Strategic Communications' will explore how PR practitioners can claim their seat at the top table and drive business outcomes in a world where trust, reputation, and influence are paramount. The conference will provide unmissable opportunities for attendees to sharpen their leadership edge, network with industry peers, and explore how the PR profession is redefining itself in the modern business landscape.

Early bird tickets are now available for a limited time, with live main stage streaming tickets also offered for those unable to attend in person on the day.

Speakers announced so far include:

• Karen Blackett CBE, Former WPP UK President, Non-Executive Director at BFC, Diageo, the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, Chancellor University of Portsmouth
• Naomi Goodman, Head of Change and Employee Engagement for MHP Group
• Lucy Holliday, Employee Communications Manager at the Financial Times
• Priya Lakhani OBE, Founder and CEO at CENTURY Tech
• Dr. Jack Lewis, a brain scientist, presenter, trainer, and broadcaster for the BBC, ITV, Channel 4, and more
• James Peach, a global marketing and business leader working in tech, retail and FMCG

• Find out more and book your tickets for the CIPR's 2025 Annual Conference

Practitioners from the Netherlands, Denmark, Zimbabwe, Uganda, and more demonstrated their expertise across strategic communications, ethical practice, and leadership capabilities. Those that passed were rewarded public relation’s highest badge of professionalism.

The latest practitioners to become Chartered are:

• Ruth Adetayo Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Esenam Agubretu Chart.PR, MCIPR
• James Anderson Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Fleur Binyon Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Prince Boamah Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Georgia Broome Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Claire Colburn Chart.PR, MCIPR, DipCIPR
• Siôn Davies Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Jack Dobson-Smith Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Natasha Dodds Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Elizabeth Eyarhono Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Mohammed Farooq Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Richard Faulkner Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Annie Goss Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Josephine Graham Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Martin Grey Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Gina Hollands Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Timothy Hoy Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Gaurika Kapoor Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Jessica Keynes Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Jeanette Lewis Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Natasha Moore Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Beauty Mutombe Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Julie Palmer Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Lisa Phillips Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Nina Preston-Smith Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Sharon Richardson Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Helen Rose Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Merit Rumema Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Ashley Shackleton Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Alex Shah Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Stephanie Snow Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Allan Kyobe Ssempebwa Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Roseanna Stoppard Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Thanyzl Thajudeen Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Paul Thomas Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Andrew Tromans Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Lauren Tunnicliffe Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Heidi Turner Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Gareth Watson Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Evie Whatling Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Taylor Williams Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Cheneen Williams Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Katy Willis Chart.PR, MCIPR

• The CIPR have announced a Chartership package that enables members to save nearly £200 on the Chartership assessment fee by adding it to their membership subscription at a discounted rate and committing to becoming chartered within two years.
• Find out more about Chartership and email our membership team with any questions.

Tin Man, Mischief, Stripe Communications, and Virgin Media 02 were tied for the most prolific organisations on the evening, each claiming two awards as over 400 PR and comms professionals joined magician and presenter, Ben Hanlin, at the Royal Lancaster London to celebrate the best in work in PR over the last 12 months.

The PR Consultancy of the Year award was awarded to Cowshed while Viva took home the title of Small PR Consultancy of the Year. Honest Communications and Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity earned the titles of Specialist PR Consultancy of the Year and In-House PR Team of the Year respectively.

Elsewhere, individual talent was recognised as Shivani Lodhia of Parisi Consulting was made the Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year and Rod Cartwright MCIPR took home the award for Independent PR practitioner of the Year.

This year’s awards – sponsored by Specialist Speakers and Awards Writers – featured 30 categories, comprising of six individual and team awards and 24 campaign categories.

• See the full list of winners online or below.
• All the photos from the evening can be viewed and downloaded online.

Winners list:

Corporate and Business Communications Campaign

WINNER: Red Consultancy with Currys 'Save Black Friday' Campaign

Mark of Excellence: Skipton Group with Skipton Group Home Affordability Index: Redefining housing affordability

Internal Communications or Employee Engagement Campaign

WINNER: Financial Times with Building AI confidence and engagement at the FT

Consumer Relations Campaign

WINNER: Mischief with LEGO: Message to Space

Mark of Excellence: PrettyGreen & Hasbro with Mummy Pig's Pregnancy Announcement Breaks The Internet

Public Sector Campaign

WINNER: Stripe Communications and Scottish Government with 'Have the Chat' about Organ and Tissue Donation

Social Purpose Campaign

WINNER: Tin Man and Cadbury Fingers with Trick or Treat BSL Edition 

Mark of Excellence: Specsavers and The Big Issue with Improving Access to Care For People Experiencing Homelessness

Public Affairs Campaign

WINNER: 56° North with Helping Nationwide to reform Buildings Societies Law

Not-for-Profit Campaign

WINNER: Earnies with Killed Here for Killed Women

Mark of Excellence: Tin Man and Guide Dogs with The Mutt-ley Crew

Healthcare and/or Wellbeing Campaign

WINNER: Third City with What Are You Smoking?

Mark of Excellence: North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board with Trusted Voices - Vaccines in Pregnancy

Integrated Campaign

WINNER: Virgin Media O2 with VCCP faith and Broadcast Revolution with Daisy vs The Scammers

Mark of Excellence: Ready10 with Ready10 & McDonald’s: The Meal

Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle Campaign

WINNER: Umpf x Clarks Village with Making Clarks Village Top Dog for Outlet Shopping

Mark of Excellence: Umpf x Clarks Village with Umpf+Clarks Village: The World’s Biggest Santa Skate

Environmental Campaign

WINNER: SHOOK & Material Focus with Britain's Biggest Fraudster ‘Cashes In’

Low Budget Campaign

WINNER: Tin Man and Guide Dogs with The Mutt-ley Crew

Mark of Excellence: Good Relations & Zoopla with Buy With My Little Eye

STEM Campaign

WINNER: British Geological Survey with BGS: Quake it off

Mark of Excellence: British Antarctic Survey with The unforgettable voyage: taking the public to Antarctica

Sport or Entertainment Campaign

WINNER: 'Cause x phs Group x Prostate Cancer UK with Back in the Game

Mark of Excellence: The Romans with Roddick Returns (Betway)

Travel, Transport or Tourism Campaign

WINNER: Stripe Communications with The London Dungeon with The London Dungeon: Wonka Worker

Mark of Excellence: Cubaka x Avanti West Coast with Safety Thirst: How beer made rail travel safer

Education Campaign

WINNER: Fanclub & smol with Clean Up Child Hygiene Poverty

Mark of Excellence: 23Red with The Open University: Getting Students Workplace Ready

Best Use of Media Relations

WINNER: PrettyGreen & Hasbro with Mummy Pig's Pregnancy Announcement Breaks The Internet

Mark of Excellence: Barclays with Swiftonomics

Best Channel Delivery

WINNER: Mischief with Experian: The Cost of Loving

Best Long-term Campaign

WINNER: Evergreen PR with Getting Veterans the Care They Deserve

Best Use of Content

WINNER: Virgin Media O2 with VCCP faith and Broadcast Revolution with Daisy vs The Scammers

Mark of Excellence: 'Cause with Back in the Game

Best Event

WINNER: The Marketing Pod, Xoserve and Fuel Bank Foundation with The price of warmth

Mark of Excellence: LeedsBID (in collaboration with Chapter 81 & Rabbithole) with MONOPOLY Leeds Takeover

Best long-term Client Care

WINNER: Launch with Launch: Owning Long Term Client Care

Issues, Crisis or Reputation Management

WINNER: Words + Pixels with Lime: Changing Spaces

Best Publication

WINNER: Warwick Business School with Core magazine, Edition 14

Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year

WINNER: Shivani Lodhia, Parisi Consulting

Mark of Excellence: Ollie Manser, The MTM Agency

Independent PR Practitioner of the Year

WINNER: Rod Cartwright Consulting

In-House PR Team of the Year

WINNER: Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity

Specialist PR Consultancy of the Year

WINNER: Honest Communications

Mark of Excellence: Hard Numbers

Small PR Consultancy of the Year

WINNER: Viva

Mark of Excellence: Klaxonn

PR Consultancy of the Year

WINNER: Cowshed

Mark of Excellence: Ready10

The report showcases the Institute's first governance review in a decade, resulting in the appointment of The Rt Hon Dame Maria Miller as the CIPR's first Independent Chair of the Board. It details the intensified Lobbying for Good Lobbying campaign, expanded international partnerships, and new and innovative research including the PR Population Report, the State of the Profession industry analysis, and a diverse range of Research Fund reports.

Published in an accessible and interactive online format, the report also celebrates the 40th anniversary of the Excellence Awards and highlights new services including the Agency & Client Finder and Careers in PR Hub, alongside continued professional development initiatives and diversity programmes.

Members will have the opportunity to hear from and ask questions of the current, past, and future CIPR Presidents as well as the Institute's Chair of the Board and CEO at the CIPR's Annual General Meeting (AGM) on Wednesday 9 July. Register online to attend.

• Read the CIPR's 2024 Annual Report
• Register for the CIPR's AGM online

The toolkit offers practical advice on the entire internship lifecycle, from recruitment and onboarding to supervision and career development. It emphasises the importance of fair payment, advocating that all interns should be paid at least the living wage. It also provides detailed guidance on recruiting for and promoting diverse and inclusive entry-level roles that promote social mobility within the PR profession.

Key features of the toolkit include:

• Guidance for onboarding, task and project management, feedback, and onward career support
• Tips on recruitment best practice and employment status definitions
• Recommendations on fair payment
• Practical advice on diversity, social mobility, and addressing ageism

• Download the Internship and Work Placement Toolkit 2025

125 organisations and public relations professionals will showcase the impact of their work on business and society across 30 hotly contested categories in the UK’s premier public relations awards ceremony. Read the full shortlist below.

Tickets are now available to purchase for the live award ceremony on Wednesday 2 July at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London where the winners will be announced.

• Book your ticket to attend the Excellence Awards live ceremony

CIPR EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2025 SHORTLIST

Corporate and Business Communications Campaign 

• Cardew Group 
  Foxtons: Driving brand awareness and strategic repositioning 
• ‘Cause x Cowshed x phs Group x Prostate Cancer UK 
  The BOG STANDARD and Back in the Game 
• Companies House 
  Get ready for changes to UK company law 
• MHP Group x Hilton 
  The Taste of Zero Waste 
• Red Consultancy 
  Currys 'Save Black Friday' Campaign 
• Skipton Group 
  Skipton Group Home Affordability Index: Redefining housing affordability 
• Templemere PR 
  iCoupon: Delivering international business growth with B2B PR 
• WPP Team Helix 
  Seizing Uncertainty 
   

Internal Communications or Employee Engagement Campaign 

• BAT 
  Energising employees to deliver a Smokeless World. 
• Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) 
  Landing change with people too busy to care 
• Financial Times 
  Building AI confidence and engagement at the FT 
• Headland 
  Educating and empowering Unilever employees to use AI 
• Red Consultancy 
  The Wrap - Engaging McDonald’s Gen Z workforce 
• The Marketing Pod and E.ON Next 
  Bringing energy leaders together at E.ON’s Playmakers event 
• Tin Man and Cadbury 
  Yours for 200 Years 
• Westmorland and Furness Council 
  Together we are… Westmorland and Furness 
   

Consumer Relations Campaign 

• GOLD79 
  The Pinter Back Yard Bar Awards 
• Good Relations 
  Safe Phrases 
• Mischief 
  LEGO: Message to Space 
• PrettyGreen & Hasbro 
  Mummy Pig's Pregnancy Announcement Breaks The Internet 
• Smoking Gun 
  Nemesis Reborn: Back with a vengeance 
• Splendid Communications 
  The Farmonic Orchestra 
• Words + Pixels & Back Market 
  The Refurbished Restaurant 
• Yorkshire Building Society 
  Helping first homes happen 
   

Public Sector Campaign 

• Kindred 
  Probation: Seeds of Change 
• Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and Lancashire Constabulary 
  Don't Drug Drive 
• MHP Group 
  Fake Always Breaks 
• North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board 
  'Trusted Voices' - Vaccines in Pregnancy 
• Stripe Communications 
  'Have the Chat' about Organ and Tissue Donation 
• Sunny Side Up 
  New Covent Garden Market: Food for Discerning Diners 
• Tower Hamlet Council and London Fire Brigade 
  ChargeSafe Tower Hamlets 
• Translink 
  York Street Station & Underpass Campaign 
   

Social Purpose Campaign 

• Good Relations and Rise365 
  World’s First Emojis With Black & Mixed-Race Hairstyles 
• Mantra Connexions Ltd 
  Rodrigues Tech Lab Campaign 
• Pic PR 
  The Euros Guide to VAWG
•  PLMR for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission 
  'Lighting Their Legacy' Campaign 
• Specsavers and The Big Issue 
  Improving Access to Care For People Experiencing Homelessness 
• The Romans 
  The Open Kitchen (Deliveroo) 
• Tin Man and Cadbury Fingers 
  Trick or Treat BSL Edition 
   

Public Affairs Campaign 

• 56° North 
  Helping Nationwide to reform Buildings Societies Law 
• Cardew Group & Alstom 
  'Fill the Gap', Saving Alstom's Derby Factory 
• Connect 
  Seen but not heard: Improving access to care
• Inflect 
  Funding the Nation: Optimising HMRC 
• PRCN 
  National Programme for the Control of Infectious Diseases 
• VEON 
  Standing with Ukraine during unprecedented crisis 
• Weber Shandwick 
  The Unwelcome Home 
• Words + Pixels 
  Lime: Changing Spaces 
   

Not-for-Profit Campaign 

• AMMF - The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity 
  Rethink Liver Cancer 
• British Heart Foundation 
  Heart Month 2024
• Earnies 
  Killed Here for Killed Women 
• Good Relations and Holocaust Educational Trust 
  Testimony 360 
• PLMR for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission 
  'Lighting their Legacy' Campaign 
• Scouts 
  Announcing the new Chief Scout 
• See Media 
  Sugar Hill Regeneration See Media & Leeds Federated 
• Tin Man and Guide Dogs 
  The Mutt-ley Crew 
   

Healthcare &/or Well Being Campaign 

• Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Pinstone 
  Bluetongue-3 Virus Outbreak Communications Campaign 
• AMMF - The Cholangiocarcinoma Charity 
  Rethink Liver Cancer 
• North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board 
  Trusted Voices - Vaccines in Pregnancy 
• Orchard 
  The Big Skipton Sleep Out 
• Splendid Communications 
  All Mos Save Lives - Movember 
• Third City 
  What Are You Smoking? 
• Translink 
  York Street Arts-Led Regeneration Driving Communities Wellbeing 
• University of Birmingham 
  SMART Schools: Rethinking Smartphone Policies for Teens 
   

Integrated Campaign

• Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Pinstone 
  Bluetongue-3 Virus Outbreak Communications Campaign 
• Good Relations with Sips & Bites Pepsico 
  Extra Flamin' Hot: Hot Couture
• MHP Group 
  Fake Always Breaks 
• Ready10 
  Ready10 & McDonald’s: The Meal 
• Third City 
  Face Forward
• Tideway 
  Celebrating a greener future for the River Thames 
• Virgin Media O2, Agencies: VCCP faith, Broadcast Revolution 
  Daisy vs The Scammers 
• Weber Shandwick 
  Voice of the Nation 
   

Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle Campaign 

• Coach 
  Self-Expression Through Gaming 
• Ideas Network 
  The Beating Heart of Belfast 
• The Glenmorangie Company 
  Spirited magazine: Inspiring teams at Moët Hennessy 
• The Romans 
  The Croissant Handbag (Lidl) 
• Umpf x Clarks Village 
  Making Clarks Village Top Dog for Outlet Shopping 
• Umpf x Clarks Village 
  Umpf+Clarks Village: The World’s Biggest Santa Skate 
• Umpf x Trinity Leeds 
  Glass Act: A Farke-ing Great PR Campaign 
   

Environmental Campaign 

• Cambridge Zero at the University of Cambridge 
  Cambridge is Forging a Future for Our Planet 
• Helen Deakin Communications and SongBird Survival 
  Nesting Birds & Pesticides: Uncovering the Hidden Impact 
• SBW 
  Workplaces of Wales. Let’s get it sorted. 
• SHOOK & Material Focus 
  Britain's Biggest Fraudster 'Cashes In' 
• University of Edinburgh 
  Launch campaign for Scotland Beyond Net Zero (SBNZ) 
• Words + Pixels & Back Market 
  The Refurbished Restaurant 
   

Low Budget Campaign 

• Conscious Communications 
  Get Portion Wise 
• Earnies 
  Killed Here for Killed Women 
• Good Relations & Rise365 
  World’s First Emojis With Black & Mixed-Race Hairstyles 
• Good Relations & Zoopla 
  Buy With My Little Eye 
• Propellernet 
  World's Bluest Water: Search & PR Success Story 
• Sunny Side Up 
  New Covent Garden Market: Food for Discerning Diners 
• Tin Man and Guide Dogs 
  The Mutt-ley Crew 
• Umpf x Belling 
  Umpf x Belling: A Low-Budget Recipe for Success 
   

STEM Campaign 

• British Antarctic Survey 
  The unforgettable voyage: taking the public to Antarctica 
• British Geological Survey 
  BGS: Quake it off 
• Canny Comms 
  Digital battlefield revolution: making the invisible visible 
• Canny Comms 
  Operation silent advantage: Fering's electric military vehicle 
• Stone Junction 
  EMPOWERING RESEARCHERS, DATA TO PUBLICATION 
• The Romans 
  Equinix - The Internet, Herself 
• University of Oxford / Oxford University Museum of Natural History / University of Birmingham 
  Uncovering Oxfordshire’s Dinosaur Highway 
• WPR 
  IMI: The Road Ahead 
   

Sport or Entertainment Campaign 

• 56° North 
  Securing the 2026 Commonwealth Games for Glasgow 
• 'Cause x phs Group x Prostate Cancer UK 
  Back in the Game 
• Mischief 
  Team GB: Accents of Greatness 
• PrettyGreen & Hasbro 
  Mummy Pig's Pregnancy Announcement Breaks The Internet 
• Stripe Communications with The London Dungeon 
  The London Dungeon: Wonka Worker 
• The MTM Agency 
  Empowering women to ‘Get into Golf’ 
• The Romans 
  Roddick Returns (Betway) 
• Umpf x Trinity Leeds 
  Glass Act: A Farke-ing Great PR Campaign 
   

Travel, Transport, or Tourism Campaign 

• Cubaka x Avanti West Coast 
  Safety Thirst: How beer made rail travel safer 
• Golley Slater & Transport for Wales 
  No Second Chances for Transport for Wales 
• Good Relations 
  Musical Routes 
• Perceptive Communicators and Lost Shore Surf Resort 
  Lost Shore - Making Waves in UK Tourism 
• Smoking Gun 
  Nemesis Reborn: Back with a vengeance 
• Stripe Communications with The London Dungeon 
  The London Dungeon: Wonka Worker 
• Translink 
  GRAND Pianist Competition 
• Words + Pixels 
  Lime: Changing Spaces 
   

Education Campaign 

• 23Red 
  The Open University: Getting Students Workplace Ready 
• Cambridge University Press & Assessment 
  OCR's Striking the Balance campaign 
• Fanclub & smol 
  Clean Up Child Hygiene Poverty 
• Keele University 
  From the lecture theatre to the operating theatre 
• Kindred 
  Raising the profile of T-levels among parents 
• The Romans 
  Ross Kemp Behind Bars (SmartDispense) 
• The University of Manchester 
  Making a Difference, Since 1824 
• University of The West of Scotland 
  Find Your Place 
   

Best Use of Media Relations 

• Barclays 
  Swiftonomics 
• 'Cause x phs Group x Prostate Cancer UK 
  The BOG STANDARD and Back in the Game 
• Golley Slater & Bluestone National Park Resort 
  Building Bluestone's Profile Through Place, Proposition and Purpose 
• Olivia Rickman Communications 
  Perth Museum opening 
• PrettyGreen & Hasbro 
  Mummy Pig's Pregnancy Announcement Breaks The Internet 
• Stripe Communications with the London Dungeon 
  The London Dungeon: Wonka Worker 
• WPP Team Helix 
  Seizing Uncertainty 
• Yorkshire Building Society 
  Standing With Savers 
   

Best Channel Delivery 

• Mischief 
  Experian: The Cost of Loving 
• Third City 
  What Are You Smoking? 
   

Best Long-term campaign 

• Evergreen PR 
  Getting Veterans the Care They Deserve 
• Golley Slater & Welsh Government 
  Inspiring Genius Decisions During Apprenticeship Week Wales 
• Health And Safety Executive (HSE) 
  Working Minds: tackling work-related stress 
• LMC 
  Best Long-term campaign – Elmhurst Energy 
• Mischief 
  E.ON: Clean Air 
• SP Energy Networks and Stripe Communications 
  Supercharging electrical safety and power cut awareness 
• The Marketing Pod and npower Business Solutions 
  npower Business Solutions as The Voice of Business 
• WPR 
  Care UK: Fulfilling Lives 
   

Best Use of Content 

• 'Cause 
  Back in the Game 
• Folk 
  Admiral: Words to Live By 
• GOLD79 
  The CLOUD NINE Temperature Calculator 
• PrettyGreen & Sky Kids 
  Silent Night, Gentle Night 
• The Romans 
  Made of Metal (OnePlus) 
• Third City 
  Face Forward 
• Virgin Media O2. Agencies: VCCP faith, Broadcast Revolution 
  Daisy vs The Scammers 
• Vodafone, Tin Man and Nice & Serious 
  The Rise of the Aggro-rithm 
   

Best Event 

• Klaxonn 
  Klaxonn & Grand Designs Live: 25 years of 
• LeedsBID (in collaboration with Chapter 81 & Rabbithole) 
  MONOPOLY Leeds Takeover 
• Popcorn PR 
  Taste of France: Transporting Boursin Beyond the Table 
• Red Consultancy and Seen Presents 
  The McDonald’s Best Burger Sensoriummm 
• The Marketing Pod, Xoserve and Fuel Bank Foundation 
  The price of warmth 
• The Romans 
  Nationfried (Nationwide) 
• Umpf x St David's 
  Nessa’s Grand Arcade - A Crackin’ PR Activation 
• Words + Pixels & Back Market 
  The Refurbished Restaurant 
   

Best long-term client care 

• Building Relations PR 
  Building Relations PR X Barratt Redrow 
• 'Cause 
  'Cause + phs Group, a partnership of purpose 
• Cock-a-doodle-doo Communications 
  A Partnership that's Beyond the Ball 
• Gravity Global 
  Onward Charge! Creating a superpower in EV charging. 
• Launch 
  Launch: Owning Long Term Client Care 
• Leopard Co. 
  12 Years of Strategic PR Success 
• McKenna Townsend 
  An integral PR partner for over 15 years 
• Perceptive Communicators 
  Specialist partner drives best long term client care 
   

Issues, Crisis, or Reputation Management 

• Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board and Pinstone 
  Bluetongue-3 Virus Outbreak Communications Campaign 
• DTEK 
  THE FIGHT FOR LIGHT INSTALLATION 
• Electricity North West 
  Surviving the storm of the decade 
• TMA Communications 
  Ukraine War - Day-by-Day 
• Words + Pixels 
  Lime: Changing Spaces 
   

Best Publication 

• An Garda Síochána 
  Newsbeat 
• Warwick Business School 
  Core magazine, Edition 14 
   

Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year 

• Chris Gannon, FINN Partners
• Ollie Manser, The MTM Agency 
• Robert Esom, Swipe Right 
• Shivani Lodhia, Parisi Consulting 
   

Independent PR Practitioner of the Year 

• Olivia Rickman Communications 
• Philip Dorward, Tangerine Communications 
• Positive Story PR consultancy and Jane Griffin PR 
• Rod Cartwright Consulting 
• Tillymint Marketing & PR 
   

In-House PR Team of the Year

• Companies House 
• Electricity North West 
• Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity 
• InnoScot Health 
• King's College London 
• Met Office 
• Westmorland and Furness Council 
• Wheatley Group 
   

Specialist PR Consultancy of the Year 

• Battenhall 
• Hard Numbers 
• Honest Communications 
• Kindred 
• The Flywheelers 
• The Marketing Pod 
• Vested 
• Words + Pixels 
   

Small PR Consultancy of the Year 

• 11K Consulting 
• 1284 Communications 
• 'Cause 
• HN Communications 
• Klaxonn 
• Parisi Consulting 
• The Heard 
• Viva 
   

PR Consultancy of the Year 

• Battenhall 
• Cowshed 
• Earnies 
• Ready10 
• The Romans 
• Third City 
• Tin Man 
• Words + Pixels 
   

• Mihlayifani Neo Batakathi Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Sophie Benger Chart.PR, MCIPR, Dip.CIPR 
• Sarah Cawley Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Arthur Ishmail Choga Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Anton Clark Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Tavy Cussinel Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Houri Elmayan Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Juliet Fabelurin Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Elizabeth Fry Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Lauren Goringe Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Ropafadzo Gwanetsa Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Adedoyin Jaiyesimi Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Hannah Jowett Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Edah Kahembe Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Davison Kaiyo Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Izziddeen Khalifeh Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Lucia Kuzivakwashe Kuwandira Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Samuel Magwegwe Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Jordan McArthur Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Emma McCarthy Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Moyo Melusi Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Josh Morris Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Phenyo Reginald Motlhagodi Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Kundai Mudzviti Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Msizi Ndebele Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Enya Louise Newton Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Owen Nyabadza Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Reginald Nyango Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Craig Owen Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Rachel Palmer Chart.PR, MCIPR, Dip.CIPR 
• Stephen Pennock Chart.PR, MCIPR 
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• Mqhele Tshuma Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Andrew Webb Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Emma Webster Chart.PR, MCIPR 
   

• The CIPR have announced a Chartership package that enables members to save nearly £200 on the Chartership assessment fee by adding it to their membership subscription at a discounted rate and committing to becoming chartered within two years. 
• Find out more about Chartership and email the membership team with any questions. 
   

The report – No Rules Britannia? – exposes the gaps in the UK’s lobbying regulations and lays bare the limitations of Westminster’s public Register, which was introduced more than a decade ago to increase lobbying transparency.

Comparing Westminster’s Lobbying Register with those covering Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Scotland (Holyrood), Ireland, the US and European Parliament, the report reveals that Westminster’s register has the fewest lobbyists recorded even when adjusted for population. It is also the least transparent about what constitutes lobbying, only capturing consultant lobbyists who make up a small percentage of the industry.

Key findings include:

• The EU has more than 8 times as many registered lobbyists per million people than Westminster
• Scotland/Holyrood has 69 times more registered lobbyists per million people than Westminster
• Westminster lobbyists account for 0.5% of lobbyists registered across all jurisdictions analysed (Westminster, USA, EU, IRE, AUS, CAN, FRA, GER, Holyrood). 

At the same time, the report reveals that the Westminster Lobbying Register’s sanctions are amongst the least strenuous: the Office of the Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists (ORCL) has no power to bar lobbyists from accessing government agencies, buildings and staff, and has the second smallest maximum financial penalties available.

The latest report complements previous CIPR research, which found that ORCL imposed civil penalties in just 4% of its investigations into suspected unregistered lobbying, raising questions about whether the watchdog has the tools necessary to police the sector.

The CIPR has published No Rules Britannia? as part of its ongoing Lobbying for Good Lobbying campaign to replace the 2014 Lobbying Act. It is calling for:

• The registering of:

1. all lobbying activity (oral, written or electronic communications with the objective of influencing, and in relation to government or parliamentary functions)
2. who carries out the lobbying activity
3. who has been lobbied (Ministers, MPs, Peers, Regional Mayors, Senior Civil Servants, and special advisers)

• ORCL to be expanded into the Office of the Registrar of Lobbying (ORL). The Registrar of Consultant Lobbyists should become the Registrar of Lobbying 
• Technological/digital solutions to be explored to minimise any administrative burden on the registration of lobbying activity or the publication of diaries

The report covers the period between October 2023 and October 2024 and demonstrates the Institute's progress across the four key pillars outlined in its EDI strategy: leading practice development, championing lifelong learning, building a resilient community, and advocating for public relations. It showcases the CIPR's work in expanding its offer of EDI learning resources, publishing research, and supporting initiatives that break down barriers to entry and progression throughout public relations.

Key achievements include:

• The publication of a five-part EDI guide series, with over 4,500 downloads during the reporting period
• More than 1,100 members accessing on-demand EDI training
• The allocation of £75,000 through the Iprovision 75 Fund to support people from socially disadvantaged backgrounds to start or advance in a career in PR

• Read the CIPR's new Annual EDI Progress Report 2024
• Learn more about the CIPR's EDI Strategy
• Explore the CIPR's EDI resources

Sponsored by the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) Research Fund, The Missing Women Study builds on the CIPR's 2024 PR Population report findings. It reported that women make up two-thirds of practitioners working in public relations below director level but under half of those working in senior roles. This new report combines a literature review, survey data from more than 230 respondents, and interviews with 30 women to pinpoint interconnected cultural, structural, and societal barriers that impede women's progress in the profession. The research identified:

• Systemic Barriers: A "boys' club" mentality, devaluation of public relations work, limited development pathways, and societal caregiving expectations as key factors driving women out of the profession. Over half of survey respondents felt they did not have equal opportunities for advancement compared to male colleagues. 
• Work-Life Challenges: The unsustainable, "always on" culture and lack of flexible working arrangements disproportionately affect women with caring responsibilities. Burnout was highlighted as the biggest career challenge, identified by over half of survey respondents. 
• Strategic Career Choices: Women who succeed often employ "workarounds" by strategically managing their careers, choosing progressive employers, and investing in professional growth. However, these strategies often require significant compromises between career advancement and worklife balance. 
• A Rewarding Career: Despite these challenges, the majority of women surveyed see public relations as a rewarding career. Over 9 in 10 rate their job satisfaction as very good, good, or average.

The research emphasises that successful women are thriving despite systemic barriers, underscoring the urgent need for comprehensive change. Recommendations include the introduction of leadership development and progression programs and flexible working arrangements without career penalties. 

The study was delivered by a team of Socially Mobile graduates, Rana Audah, Isobel Wilson-Cleary and Josie Shepherd, led by Stephen Waddington. The project was reviewed and project managed by Sarah Waddington and supervised by Ben Verinder.

The Missing Women Study, developed from an analysis of Socially Mobile applicants and the CIPR PR Population study of 2021 census data, investigates the reasons behind the underrepresentation of women in senior public relations roles. The study uses a five-phase approach, including a literature review, quantitative research, qualitative research, data analysis, and participant feedback. Data was collected via a survey distributed through channels such as the CIPR, PRCA E&I Group, and Women in PR, and included semi-structured interviews with 30 mid-career practitioners.

• Enter the awards now for free at theimpact50.com. Submission deadline is 10 January 2025.

The decision follows a comprehensive review of the Institute's social media strategy which revealed rapidly declining engagement and increasing challenges in maintaining meaningful professional discourse on the platform. The Institute has also expressed concerns about its responsibility to members regarding exposure to misinformation and uncertain relationship between X’s owners and the U.S government. 

The Institute's central accounts will remain live and accessible to provide members access to historical content and data while the organisation strengthens its presence on LinkedIn and Instagram and launches its new BlueSky channel. 

This transition will be implemented across the Institute's main accounts, with CIPR Groups and Networks developing plans to complete their transition away from X by early 2025. 

• Follow the CIPR on LinkedIn
• Join the CIPR on Bluesky
• Connect with the CIPR on Instagram

Headline sponsored by Notified, the Conference explored the relationship between public relations and politics in a year when almost half the world’s population is taking part in national elections. Chaired by Angela Balakrishnan, Executive Director of Strategic Communications and Public Affairs for the Information Commissioner’s Office, delegates heard presentations from speakers including presenter and broadcaster - Clive Myrie, the chair of GB Energy - Juergen Maier, Founder of H/Advisors Cicero - Iain Anderson, Party Treasurer of the Liberal Democrats - Tilly McAuliffe, former Chief Digital Communicator for the UK Government - Peter Heneghan, human behaviour consultant - Mark Earls, former minister - Stephen McPartland and many others.

Attendees heard from experts on how to navigate the chaotic news cycle, strategies to engage stakeholders across the political spectrum, creating inclusive cultures, the macro AI landscape and its transformative impact on politics, government, and business, the growing importance of a regional political approach to public affairs, addressing misinformation in the age of social media, the role of behavioural science, and more.

Other sponsors included Cision, Kinura, Muck Rack, PA Mediapoint, and Specialist Speakers.

Sir Stephen Tallents' Medal

The 2024 Sir Stephen Tallents' Medal was announced at the event and has been awarded to Iain Anderson, Founder and Chair of H/Advisors Cicero. Iain Anderson is former Chairman of the Association of Professional Political Consultants and a past Chairman of the CIPR Public Affairs group. In the awarding of this medal, President Rachael Clamp noted Iain's "distinguished career in public relations and his significant contribution to driving positive change and high standards in public affairs".

A highly experienced professional in the fields of communications, government, and diversity advocacy, Dame Maria will bring over 20 years of experience in advertising, marketing, and public relations, coupled with an additional 19 years as a Member of Parliament, Government Minister, and Select Committee Chair.

Following an extensive recruitment process and a series of interviews that included an external, independent adviser with significant experience in HR, Dame Maria was appointed for her wealth of expertise in communications and extensive experience in government, most notably as Secretary of State for Culture, Media, and Sport. She was announced as the Institute’s first chair by President, Rachael Clamp, in front of delegates at its annual conference.

Since leaving Parliament in July 2024, Dame Maria has become a specialist advisor on Diversity, Equality, and Inclusion, drawing on their experience as Minister for Equalities where she played a pivotal role in the successful passage of the Equal Marriage Act, ensuring that same-sex couples received equal marriage rights under the law. Her commitment to promoting diversity and equality was recognised by Her Late Majesty the Queen when she was appointed a Dame Commander of the British Empire in acknowledgment of her work's lasting national impact.

Before being elected as an MP, she held several roles in the corporate communications and advertising sectors, including serving as a director at Rowland/Saatchi Company and Grey Advertising. She will take up her new CIPR role in January 2025.

The CIPR also received a signed and sealed Order from the Privy Council Office in October this year confirming the changes to its Charter in allowing for the creation of an Independent Chair position and for that individual to be remunerated for their role.

Episode 17 - Leadership, preparedness and managing reputation in a crisis - features in-depth discussions on navigating challenges in today's complex communication landscape. From missing airplanes to Novichok poisonings, the episode explores real-world crisis scenarios, offering practical insights for PR professionals facing diverse and interconnected risks.

Hosted by Charlotte West, VP of Global Communications at Lenovo, the podcast examines key areas of crisis communication and reputation management. It delves into the importance of crisis preparedness, the role of data in decision-making, the evolving relationship between communications leaders and senior management, how to integrate resilience into PR strategies, and more.

Joining host Charlotte are:

• Rod Cartwright, Visting Fellow and MA Advisory Panel Chair at Cardiff University and Special Advisor to the CIPR's Crisis Communications Network
• Sarah Thomas, Group Account Director at See Media

• Listen to the Engage Podcast on Apple or Spotify
• Find out more about the CIPR's Engage podcast
• CIPR members can log 5 CPD points for listening to this episode
• Find out more about our on-demand Crisis Communications training, free for CIPR members
• Download the CIPR's guide to Drafting a Crisis Communications Plan

These 12 new Corporate Affiliate members join a growing community of over 250 organisations, dedicated to the continual development of their PR and communications teams and adhering to the highest ethical and professional standards. 

The latest corporate members to join the CIPR are: 

• Anita Morris Associates Ltd 
• Briscoe PR 
• University of Cambridge 
• DTW 
• Fujifilm Europe 
• Honest Communications 
• Lothian Buses 
• Markel International 
• Pembroke and Rye 
• Quality Meat Scotland 
• SOAS, University of London
• University of Arts London

• For further information on becoming a CIPR Corporate Affiliate, to view the full list of CIPR corporate members, or to download our Corporate Affiliate brochure, please visit our website. 
• Call +44 (0)7741 659 754 or email our team to discuss the benefits of corporate membership.

• Richard Bagnall Hon.FCIPR
• Pat Gaudin Dip CIPR, Found. Chart.PR, Hon.FCIPR
• Henry Gewanter Hon.FCIPR
• Avril Lee Hon.FCIPR
• Ann Pilkington Hon.FCIPR
• Kevin Taylor Chart.PR, Hon.FCIPR

Honorary Fellowships are granted by the Board of Directors in recognition of exceptionally outstanding services to the Institute and/or the development of the public relations profession. Fellowships are bestowed upon Members in recognition of distinction in the public relations profession.

Richard Bagnall

Richard has been a CIPR member for over 30 years. In that time working in public relations, he has won several awards for his work advocating for best practice in research, measurement, and evaluation including the CIPR President’s medal, AMEC’s Don Bartholomew Award, and Provoke Media’s Lifetime Achievement Award. He has made several contributions to the Institute by serving on its social media panel, authoring chapters in CIPR publications, speaking at numerous national and regional events, and judging awards.

Richard has led some of the world’s foremost media intelligence organisations including Metrica, Gorkana, Prime Research UK, and CARMA and has volunteered with leading organisations such as AMEC, which he chaired for six years, and the UK Government’s Cabinet Office Evaluation Council for 11 years. He co-founded and heads CommsClarity Consulting Ltd, a strategic advisory firm supporting comms professionals with their comms evaluation.
 

Pat Gaudin

Pat has been a passionate member and supporter of the public relations profession and the CIPR for over 30 years. She has served on both the Institute’s Council and Board, is a founding Chartered PR, was a member and Chair of its Professional Development and Membership Committee, was a member, vice chair and chair of its Local Government Group (later Local Public Services Group), and served on and chaired the Iprovision Board. In 2013, she was awarded the Stephen Talents Medal and in 2015 she co-authored PR and Communication in Local Government and Public Services in the CIPR PR in Practice series.

Pat has had a distinguished career in local government PR at Lothian, Edinburgh, Essex and Chelmsford Councils and most recently as a PR consultant/interim in local government and public services across East Anglia, Hertfordshire and London. She lectured at UAL London College of Communication and has used her PR skills with disability CIC Purple, Theatre Arts Action Trust, and the Essex Book Festival. She is also a Fellow of the RSA.

Henry Gewanter

Henry has been a member of the Institute for more than 30 years and continues to stand up for ethical practice as the current co-chair of the Professional Standards Panel. He is committed to bringing through the next generation of PR Professionals, having joined the Institute’s mentoring programme from its inception.

Henry’s commitment to ethical standards came to widespread public attention because of his leading role in working with UK national media to reveal the scandal of UK MP’s expenses. He set up Positive Profile in 1997 and now runs it having previously worked at Financial Dynamics, First Financial, the investment bank County NatWest, and National Westminster Bank.
 

Avril Lee

Avril has led the CIPR’s EDI work for a decade, most recently as Chair of the Institute’s Diversity and Inclusion Network and previously serving on its Diversity Working Group and Diversity and Inclusion Forum. She has twice served on the CIPR Board and her work has contributed to the establishment of the Institute’s award-winning Reverse Mentoring Scheme with the Taylor Bennett Foundation, and its pursuit of NES accreditation.

She has been a Board Trustee with Doctors of the World UK since October 2018 and in 2022 was awarded the Sir Stephen Tallents Medal For Outstanding Contribution To Public Relations. Last year BME PR Pros recognised her championing EDI change by awarding her a lifetime achievement award. Avril is Head of Health and Wellbeing Europe and UK at Zeno.
 

Ann Pilkington

Ann is a long-standing champion and advocate of the public relations industry having co-founded PR Academy in 2007, helping hundreds of professionals from all over the world to become qualified. Ann spearheads the operations and development at PR Academy as well as providing support to students. She has a particular interest in how communication can support change and project management and has explored this in her book Communicating Projects and as a chapter author in several books.

A CIPR member for more than 30 years, she was an active volunteer with what was the Wessex CIPR group for many years.

Ann began her career in regional journalism and went on to work in public relations for brands including the AA, BT, Barclays, and to lead communication for large government change programmes before co-founding PR Academy.

Kevin Taylor

Kevin joined the CIPR in 1992 and has served on the CIPR Council and as chair of the Education and Professional Standards Committee. He was first elected to the CIPR Board of Directors in 2004 and served as the CIPR’s 60th President in 2009.

Kevin was elected to the Board again in 2017-18, during which time he also chaired the Professional Practices Committee, later serving as the CIPR’s Regulatory Consultant. He was awarded the Sir Stephen Tallents' Medal in 2017. In 2023 Kevin became Chair of the Iprovision charity and led the launch of its 75 Fund to support people from financially or socially disadvantaged backgrounds to advance or begin a career in the public relations profession. Kevin has acted as a mentor on the CIPR’s Progress Mentoring scheme and has informally mentored many practitioners over the years.

Farzana is the CEO and co-founder of Curzon PR, an award-winning strategic communications firm based in London, and Resident Public Relations expert at the University of Oxford's Said Business School. She has received multiple awards in PR, leadership, innovation, and entrepreneurship.

She serves as a trustee for the British Asian Trust and Soho Theatre and recently co-founded the Asian Communications Network to address the lack of British Asian representation in the communications sector.

She will succeed the 2025 President, Advita Patel. The CIPR's new Independent Chair of the Board is due to be announced later in the month.

All 21 candidates undertook a one-day assessment, showcasing their expertise and knowledge of public relations across strategy, ethics, and leadership. Those who met the assessment criteria and demonstrated their breadth of experience have been awarded the industry’s highest badge of professionalism.

The latest practitioners to become Chartered are:

• Siobhan Adeleke Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Ian Arnot Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Patience Bamidele Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Jim Beestone Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Damian Chapman Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Jie Gao Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Natalie Geraghty Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Joseph Groszewski Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Angela Hamilton Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Jayne Hoole Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• James Hyde Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Joe Lane Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Matthew Lanyon Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Nathan Llewellyn Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Pressiana Naydenova Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Humayon Pramanik Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Laura Rudolph Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Miriam Rune Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Arianne Smart Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Amy Stinton Chart.PR, MCIPR 
• Amelia Stokes Chart.PR, MCIPR 
   

• The CIPR have announced a Chartership package that enables members to save nearly £200 on the Chartership assessment fee by adding it to their membership subscription at a discounted rate and committing to becoming chartered within two years. 
• Find out more about Chartership and email the membership team with any questions. 

The partnership is designed to facilitate knowledge sharing and research collaboration, the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, joint training and development programmes, and enhanced networking opportunities between members of both bodies. As part of the partnership IPRCZ members can join the CIPR and become chartered at a reduced rate.

Epilepsy Action, which celebrates their 75th anniversary in 2025, provides support for those living with epilepsy and their families. Millions of seizures happen every day and Epilepsy Action’s mission is to provide the right resources, advocacy and education to improve the lives of the 630,000 people currently living with epilepsy in the UK.

Entry to this year’s awards is open until 29th November 2024, after which eight teams will be chosen by a panel of high-profile judges to take part in the Live Final Show on Thursday 30th January 2025, held at the iconic BAFTA in Piccadilly, London.

On Live Final day, the eight teams will receive the charity’s creative brief at lunchtime. They then have just four hours to work on their creative before pitching it back in the evening, in just eight minutes each, to the judges and a live audiences of hundreds.

A winning team is crowned on the night and walks away with Epilepsy Action as a new client, a £10,000 prize and support from a range of significant partners, including Clear Channel, Acast and markettiers to bring their campaign to life later on in 2025.

The 2025 Judging Panel includes:

• Kim Allain – Associate Creative Director, Golin
• Olivia Blairman – Managing Director, Coolr
• Kate Brazier – Managing Director, The Romans
• Nicky Bullard – Group Chief Creative Officer, MullenLowe Group UK
• Daniel Fox-Evans – Creative Director, The Kitchen London (KraftHeinz)
• Eric Fulwiler – Co-Founder and CEO, Rival
• Johnny Pitt – Founder, Launch PR and The Creative Shootout
• Harjot Singh – Global Chief Strategy Officer, McCann Worldgroup
• Rebekah Smith – Deputy Chief Executive, Epilepsy Action
• Tanya Whitehouse – CEO, ELVIS

The Creative Shootout is supported by the leading industry associations including The CIPR, IPA, DMA, The Advertising Association, IAB and thenetworkone.

For more information and to enter visit creativeshootout.com.
 

Myrie will bring his unique perspective on global politics and media to the line-up of speakers. With extensive experience as a foreign correspondent in Asia, Africa, Washington D.C and Europe, and as host of the BBC’s television quiz show, Mastermind, Myrie has covered major global events, interviewed world leaders throughout his distinguished career and is deeply familiar with news media. Maier will speak of his experience as an Industrialist and a strong advocate for the green re-industrialisation of the UK’s economy as well as his view of the role business should play in society and community matters.

The Institute has also announced Dr Hannah White, Director and CEO at the Institute for Government, as a key speaker. White, a regular media commentator, podcast host, and author of Held in Contempt: What's Wrong with the House of Commons?, will bring her expertise in the public sector, how government works, and how it can work better. 

Myrie and White join a host of new speakers added to the conference’s line-up, including; 

• Iain Anderson FCIPR, Founding and Executive Chairman at H/Advisors Cicero 
• Mark Earls, award-winning writer and consultant on human behaviour, contemporary communications and behaviour change  
• Peter Heneghan, Founder of The Future Communicator and former Chief Digital Communicator for the UK Government 
• Gemma Kappala-Ramsamy MCIPR, Head of Media and Public Affairs at London Council 

They will be joined by the in-house PR team at apetito, the UK’s leading provider of meals to the Healthcare, Care Homes, Education and Social Care sectors and recent winner of the Public Affairs Campaign of the Year award at the 2024 CIPR Excellence Awards. More speakers will be announced in due course. 

The Institute has also announced Notified, the only technology company that offers a suite of end-to-end communication solutions, as the event's headline sponsor. 

Early-bird rates are now available on ticket bookings. 

• Find out more and book your tickets for the CIPR's 2024 Annual Conference
• Learn more about the Conference's line-up of speakers

Sponsored by Cision, PA Mediapoint, and Specialist Speakers, ‘Changing politics. The impact on communications’ will explore the wide-ranging impacts on PR, communications, and public affairs across all levels of practice in a year when around half the world’s population is participating in national elections. Attendees will join industry peers for thought-provoking discussions and gain practical insights on what a new Labour government will mean for the UK and global industry, how new legislation will impact the international business landscape, how to engage with newly elected representatives, and how to get cut through with a politics-focused media.

Speakers announced so far include: 

• Iain Anderson FRSA, Founding and Executive Chairman at H/Advisors Cicero with over 30 years’ experience as a political adviser, business journalist, and board-level advisor
• Mark Earls, HERDMeister at HERD, an award-winning writer and consultant on human behaviour, contemporary communications and behaviour change
• Peter Heneghan, Founder of The Future Communicator, AI Advisor, and former Head of Digital Comms at UK Government and 10 Downing Street
• Gemma Kappala-Ramsamy, Head of Media and Public Affairs at London Councils

• Find out more and register your interest for the CIPR's 2024 Annual Conference

• See the full list of winners online or below.
• All the photos from the evening can be viewed and downloaded online.

Winners list: 

Corporate and Business Communications Campaign

• WINNER: phs Group x Prostate Cancer UK x 'Cause for Dispose With Dignity

Internal Communications or Employee Engagement Campaign

• WINNER: Bank of Ireland - Internal Communications & Engagement for Bank of Ireland Helping you Thrive engagement campaign
• Mark of Excellence: Bridgestone EMIA and Sequel Group for ACTIVE8 campaign

Consumer Relations Campaign

• WINNER: Good Relations with Starling Bank for Share The Load
• Mark of Excellence: Ready10 for Ready10 x KIND Snacks: Fuelling the Lionesses

Public Sector Campaign

• WINNER: Cowshed and Foster Wales for Bring something to the table

Social Purpose Campaign

• WINNER: Mischief x Just Eat for Allies United
• Mark of Excellence: Frank PR for Innocent: The (Big) Big Knit

Public Affairs Campaign

• WINNER: apetito and Wiltshire Farm Foods for EPR Legislation Lobbying Campaign

Not-for-Profit Campaign

• WINNER: British Psychological Society for BPS Fund NHS Hubs campaign
• Mark of Excellence: Royal Osteoporosis Society for Better Bones campaign

 Healthcare and/or Wellbeing Campaign

• WINNER: NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) for Shape the Future / NHS 75
• Mark of Excellence: Havas Red for National Blood Week 2023: 'Giving Type'

Integrated Campaign

• WINNER: Golley Slater x Transport for Wales for No Second Chances
• Mark of Excellence: Cambridge University Press & Assessment for Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2023 'Hallucinate'

Beauty, Fashion and Lifestyle Campaign

• WINNER: Liz Lean PR (LLPR) for BEST DAY EVER at Paultons Park by LLPR

Environmental Campaign

• WINNER: Forster Communications for Envision Racing Recover-E Campaign

Low Budget Campaign

• WINNER: Cowshed and Foster Wales for These are our voices
• Mark of Excellence: Oxford University Press for Oxford Children's Word of the Year

STEM Campaign

• WINNER: Tin Man and Amazon for AI: Addressing the Future Skills Gap
• Mark of Excellence: Weber Shandwick and Royal Society of Chemistry for PFAS - turning the microscope on troubled waters

Sport or Entertainment Campaign

• WINNER: Ready10 for Ready10 x KIND Snacks: Fuelling the Lionesses
• Mark of Excellence: Wasserman for Two biggest names in world football join forces

Travel, Transport or Tourism Campaign

• WINNER: Lynn x Welsh Government for #Readyfor20mph
• Mark of Excellence: Mischief x Avanti for Pulling in the Right Direction

Education Campaign

• WINNER: Cowshed and Welsh Government Education for Help with school costs
• Mark of Excellence: Fanclub x smol for Suds in Schools

Best Use of Media Relations

• WINNER: Frank PR for Riverford Organic - Get Fair About Farming
• Mark of Excellence: British Antarctic Survey for The Tip of the Iceberg

Best Channel Delivery

• WINNER: Cowshed and Welsh Government for Sound
• Mark of Excellence: Cowshed and Welsh Government Education for Help with school costs

Best Long-term Campaign

• WINNER: Northumbrian Water Group for Bin the Wipe
• Mark of Excellence: Catapult PR for World's No 1 Topiary Garden

Best Use of Content

• WINNER: Red Consultancy for Avon’s Reverse Make Up Tutorial

Best Event

• WINNER: Information Commissioner's Office for Data Protection Practitioners' Conference

Best long-term Client Care

• WINNER: iseepr for Long-Term Client Relationships: The Lifeblood of iseepr

Issues, Crisis or Reputation Management

• WINNER: London Luton Airport for London Luton Airport Terminal Car Park 2 Fire
• Mark of Excellence: Hywel Dda University Health Board for RAAC: Rallying around a concrete crisis

Best Publication

• WINNER: phs Group x Prostate Cancer UK x 'Cause for Dispose With Dignity Whitepaper

Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year

• WINNER: Tori Blakeman, April Six
• Mark of Excellence: Elissa Pereira Cregan, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists

Independent PR Practitioner of the Year

• WINNER: Crispin Thorold Communications
• Mark of Excellence: Donate4Dáithí

In-House PR Team of the Year

• WINNER: Emma - The Sleep Company
• Mark of Excellence: Skipton Building Society

Specialist PR Consultancy of the Year

• WINNER: iseepr
• Mark of Excellence: Words + Pixels

Small PR Consultancy of the Year

• WINNER: Fanclub
• Mark of Excellence: HN Communications

PR Consultancy of the Year

• WINNER: Ready10
• Mark of Excellence: Cowshed

Throughout April, May, and June, candidates undertook one-day assessments, showcasing their expertise in PR ethics, strategy, and leadership. Those who successfully met the assessment criteria have been awarded the profession’s highest professional status, and a badge of professionalism that clients, colleagues, and the public can trust.

The latest practitioners to be Chartered are:

• Robert Beasley Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Alistair Berry Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Thomas Bramald Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Alexandra Brooks Chart.PR, Dip CIPR, MCIPR
• Christine Brown Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Hannah Carpenter Chart. PR, MCIPR
• Russell Cartwright Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Tim Chapman Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Gillian Connor Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Girija Duggal Chart. PR, MCIPR
• Stuart Fitzgerald Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Jon-Paul Gabriele Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Kevin Hegarty Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Kirsty Hewson Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Erin Hickey Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Chelsea Hopkins Chart.PR, MCIPR
• James Jordan Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Esther Kuku Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Emma Livingstone Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Sian Lower Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Paul Mackman Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Lisa Mason Chart.PR, MCIPR
• John Mayne Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Josephine Osborn Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Phoebe Adoley Pappoe Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Henry Pelham Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Sally Quigg Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Helen Robinson-Gordon Chart. PR, MCIPR
• James Sharpe Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Naomi Maria Gloria Smith Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Monica Stonham Chart.PR, MCIPR
• David Tarbuck Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Carl Turner Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Caroline Welch Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Nicola Whitefield Chart.PR, MCIPR
• Carla Zuill Chart.PR, MCIPR

• The CIPR have announced a Chartership package that enables members to save nearly £200 on the Chartership assessment fee by adding it to their membership subscription at a discounted rate and committing to becoming chartered within two years. 
• Find out more about Chartership and email the membership team with any questions. 

The Institute has welcomed its latest members to its growing community of now over 240 Corporate members. These new additions join a roster of organisations dedicated to the professional development of their PR and communications teams and adhering to a set of globally recognised professional standards.

The latest members to join the CIPR are:

• City, University of London
• J Comms
• King's College London - Arts and Humanities
• MW Advocate
• NHS Confederation
• Rail Partners
• Reverberate
• Stephenson Mohl
• The Resuscitation Council
• Whitehouse Communications
• Yorkshire Water

• For further information on becoming a CIPR Corporate Affiliate, to view the full list of CIPR corporate members, or to download our Corporate Affiliate brochure, please visit our website. 
• Call +44 (0)7741 659 754 or email our team to discuss the benefits of corporate membership.

• Read the full report
• Read the audited accounts

• In 44% of investigations ORCL found no registerable communication had been made – the largest single category of results
• In 20% of investigations, ORCL found that the VAT registration of the company in question exempted it from signing the Register
• In 18% of investigations, ORCL found that no payment had been made to those making communications on behalf of a third party, thereby exempting them from signing the Register
• In eight per cent of investigations, ORCL found no registration was needed on account of the incidental lobbying exemption
• In six per cent of investigations, individuals lobbying were found to be in-house employees, rather than third-party consultant lobbyists, meaning they were exempt
• In four per cent of investigations, individuals lobbying took advantage of the representative organisation exemption

The findings demonstrate the extent to which ORCL has been let down by the Lobbying Act, raising questions about whether the watchdog has the tools it needs to effectively police the lobbying of Westminster.

• The research follows the publication of the CIPR’s General Election manifesto, which calls for an overhaul of the 2014 Lobbying Act.
• Download the new Failure by Design report.

The research – conducted by Opinium – revealed that on average, 91% reported poor mental health in the last 12 months. Meanwhile, the proportion of PR professionals that have been diagnosed with a mental health condition has risen from one in four (25%) to a third (33%).

The number of PR professionals who find their jobs stressful has stayed consistent year after year. In fact, three out of ten (29%) continue to rate their stress levels within the range of 8-10 (with 10 being extremely stressful). This figure has remained stable since it first rose from 26% in 2021.

As in past years, PR professionals continue to have a higher risk of poor mental health than the general UK workforce. In the last year, 63% of UK workers report having poor mental health.

Before the pandemic around 70% of UK PR professionals worked from an office all the time. This is now down to 9%. Professionals largely agree that working from home has positive aspects, with 81% appreciating a better work-life balance and 78% finding the lack of commute good for mental health.

Other key findings:

• An average wellbeing score of 45.3, indicating a slight decrease from the previous year.
• 60% of respondents have told someone at work that they have struggled with their mental wellbeing, up from 51% last year.
• 59% said that having too much work to do is the biggest barrier for taking time off to deal with mental health.
• 58% cited an overwhelming workload as a key source of workplace stress.

• Download the 2023/24 Workplace Mental Wellbeing Audit to find out more

Influence Weekly will be delivered directly to members’ inboxes every Friday and feature timely articles and blogs on the world of public relations and beyond. The digital publication will provide thought-leadership pieces, insights on news and world events, as well as practical tips and reviews to help PR professionals stay ahead in their field and informed on the latest industry and business trends.

The change reflects the Institute's commitment to providing its members with valuable and up-to-date resources to navigate the rapidly evolving public relations landscape.

The first member-exclusive piece in the inaugural issue of Influence Weekly (sign-in required) comes via journalist Christian Koch who delves into the concept of regenerative leadership and its potential to revolutionise PR agencies by challenging the traditional command-and-control hierarchy of public relations departments.

Launched in 2016, Influence magazine quickly established itself as an authoritative communications journal and has won several awards.

• Book your ticket to attend the Excellence Awards live ceremony

CIPR EXCELLENCE AWARDS 2024 SHORTLIST

Corporate and Business Communications Campaign

• 361 Communications - Space Powered Internet, Anytime, Anywhere
• BAE Systems Digital Intelligence - Leading the conversation on Multi-Domain Integration
• Cognito - Corporate and Business Communications Campaign
• Mastercard - Uplift
• MHP Group x IWG plc - MHP Group x IWG plc 
• phs Group x Prostate Cancer UK x 'Cause - Dispose With Dignity 
• The Think Tank - Oscar Acoustics - Noise Annoys 
• Wildfire - Wildfire and Bango: The Digital Vending Machine

Internal Communications or Employee Engagement Campaign 

• Aviva - Making it click
• Bank of Ireland - Internal Communications & Engagement - Bank of Ireland Helping you Thrive engagement campaign 
• Bridgestone EMIA and Sequel Group - ACTIVE8 campaign 
• Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust - Building Our Future Together 
• Nova Post - Fairy-tale "Troll, Beyond time and the Magic Clock" 
• phs Group - People at the heart of products and services 
• Sopra Steria - The Sopra Steria Seasonal Celebration 2023 
• South Gloucestershire Council - Internal communications support to Children's Services improvement journey

Consumer Relations Campaign

• Bottle - Bottle & Harringtons Yorkshire Embassy for Dogs 
• Frank PR - Weetabix #MilkFirst 
• Good Relations with Starling Bank - Share The Load 
• Mischief x Ocado - Ocado x Beano 
• Ready10 - Ready10 x KIND Snacks: Fuelling the Lionesses 
• Skipton Building Society - Skipton Building Society's Track Record Mortgage for Renters 
• Smoking Gun - She Just Wants to Play 
• Words + Pixels & Lime - Re-Cycling perceptions to make Lime essential

Public Sector Campaign 

• Cowshed and Foster - Wales Bring something to the table 
• Cowshed and Welsh Government - Sound 
• Gloucestershire Constabulary - Stalking Campaign 
• Havas Red - National Blood Week 2023: 'Giving Type' 
• Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and Lancashire Constabulary - #OpCenturion - Getting Tough On Anti-Social Behaviour 
• Lynn x Welsh Government - #ReadyFor20mph 
• NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) - Shape the Future / NHS 75 
• Norfolk County Council - Travel Norfolk - One journey at a time

Social Purpose Campaign

• Frank PR - Innocent: The (Big) Big Knit 
• Frank PR - Riverford Organic - Get Fair About Farming 
• Headland - KFC - Hatch 
• Mischief x Chase - Chase: Inspired by the Wild 
• Mischief x Just Eat - Allies United 
• Paddy Power - Paddy Power, PDC & PCUK's Big 180 Campaign 
• Splendid Communications and Movember - Movember Sport the Signs 
• Tin Man with Cadbury Fingers - Bringing BSL to the Beautiful Game

Public Affairs Campaign

• apetito and Wiltshire Farm Foods - EPR Legislation Lobbying Campaign
• April Six - Saving the Learned Societies at Burlington House 
• Frank PR - Riverford Organic: Get Fair About Farming 
• iNHouse Communications - Backing British Spirits 
• Malaria No More UK - Finish The Job 
• Royal Osteoporosis Society - Better Bones campaign

Not-for-Profit Campaign

• British Psychological Society - BPS Fund NHS Hubs campaign 
• Goodness PR and Good Broadcast with Art Fund - Brainwaves 
• Havas Red - National Blood Week 2023: 'Giving Type' 
• Headland - Football Beyond Borders 
• Nova Post - Pack the Sky - Boost Air Defence 
• Pepshop - Windrush 75 
• Royal Osteoporosis Society - Better Bones campaign 
• Stroke Association - When the Words Away Went

Healthcare &/or Well Being Campaign 

• Fanclub x smol - Suds in Schools
• Havas Red - National Blood Week 2023: 'Giving Type' 
• NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) - Shape the Future / NHS 75 
• North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board - Got an itch? Gut feeling? Little problems? 
• R&Co Communications - Raising awareness of the dangers of Alabama Rot 
• Season with Sense by Losalt - The Stick to 6 Challenge 
• University of Oxford - Brain and mental health 
• Weber Shandwick - Talking Sh*t for DulcoLax

Integrated Campaign 

• Cambridge University Press & Assessment - Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2023 'Hallucinate' 
• Four Cymru and Hybu Cig Cymru - Uniquely Welsh. Experts in their field.
• GOLD79 x Gonzales Byass - It's Croft Time 
• Golley Slater x Transport for Wales - No Second Chances 
• Lynn x Welsh Government - #ReadyFor20mph 
• Mischief x Just Eat - The Queen's Header 
• Nestle UK and Ireland - Behind the Beans 
• Splendid Communications, TBWA, The 7 Stars, Ginsters team - Ginsters Taste The Effort

Beauty, Fashion & Lifestyle Campaign

• Liz Lean PR (LLPR) - BEST DAY EVER at Paultons Park by LLPR 
• The Glenmorangie Company - Spirited Magazine Issue 3

Environmental Campaign

• Arup - Arup Urban Heat Snapshot 
• Forster Communications - Envision Racing Recover-E Campaign 
• Grand Arcade Cambridge - Let's Go Circular 
• Iris Worldwide - BRITA: Clear on bottled water 
• McKenna Townsend - Global launch of ICOMIA's marine industry decarbonisation report 
• Weber Shandwick and the Royal Society of Chemistry - PFAS - turning the microscope on troubled waters 
• Words + Pixels & Back Market - THE ART OF REGENERATION WITH DOCTOR WHO 
• Zero Waste Scotland x LUX - The Can-paign: Lifting the lid on tins

Low Budget Campaign 

• Cowshed and Foster Wales - These are our voices 
• Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water - Graduate Campaign - Bringing Wales to Life 
• Frank PR - Weetabix #MilkFirst 
• Hard Numbers - Broadband Battles: The Race for Glastonbury Tickets 
• Oxford Children's - Oxford Children's Word of the Year 
• Ready10 - PADDY POWER X BREWDOG BOTTLE JOBS 
• Strike Communications - Music on the front line 
• Virgin Media O2 - WiFi Education, The Feng Shui Way

STEM Campaign 

• British Antarctic Survey - The Tip of the Iceberg
• Durham University - Celebrating excellence in Computer Science and Mathematical Sciences 
• Grand Arcade Cambridge - Grand Discoveries 
• Memetic Communications - Shaping global fusion policy and investment 
• National Physical Laboratory (NPL) - Challenging stereotypes associated with the STEM sector. 
• Tin Man and Amazon - AI: Addressing the Future Skills Gap 
• University of Salford - Energy House 2.0: Building for Climate Adaption 
• Weber Shandwick and the Royal Society of Chemistry - PFAS - turning the microscope on troubled waters

Sport or Entertainment Campaign 

• CSM Sport & Entertainment - Two biggest names in world football join forces 
• Democracy and Betfair - All aboard the 90 Minute Bus 
• Mischief x Just Eat - The Queen's Header 
• Mischief x Three - #WeSeeYouNetwork 
• Nova Post - World's Longest Marathon by Nova Post 
• PLMR Advent 2023 - International Blind Sport Federation (IBSA) World Games 
• Ready10 - Ready10 x KIND Snacks: Fuelling the Lionesses 
• Red Consultancy - Serving up Women's World Cup fever with McDonald’s

Travel, Transport, or Tourism Campaign 

• Hudson Sandler - The Travel Tracker Report 
• Lynn x Welsh Government - #Readyfor20mph 
• Mischief x Avanti - Pulling in the Right Direction 
• Pic PR - Destination Bowood 
• Skyscanner - Travel Trends 2024 
• Smoking Gun - She Just Wants to Play 
• Tin Man with Guide Dogs and Virgin Atlantic - High Flying Hounds 
• UK Civil Aviation Authority - ATOL - The Holiday Plunge

Education Campaign 

• Cambridge University Press & Assessment - Cambridge Dictionary Word of the Year 2023 'Hallucinate' 
• Cowshed and Welsh Government - Education Help with school costs 
• Fanclub x smol - Suds in Schools 
• Golley Slater and Welsh Government - Inspiring Genius Decisions During Apprenticeship Week Wales. 
• Lansons/Team Farner x Wealthify - Future Skills 
• Launch - Launch for Hyundai: The Great British School Trip 
• Taylor Herring - Taylor Herring & NatWest - All Mod Cons 
• University of Oxford - AI at Oxford

Best Use of Media Relations 

• British Antarctic Survey - The Tip of the Iceberg 
• Frank PR - Riverford Organic - Get Fair About Farming 
• London Borough of Tower Hamlets - Universal Free School Meals in Secondary Schools 
• PAN Communications - Artec 3D - 'Scanning for Justice' 
• Third City & Kia - Electric Futures 
• University of Salford - Energy House 2.0: Building for Climate Adaption 
• Weber Shandwick and the Royal Society of Chemistry - Chemistry's storm in a (salty) teacup 
• Words + Pixels & Hims - LET'S TALK ABOUT SEX

Best Channel Delivery

• Bottle - Bottle & caba 'The Cash Conversation' Podcast 
• Cowshed and Welsh Government Education - Help with school costs 
• Cowshed and Welsh Government - Sound 
• Democracy and AkzoNobel - Making waves around the world 
• Hanover Communications - Hanover Communications: 'Protect your money with FSCS' podcast 
• Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and Lancashire Constabulary - #OpCenturion - Getting Tough On Anti-Social Behaviour 
• Lansons/Team Farner x Wealthify - Future Skills 
• People's Postcode Lottery & Carousel - Millionaire Street: Linking Play & Purpose

Best Long-term campaign 

• Catapult PR - World's No 1 Topiary Garden 
• HCR Law - Future Workspaces - the future of the office 
• Memetic Communications - Shaping global fusion policy and investment 
• Northumbrian Water - Bin the Wipe 
• Ready10 - READY10 x VOUCHERCODES.CO.UK 
• TechComms - Strategic coverage gives AI vendor an authoritative voice 
• Transform Communications - Seven years of building the Talogy brand

Best Use of Content 

• Cowshed and Welsh Government - Sound 
• Lancashire Police and Crime Commissioner and Lancashire Constabulary - #OpCenturion - Getting Tough On Anti-Social Behaviour 
• Mischief x Ocado - Ocado x Beano 
• NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) - Shape the Future / NHS 75 
• Red Consultancy - The Reverse Make-Up Tutorial 
• The Think Tank - Oscar Acoustics - Noise Annoys 
• Third City & Kia - Electric Futures 
• Who Gives a Crap x Fanclub x Eleven/TBWA Melbourne x TBWA Chiat Day (US) - Winnie the Pooh: The Deforested Edition

Best Event 

• Cowshed and FOR Cardiff - City of Arcades: The Game 
• Frank PR - Innocent: The (Big) Big Knit 
• HUNTER: London x Amplify - The Jongga Flavourverse 
• Information Commissioner's Office - Data Protection Practitioners' Conference 
• MHP Group x FCA - Swipe Left, Invest Right 
• Mischief x Just Eat - The Queen's Header 
• Nova Post - Delivering a fairy tale to your city 
• Trafford Centre - Celebrating 25 years of fashion at Trafford Centre

Best long-term client care 

• April Six - Collaborating with clients to change the world
• Aver PR - CIPR Best long-term client care: AVER PR 
• Democracy and East Lancashire Railway - Keeping on track together 
• GingerMay - GingerMay - Delivering results through a people-centric approach 
• Infinite Global - PR that's passed the test of time 
• iseepr - Long-Term Client Relationships: The Lifeblood of iseepr 
• McCann PR & Social - Enduring Excellence: Strong Partnerships for Effective PR 
• Spark Communications - Spark - Story-driven Comms That Delivers Business Impact

Issues, Crisis, or Reputation Management

• Hywel Dda University Health Board - RAAC: Rallying around a concrete crisis
• London Luton Airport - London Luton Airport Terminal Car Park 2 Fire 
• Nova Post - Communication after Russian missile hit Nova Post's terminal

Best Publication 

• COW - FROM THE MARGINS 
• phs Group x Prostate Cancer UK x 'Cause Dispose - With Dignity Whitepaper

Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year

• Benjamin Palmer, National Highways 
• Elissa Pereira Cregan, Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists 
• Ella Kirk, Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust 
• Katherine Davidson, Cancer Research UK Cambridge Institute 
• Molly Aston, The Royal Wolverhampton NHS Trust 
• Tabitha Grove, Little Red Rooster 
• Tori Blakeman, April Six

Independent PR Practitioner of the Year 

• Crispin Thorold Communications 
• Donate4Dáithí 
• People, Words & Pictures Ltd 
• Surge Communications 
• Thread & Fable 
• Tillymint Communications

In-House PR Team of the Year 

• Bupa Global & UK 
• Emma - The Sleep Company 
• Information Commissioner's Office 
• London Luton Airport 
• Northumbrian Water Group 
• Skipton Building Society 
• Sodexo UK and Ireland 
• Wheatley Group

Specialist PR Consultancy of the Year 

• 1284 
• Aver PR 
• Hard Numbers 
• Honest Communications 
• iseepr 
• Mischief 
• Pinstone 
• Words + Pixels

Small PR Consultancy of the Year 

• Fanclub 
• HN Communications 
• Ideas Network 
• JFG Communications 
• Neville Robertson Communications (NRC) 
• TechComms 
• The Flywheelers 
• VIVA PR

PR Consultancy of the Year 

• Alfred
• Cowshed 
• Headland 
• iseepr 
• Ready10 
• Splendid Communications Ltd 
• Tin Man 
• Words + Pixels

After a one-year hiatus, the 'State of the Profession 2024' survey returns to capture PR practitioners' thoughts on the health of the industry. The survey explores PR's skills landscape, its commitment to professional development, views on the reputation of PR, and how the profession is adapting to the rapid proliferation of AI tools.

The insight gathered supports the CIPR to guide its policy agenda, benchmark and assess how the profession has changed and adapted in recent years, and provides industry intelligence for the Institute to make effective representations to business, partners, and legislators.

The survey is open to all, takes approximately 10 minutes to complete, and all participants can enter a prize draw for a £100 gift card on completion.

• Take the survey. It is open to all, CIPR member or not, on mobile, tablet, or desktop. It takes around 10 minutes to complete and respondents can enter a prize draw to win a £100 gift card on completion.

Over three one-day assessments, practitioners demonstrated their knowledge of ethics, strategy and leadership. Those that passed were awarded the highest standard of professionalism in the public relations profession.

The latest practitioners to become Chartered are:

• Jenny Aylward, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Christina Berry-Moorcroft, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Chloe Chescoe, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Nicoleta Dobrata, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Matthew Dunn, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Rebecca Edwards, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Panagiotis-Fanis Evangelides, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Christopher Fairbairn, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Mia Hadrill, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Hoi Yan Ava Ho, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Dan Humphreys, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Rabia Afaq Khan, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Chris Lines, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Jane Lomas, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Ruth MacLeod, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Chimwemwe John Paul Manyozo, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Terri McCollin, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Sara-Anne Mills-Bricknell, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Claire Owens, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Joe Peach, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Rebecca Preece, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Matt Rhodes, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Jess Shepherd, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Kayleigh-Anne Soryal, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Bintou Sy, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Laura Tiplady, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Tari Trott, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Jacob Webb, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Christopher Webb, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Patrik Wheater, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Alastair Wilson, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Caroline Wood, Chart. PR, MCIPR 
• Douglas Wright, Chart. PR, MCIPR 

• The CIPR have announced a new Chartership package. It will enable members to save nearly £200 on the Chartership assessment fee by adding it to their membership subscription at a discounted rate and committing to becoming chartered within two years.  
• Find out more about Chartership and email the membership team with any questions.  

The latest organisations join a growing community of over 230 corporate members, each committed to the professional development of their PR and communications teams and a globally recognised set of professional standards. 

The latest corporate members to join the CIPR are: 

• Essex County Fire and Rescue Services
• Homes England
• PRM
• Rock Kitchen Harris
• Tech Comms
• Wellcome Trust

• To view all CIPR's corporate members and for further information on becoming a CIPR Corporate Affiliate, and to download the brochure, please visit our website.  
• Call +44 (0)7741 659 754 or email our team to discuss the benefits of corporate membership.