Palmerston North City Council takes home Supreme Award at 2020 PRINZ Awards

11 June 2020

Palmerston North City Council is named Supreme winner at the 2020 PRINZ Awards for its entry He Ara Kotahi: the pathway that got a city to fall back in love with its river.

Chief Judge, Kate Woodruffe, described the campaign as “impressive” and said it delivered outstanding results particularly considering the short lead-time and minimal budget.

“This campaign demonstrates the significant impact public relations can make even despite working with a minimal budget. The team made excellent use of in-house resource such as video and was a good example of what can be achieved through intelligent use of social media. Overall, a very successful campaign, substantially exceeding objectives, which was well-planned on a minimal budget.”

The He Ara Kotahi campaign also won Gold in the Limited Budget or Not-for-Profit award category.

Winners were announced at a virtual Awards Gala.  Wright Communications, Auckland was named ‘PR Consultancy of the Year’ in the medium to large category, and Mango Communications, Auckland, received special mention.

The winner of the In-house team of the Year category was Canterbury & West Coast DHBs TransAlpine Communications Team.

The inaugural winner of the Prize for Excellence in Research, Measurement and Evaluation – supported by PRINZ, Isentia and Research First – was Masterton District Council for VOTE 2019: motivating reluctant voters.

The PRINZ Awards recognise excellence in the New Zealand’s public relations and communications industry, promoting continuous improvement and celebrating outstanding work. The 2020 awards attracted 69 entries across 14 categories.

The Awards are judged by Life Members, Fellows and senior practitioners of the Institute with the assistance of international colleagues.

2020 PRINZ Awards results

Supreme Award

Winner: He Ara Kotahi: the pathway that got a city to fall back in love with its river – Olivia Wix, Palmerston North City Council

Corporate Public Relations

Gold: Life to the Power of 5G – Vodafone’s 5G network launch – Nicky Preston, Rich Llewellyn, Meera Kaushik and Rebecca Huang, Vodafone New Zealand

Silver: Record breaking success – positioning medical cannabis as Marlborough’s next Sauvignon Blanc – Donovan Ryan and Jo Scott, Great Scott

Public Sector Public Relations

Silver: Give a xxxx – Vote Today – Helena Williams, Jacqueline Baker, Charles Woollin, Holly Townsend, John Macdonald and Ryan Evans, New Plymouth District Council

Silver: Te Ara Wai Journeys – pathways through Waipā – Bethany Rolston, Charlotte FitzPatrick, Karen Cousins and Regan Schoultz, Waipā District Council

Bronze: Auckland, we have a problem – Teresa Burnett, Auckland Transport

Bronze: Creating the World’s Biggest Reserve Bench – Sandy Trigg, Network Communication; Asuka Burge, Francesca Chan, Laura Skerritt, Nephi Arthur, New Zealand Blood Service

Internal Communications

Gold: A new CEO’s all staff connection – Emma Timewell and Phil Johnstone, The New Zealand Institute for Plant and Food Research Limited

Silver: Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa whānau communications – Claudia Macdonald, Jill Dryden, Max Burt and Rebecca Dawson, Mango Communications; Hariata Ngatai, Ngāti Whātua Ōrākei Whai Rawa

Silver: Knowledge is Power – Cliff Joiner, Jessica Nutley, Rowena D’Souza, NZME

Silver: Connect, Grow, Share, Together; ‘Launch of Te Aka – our new intranet – Jenna Waite-Leonard, Clarissa van Emmenes and Trilby Bagshaw, Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology

Limited Budget or Not-for-Profit Public Relations

Gold: He Ara Kotahi: the pathway that got a city to fall back in love with its river – Olivia Wix, Palmerston North City Council

Silver: Regulating the property management industry to protect tenants, landlords and property managers – Dee Crooks, Real Estate Institute of New Zealand

Silver: Helping mothers fly their kite – Jackie Curtis and Rebecca Kinraid, Cherry Red Consulting

Marketing Communication – Integrated

Silver: Making the Police 105 non-emergency number famous in New Zealand – Helen Flannery, New Zealand Police

Bronze: BNZ Scam Savvy: Helping New Zealanders be safer online – Michael Burgess and Sam Durbin, Bank of New Zealand

Bronze: A new climate-friendly generation – Gen Less – James Walker, Adam Szentes, Rhiannon Hughes and Sophie Coley, Porter Novelli Auckland; Jane O’Loughlin, Penny St John and Sarah Barnett, The Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA)

Marketing Communication – Public Relations

Silver: The traffic-stopping event of 2019 – BP’s Fuel on Us – Louise Wright, Rhiannon Hughes, Esther Dawson and Sarah Williams, Porter Novelli Auckland; Gordon Gillan and Leigh Taylor, BP Oil New Zealand

Special Project or Short-term Campaign

Gold: Shaking the vines for the kiwifruit cause – Anita Winterstein and Ron Murray, Wright Communications; Mike Murphy, New Zealand Kiwifruit Growers Inc.

Silver: Safer Roads, Safer Waipā – Bethany Rolston, Charlotte FitzPatrick, Karen Cousins and Regan Schoultz, Waipa District Council

Silver:  VOTE 2019: motivating reluctant voters – Shanna Vatselias, Masterton District Council

Silver:  Kathmandu: Adapt All-Weather Wedding Dress – Paula Charmley, Kathmandu

Bronze: Operation Tidy Fox – using people power to restore a river – Marcus Gibbs, Leigh-Anne Wiig and Robyn Orchard, Department of Conservation

Bronze: Kiwibank I AM HOPE – David Lister and Gina McKinnon, Fuse NZ

Bronze: Bridging the digital divide across the Pacific – Allan Botica and Nicole Steven, Botica Butler Raudon Partners

Sustained Public Relations

Bronze: Their road not ours: engaging for safer roads – Janet Luxton and Shelley Crestani, Crestani Limited

Prize for Excellence in Research, Measurement and Evaluation

Supported by PRINZ, Isentia and Research First

Winner: VOTE 2019: motivating reluctant voters – Shanna Vatselias, Masterton District Council

Special Mention: Operation Tidy Fox – using people power to restore a river – Marcus Gibbs, Leigh-Anne Wiig and Robyn Orchard, Department of Conservation

Awards not under consideration for Supreme Award

Paul Dryden Tertiary Award

Winner: Olivia Neill, University of Waikato

Sally Logan-Milne Young Practitioner of the Year

Winner: Georgia Nelson, Antarctica New Zealand

Special Mention: Kate Barron, NSPR

Special Mention: Serena Low, One Plus One Communications

Special Mention: John Hobbs, Priority Communications

PR In-House team of the Year

Winner: Canterbury & West Coast DHBs TransAlpine Communications Team

Special Mention: National Institute for Water & Atmospheric Research (NIWA)

Special Mention: SPCA New Zealand

Special Mention: ANZ Bank New Zealand

PR Consultancy of the Year – Medium to Large

Winner: Wright Communications

Special Mention: Mango Communications