The Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) 2014 National Golden Target Awards were held Monday night at the Brisbane Convention Centre – sixty-four finalists in 13 categories and more than 169 entries in total.
Big winners on the night included Porter Novelli Melbourne, Financial and Corporate Relations, PPR WA, Phillips Group, The Red Republic, Edelman, Weber Shandwick, NSW Health, Pesel and Carr, Palin Communications, Red Agency, The Australian National University, and Murdoch University.
Mike Watson, PRIA national president, said: “What another fantastic year for the Golden Target Awards, in its 38th year, it’s amazing to see 60+ campaigns recognised by the industry’s top talent. The Australian PR industry continues to lead globally, and we are honoured to have Michelle Hutton, one of our own, head off to bigger pastures in London.”
“Public relations is growing in influence in society and the community, our role as communicators is more important than ever. The campaigns showcased really show where good communications can really go,” Watson concluded.
Allison Lee, Golden Target Awards chair and deputy president of PRIA, said: “Creative ideas and innovative responses win not just awards, but also client and company respect. As a result, clients are increasingly turning to PR companies to lead those other agencies operating in the marketing mix – and so they should.”
The night brought the 2014 National Golden Target Awards’ finals to a conclusion for another year.
Full list of winners:
| Category Name | Entry Name | National Award | Company | PRIA Member |
| Government Sponsored Campaigns | Every Greyhound Has a Story | WINNER | Porter Novelli Melbourne | Peter Kent |
| Government Sponsored Campaigns | 2013 Asbestos Awareness Month Campaign | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Insight Communications | Clare Collins & Alice Collins |
| Government Sponsored Campaigns | Raising the profile of TAFE NSW – Western Sydney Institute | HIGHLY COMMENDED | TAFE Western Sydney Institute & Sefiani Communications Group | Robyn Sefiani |
| Government Sponsored Campaigns | HIV Pop Up Testing: Changing the HIV testing landscape across NSW | HIGHLY COMMENDED | NSW Health | Samara Kitchener |
| Government Sponsored Campaigns | Fairer funding for the outer suburbs | Commended | Socom | David Hawkins |
| Government Sponsored Campaigns | Great Night Out | Commended | Leverage PR | Adam Thomson |
| Government Sponsored Campaigns | Australia’s Digital Switchover | Commended | n2n communications | Vanessa Liell |
| Government Sponsored Campaigns | Bees with Backpacks | Commended | CSIRO | Adam Harper |
| Public Affairs | Gender reporting is not red tape | HIGHLY COMMENDED | CallidusPR | Viv Hardy |
| Public Affairs | Fairer funding for the outer suburbs | Commended | Socom | David Hawkins |
| Public Affairs | Pharmacy Under Threat | Commended | BBS Communications Group | Lisa Nixon |
| Issues Management / Crisis Communication | Successfully Navigating Troubled Waters | WINNER | Financial & Corporate Relations | Anthony Tregoning |
| Issues Management / Crisis Communication | Perth City Link Rail Alliance: Major Train Shutdowns 2013 | HIGHLY COMMENDED | John Holland / Public Transport Authority / Transperth / Perth City Link Rail Alliance | Michelle Ferrari |
| Issues Management / Crisis Communication | Bevilles’ Brilliance Cuts Through: Stakeholder Communication during Voluntary Administration | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Pesel & Carr | Barbara Pesel |
| Issues Management / Crisis Communication | Danone Nutricia Contamination Crisis | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Weber Shandwick Australia | Ava Lawler |
| Issues Management / Crisis Communication | Whyalla – Closure of Operations Case Study | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Leighton Contractors | Cait Tynan |
| Issues Management / Crisis Communication | Black Saturday Bushfire Recovery – Marysville, VIC: A tale of PR success on how a regional destination re-built its reputation within a changing media landscape. | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Chatterbox Marketing | Meg Law & Matt Jones |
| Community Relations | St Bart’s Homeless for a Day | WINNER | Professional Public Relations WA | Carla Shearman |
| Community Relations | Perth City Link Rail Alliance | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Perth City Link Rail Alliance (PTA, John Holland & GHD) | Natasha Guerinoni |
| Community Relations | Robinson Rd Open Level Crossing Replacement | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Geebung Overpass Alliance | Krysten Booth |
| Community Relations | Delivering Legacy Way with the community in mind | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Brisbane City Council and Transcity Joint Venture | Teresa Henderson |
| Community Relations | QPCU 50th Anniversary | Commended | Queensland Police Credit Union | Anna Streater |
| Community Relations | WA Day Integrated Community Campaign (Celebrate WA) | Commended | Clarity Communications | Anthony Hasluck |
| Community Relations | Hamilton Harbour | Commended | BBS Communications Group | Lisa Nixon |
| Community Relations | Launch of Auburn High School | Commended | Mendleson Communication | Nicola Mendleson |
| Internal / Change Management Communications | Queensland Health Payroll Self Service | WINNER | Phillips Group | Scott Maclean |
| Internal / Change Management Communications | Connecting with Words | Highly Commended | Telstra | Sandra Hilmer |
| Internal / Change Management Communications | McArthur River Mining Community | Highly Commended | Creative Territory | Tracy Jones |
| Investor Relations | dorsaVi: a cure for the IPO hangover | Highly Commended | Buchan Consulting | Rebecca Wilson |
| Consumer Marketing | Suncorp Bank runPositive | WINNER | The Red Republic | Fleur Madden |
| Consumer Marketing | Flora Pro-activ, From Floraville to the Nation! | Highly Commended | Res Publica | Melissa Cullen |
| Consumer Marketing | The LAB experiment – Best & Less | Highly Commended | Edelman Australia | Matthew Gain |
| Consumer Marketing | Canon Shine | Commended | Ogilvy PR & Canon Australia | Kieran Moore Ogilvy PR Australia Andrew Giles Canon Australia |
| Consumer Marketing | Know what they like, Find what they love | Commended | Red Agency | Rachel White |
| Consumer Marketing | Endota Spa’s Mother’s Day Experiment | Commended | Keep Left Public Relations | Caroline Catterall |
| Business to Business | FONTERRA PROUD TO BE A CHEF: DRIVING AWARENESS AND ENTRIES FROM APPRENTICE CHEFS WITH FONTERRA PROUD TO BE A CHEF | WINNER | Edelman Australia | Alex Leafy |
| Business to Business | GE Capital Australian mid-market report 2014 | WINNER | Edelman Australia | Clare Gleghorn |
| Business to Business | The Brother partner training tool | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Bite | Karen Coleman |
| Business to Business | GEReports.com.au – General Electric | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Edelman Australia | Matthew Gain |
| Business to Business | Establishing a new ETF brand in the Australian market | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Financial & Corporate Relations | Anthony Tregoning |
| Business to Business | Pitt & who? | Commended | Mendleson Communication | Brigitte Claney |
| Sustainability / Corporate Social Responsibility | Nespresso Project Upcycle | WINNER | Weber Shandwick Australia | Ava Lawler |
| Sustainability / Corporate Social Responsibility | United Nations Foundation — Changing the conversation on climate | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Red Agency | James Wright |
| Sustainability / Corporate Social Responsibility | Australian Bites and Stings | Commended | Buchan Consulting | David Leahy |
| Health Organistions | HIV Pop Up Testing – Taking Testing to the People | WINNER | NSW Health | Samara Kitchener |
| Health Organistions | Loud House – Hearing Australia | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Edelman Australia | Matthew Gain |
| Health Organistions | The Royal Flying Doctor Service – Buy the Sky | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Red Agency | James Wright |
| Health Organistions | INFORMED BEAUTY – Allergan | Commended | Edelman Australia | Matthew Gain |
| Health Organistions | Young females quit smoking campaign – If you smoke your future’s not pretty | Commended | Queensland Department of Health | Jennifer del Mundo &Phillip Stork |
| Low Cost / Pro Bono | Her Name was Tracy and she was loved | WINNER | Pesel & Carr | Barbara Pesel |
| Low Cost / Pro Bono | The Royal Flying Doctor Service – Buy the Sky | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Red Agency | James Wright |
| Low Cost / Pro Bono | Midsumma Festival 2014 | Commended | Fenton Communications | David Micallef |
| Best Use of Analytics | Leighton Contractors ‘Social Media Facelift’ | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Leighton Contractors | Lauren Coar & Eva Ford-Murphy |
| Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year | Ishtar Schneider | WINNER | Palin Communications | Ishtar Schneider |
| Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year | Alison Whealing | HIGHLY COMMENDED | n2n Communications | Alison Whealing |
| Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year | Amber Thomson | Commended | communikate et al | Amber Thompson |
| Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year | Rebecca Schrauf | Commended | Rowland. Pty Ltd | Rebecca Schrauf |
| Emerging PR Practitioner of the Year | Nick Creevey | Commended | n2n Communications | Nicke Creevey |
| PR Consultancy of the Year | Red Agency | WINNER | Red Agency | James Wright |
| PR Consultancy of the Year | Edelman Australia | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Edelman Australia Australia | Matthew Gain |
| PR Consultancy of the Year | Redefining our niche: a rural success story | Commended | Sauce Communications Pty Ltd | Liane Sayer-Roberts |
| In-house PR team of the Year | ANU Strategic Communications and Public Affairs | WINNER | The Australian National University | Jane O’Dwyer |
| In-house PR team of the Year | Carnival Australia | HIGHLY COMMENDED | Carnival Australia | Peter Taylor |
| In-house PR team of the Year | Logan City Council Media and Communication team | Commended | Logan City Council | Deanna Nott |
| PR Educator of the Year | Associate Professor Christine Daymon | WINNER | Murdoch University | Christine Daymon |
| Campaign of the Year | Successfully Navigating Troubled Waters | WINNER | Financial & Corporate Relations | Anthony Tregoning |
