The Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) has honoured the industry’s finest campaigns, teams, and professionals at its 41st annual Excellence Awards, with four agencies and teams each securing double wins at the prestigious ceremony.
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.
Congratulations to all of last night’s winners and those shortlisted. Having four agencies each secure multiple awards demonstrates the exceptional quality across the board – there was no single dominant force, just consistently excellent work. From tackling social issues to driving business results, the winners showed how effective PR can be when strategy and creativity come together. It’s particularly encouraging to see both established consultancies and newer agencies being recognised, alongside some truly innovative in-house teams and individuals. The diversity of winning campaigns reflects a profession that continues to evolve and deliver real impact for clients and society alike.
Alastair McCapra, CIPR Chief Executive
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
