Two emotionally uplifting campaigns take Supreme at 2021 PRINZ Awards

Two campaigns demonstrating how public relations can engage communities and decision makers were awarded Supreme winners in the 2021 PRINZ Awards.

When the COVID-19 pandemic caused the cancellation of traditional Anzac Day dawn services for the first time in 104 years, the New Zealand Defence Force, alongside Royal New Zealand Returned and Services’ Association, had to innovate. The resulting campaign ‘#StandAtDawn – Apart, but together as one’, brought communities across New Zealand together in remembrance and established a new approach to commemorating sacrifice in the digital age. This campaign was also awarded Gold in the Experiential and Activation category.

Convergence Communications also received Supreme for ‘The campaign to end silence’, a “standout” government relations and public affairs campaign. This campaign was awarded Gold in the Government Relations and Public Affairs category.

PRINZ Awards Chief Judge, Kate Woodruffe, FPRINZ, said that while presenting two winners is not commonplace, it was impossible to separate the two.

“Capturing people’s attention during 2020 was no mean feat. Both the Supreme campaigns expertly steered through the challenging COVID-19 environment and demonstrated how public relations can be used to engage communities and decision makers to achieve a very successful outcome,” she said.

Wright Communications was named ‘BusinessDesk PR Consultancy of the Year’ in the medium to large category for the second consecutive year.

The Winner of the ‘BusinessDesk PR Consultancy of the Year – Small to Medium’ category was Hamilton-based consultancy, HMC. HMC also took home this award in 2018.

Countdown was awarded ‘PR In-house Team of the Year’.

The PRINZ Awards recognise excellence in New Zealand’s public relations and communications industry, promoting continuous improvement and celebrating outstanding work. The 2021 Awards attracted a record 136 entries across 18 categories and were judged by more than 80 Life Members, Fellows and senior practitioners of the Institute with the assistance of international colleagues.

The Supreme awards were among those presented at the PRINZ Awards Gala Dinner on Friday 28 May in Auckland. All PRINZ Award category winners are considered for the Supreme award. A new PRINZ Life Member, two new Fellows and graduates of the professional Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) programme were also recognised at the Gala Dinner.

2021 PRINZ Awards results:

Corporate and Business Public Relations
Silver: Fonterra Co-operative Group – Fonterra’s COVID-19 Response
Bronze: Mango Communications Aotearoa – Thanks From Iso, by Accor Hotels
Bronze: Vodafone New Zealand – COVID-19, digital acceleration, and new ways of working; enhancing Vodafone’s reputation while responding to the global pandemic

Consumer or Customer Relations
Gold: Acumen NZ, Mondelēz New Zealand – Cadbury Donate Your Kit
Silver: Countdown – Keeping a nation fed through COVID-19: A how-to guide
Silver: Christchurch City Council – Bin good and gold star recycling campaign

Community Relations and Engagement
Gold: Hīkina Consultants, The Shine Collective – Stamping out COVID with a digital handshake
Silver: Selwyn District Council – Community engagement on the Proposed Selwyn District Plan: Because it matters
Silver: Waipā District Council – Deciding on the future of Waipā’s premier parks
Silver: Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency, Fulton Hogan – Keeping it positive – the Christchurch motorway with a turbulent history comes to a successful opening
Silver: Mango Communications Aotearoa – Metlifecare Virtual Village
Silver: Waipā District Council – Smart water management through Waipā’s worst drought
Silver: Convergence Communications, Canterbury Museum – The need for change – caring for Canterbury’s taonga
Silver: Western Bay of Plenty District Council, Campbell Squared Communications – The time is right – return of ownership of Panepane Purakau
Bronze: City Rail Link Ltd, Link Alliance – Anything But Boring
Bronze: The Warehouse Group – Tackling period poverty in Aotearoa
Bronze: Vodafone New Zealand – Whārikihia – weaving Vodafone closer to Aotearoa and engaging with Māori

Financial Communications and Investor Relations
No awards given in this category.

Government Relations and Public Affairs
Gold: Convergence Communications – The campaign to end silence
Bronze: Hamilton City Council – FPP or STV: What’s your choice?

Internal Communications
Silver: Priority Communications, Emerge Aotearoa – Communications Emerging From COVID-19
Silver: Hamilton City Council – Connecting our staff, protecting our city
Silver: Countdown – Keeping our team safe through COVID-19
Silver: FMG – The Big Phish
Bronze: Contact Energy – Transforming ways of working at Contact Energy
Bronze: Westpac New Zealand Ltd – Westpac NZ internal communications COVID-19 response
Bronze: Watercare Services Limited – Enabling our workforce to stay safe, keep calm and carry on during COVID-19
Bronze: Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology – Toi Ohomai COVID-19 Response: United towards a shared purpose
Bronze: Fonterra Co-operative Group – Fonterra’s COVID-19 Response

Issues, Crisis or Reputation Management
Silver: Fonterra Co-operative Group – Fonterra’s COVID-19 Response
Silver: Real Estate Institute of New Zealand – Keeping the real estate profession moving through COVID-19
Silver: Waipā District Council – Smart water management through Waipā’s worst drought
Silver: Watercare Services Ltd – Water is precious: Appealing to Aucklanders to change their habits in the face of a drought
Silver: Palmerston North City Council – Water Woes: How we rallied our community to prevent Palmy running out of water.
Bronze: Auckland Transport – Auckland Transport keeps customers front of mind during COVID-19 lockdown
Bronze: Waka Kotahi NZ Transport Agency – Crisis communications response during the forced closure of the Auckland Harbour Bridge

Marketing Communication
Gold: Manaaki Whenua – Landcare Research – The New Zealand Garden Bird Survey – help make our birds count
Silver: Tertiary Education Commission – Fees free 2021 campaign
Silver: Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Maori – Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori | The Māori Language Moment
Bronze: Watercare Services Ltd – Water is precious: Appealing to Aucklanders to change their habits in the face of a drought
Bronze: Christchurch City Council – Develop an identity and experience for the new Christchurch hot pools He Puna Taimoana

Experiential and Activation

Gold: New Zealand Defence Force – #StandAtDawn – Apart, but together as one
Gold: Mango Communications Aotearoa – Emerson’s Tiny Pub

Bronze: Waipā District Council – Deciding on the future of Waipā’s premier parks

Best Use of Media Relations
Gold: ASB Bank, Anthem – Borrow Eden Park: ASB gives small businesses a boost, one national stadium at a time
Silver: Network Communication – Toasting the 18th annual New World Wine Awards in NZ media
Bronze: Fonterra Co-operative Group – Fonterra’s COVID-19 Response

Best Use of Digital and Social Media
Gold: Auckland Unlimited – Papatūānuku is Breathing: The video that provided hope and kept Auckland top of mind in the middle of a global pandemic
Silver: New Zealand Defence Force – #StandAtDawn – Apart, but together as one
Silver: Tertiary Education Commission – Fees Free 2021 Campaign
Bronze: New Zealand Police – NZ Police bring Creative Genius and a bit of Paranormal activity to their Covid19 response

Best Influencer Campaign
Silver: Mango Communications Aotearoa – Where’s Willie? Launching the new Samsung Galaxy S20
Bronze: Powerco – Look Up! Power Line Safety in Orchards Campaign 2020

Most Innovative Campaign
Silver: Waipā District Council – Deciding on the future of Waipā’s premier parks
Silver: New Zealand Defence Force – #StandAtDawn – Apart, but together as one
Bronze: New Zealand Police – NZ Police bring Creative Genius and a bit of Paranormal activity to their Covid19 response

Prize for Excellence in Research, Measurement and Evaluation
Winner: FMG – The Big Phish

Paul Dryden Tertiary Award:
Winner: Olivia Kerbers

Sally Logan-Milne Young Practitioner of the Year
Winner: Ryan Willoughby
Special Mention: Joel Rowan

PR In-house Team of the Year
Winner: Countdown
Special Mention: Chapman Tripp

BusinessDesk PR Consultancy of the Year – Small to Medium
Winner: HMC
Special Mention: Sling & Stone
Special Mention: Little Kōwhai

BusinessDesk PR Consultancy of the Year –Medium to Large
Winner: Wright Communications

Supreme Award
Winner: New Zealand Defence Force – #StandAtDawn – Apart, but together as one
Winner: Convergence Communications – The campaign to end silence