Wednesday night saw the next round of the 2015 Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) Golden Target Awards State Finals in Sydney.

The New South Wales State Awards for Excellence ceremony took place in the stunning surrounds of the Pullman Quay Grand, in Sydney’s picturesque Circular Quay. The sold-out event of more than 160 leading PR professionals celebrated the best-of-the-best PR campaigns and industry professionals in New South Wales.

Big winners on the night included:

Weber Shandwick, who were shortlisted eight times, across six different categories with seven awards prizes in total – one win, three highly commended, and three commended, with two Weber Shandwick staff, Heather-Ann Cody and  Hannah Rayment, both commended in the Top sPRinters category (those with under five years’ experience);

Ogilvy, shortlisted seven times, across six different categories with six awardees in total – one win The Release of Peter Greste, one highly commended and four commended elsewhere;

VIVA! Communications, shortlisted and awarded three times in the Health Organisations category (biggest category with 11 finalists), with a win for Our Plea for Life, and two highly commended awardees elsewhere; Melanie Wellington,

N2N Communications, won the Top sPRinters gong for NSW;

Micro-consultancy was won by Lisa Burling, LBPR; medium consultancy gong went to Sauce Communications;

with a highlight of the night being Erik Denison, Sydney Convicts Rugby Club, for his win for Tackling Homophobia in Sport, in the small budget/pro bono category.

Red Agency, shortlisted eight times, across six different categories with six awardees in total – two wins for the EASY Tour: HIV Testing Week, with three commended awards elsewhere, held the loudest roar to the very end of the night when the Sydney arm took – what is believed to be the first time in the recent history of the awards in this category – back-to-back gongs in consecutive years for the Consultancy of the Year award.

James Wright, managing director, Red Agency, said, “It is pretty humbling to be awarded Consultancy of the Year back-to-back. It has been an incredible few years for us and it is testament to the dedication, expertise and passion that the team bring every day. They are an inspiration to me. At Red Agency we continue to challenge what is possible in the PR, experiential and social space, and that requires the trust of our clients and so we thank them for giving us the chance to do the type of work we do. I guess the goal is for three in a row now!”

This industry night-of-nights for PR in NSW displayed astounding campaigns delivered across all sectors, judged by over 70 senior PR professionals from across Australia. Judges stated that, yet again, entries featured examples of cutting-edge creativity and innovation throughout, which helped tell some amazingly inspirational stories. Some of the recognised awardees winners shed a few tears of joy on stage and clients, staff, and peers shared the celebratory feeling during a great night of recognition.

“There were a huge number of entries this year. So many high-quality entries are surely a good sign of the health of our growing industry, and – I believe – of the relevance of the PRIA in pushing for the highest standards for our profession,” said PRIA NSW president, John Vineburg.

Category	Title of Entry	Company	Trophy Name	Result
Big Budget	A Taste of Harmony 2015	Haystac Public Affairs	Haystac Community	Commended
Business to Business	Commonwealth Bank Agri Insights	Hardman Communications and Commonwealth Bank of Australia	Hardman Communications	WINNER
Business to Business	Expectations vs. Reality of Retirement in Australia	Ogilvy Public Relations Australia and Mercer	Ogilvy Public Relations Australia and Mercer	Highly Commended
Business to Business	Mondelez International Mobile Futures	Red Agency	Natasha Carroll	Commended
Business to Business	Digital Roadies Take Centre Stage	Weber Shandwick Australia	Ava Lawler	Commended
Community Relations	Train tunnels, trucks and the toolkit to build trust – Sydney Metro Northwest	Thiess John Holland Dragados and Transport for NSW	Thiess John Holland Dragados and Transport for NSW	WINNER
Consumer Marketing	Rebuilding Trust in Malaysia Airlines in Australia and New Zealand	Crossman Communications	Jackie Crossman	Highly Commended
Consumer Marketing	Buderim’s Hottest Ginger	Agent 99 Public Relations	Agent 99 Public Relations	Highly Commended
Consumer Marketing	Stay with Pride	N2N Communications	N2N & AirBnB	Commended
Consumer Marketing	UTS City Campus Master Plan Campaign	Marketing Elements (ME) and University of Technology Sydney (UTS)	Cecelia Haddad & Robert Button	Shortlisted
Consumer Marketing	AncestryDNA – Australia, where do you think you come from?	Howorth	Howorth & Ancestry.com	Shortlisted
Consumer Marketing	Samsung LifeLIVE	Edelman	Edelman	Shortlisted
Consumer Marketing	Optus Switched Campaign with Dolph Lundgren	Fuel Communications	Amanda Galmes	Shortlisted
Content Marketing	Unilever Food Solutions: Back of House	PPR	Michael Pooley	Highly Commended
Content Marketing	Showcasing Savannah in Sydney:  Turning postcard footage into visitor bookings	Destination NSW	Tanya Bowes & Communications Team	Shortlisted
Digital and Social	ibis PLAY	Weber Shandwick	Ava Lawler	WINNER
Digital and Social	Adobe Australia and New Zealand	Edelman	Edelman	Highly Commended
Digital and Social	FSC Friday – Take the pledge and share it	Howarth & Social at Ogilvy	Howarth & Social at Ogilvy	Commended
Digital and Social	GEReports: A light bulb moment for one of the world’s oldest brands	Edelman	Edelman	Shortlisted
Experiential	EASY Tour: HIV Testing Week	Red Agency	James Wright & Samara Kitchener	WINNER
Experiential	House of Suntory Exclusive Takeover Series	Icon International	Sarah Corry	Highly Commended
Experiential	The Bar that Jack Built	Red Agency/Red Guerrilla	Red Guerrilla	Commended
Government Sponsored	EASY Tour: HIV Testing Week	Red Agency	James Wright & Samara Kitchener	WINNER
Government Sponsored	Seasonal Workers Communications Campaign	Fairwork Ombudsman	Carly De Assuncao	Highly Commended
Government Sponsored	Showcasing Savannah in Sydney:  Turning postcard footage into visitor bookings	Destination NSW	Tanya Bowes & Communications Team	Shortlisted

Category	Title of Entry	Company	Entrant	Result
Government Sponsored	“get to kNOw Asbestos this November“	Insight Communications	Clare Collins & Alice Collins	Shortlisted
Health Organisations	Our Plea for Life	VIVA! Communications	Kirsten Bruce	WINNER
Health Organisations	Supporting the world’s largest and most rigorous investigation into anorexia nervosa	VIVA! Communications	Kirsten Bruce	Highly Commended
Health Organisations	Lungs4Life – Driving adult protection against pneumococcal pneumonia	VIVA! Communications	Kirsten Bruce	Highly Commended
Health Organisations	Ending HIV: Giant Condom Campaign Activation	ACON	ACON Engagement Strategies Team	Highly Commended
Health Organisations	Meningococcal Australia: Know.Check.Act Campaign	SenateSHJ	Nerida Thorburn and Jodie Wrigley	Highly Commended
Health Organisations	Giving Rare Cancers Patients a little more time	Buchan	David Leahy	Commended
Health Organisations	Winter is Coming	NPS MedicineWise	Media & PR Team, Corporate Affairs and Governance	Commended
Health Organisations	Choose Your Rural Adventure	Content Doctor	Kate Dorrell	Commended
Health Organisations	PR Launch of Genzyme’s Lemtrada	Edelman	Edelman	Commended
Health Organisations	Sign My Name	Red Agency	James Wright/The Red Agency Team	Commended
Health Organisations	EASY tour: HIV Testing Week	Red Agency	James Wright & Samara Kitchener	Shortlisted
Integrated Marketing and Communications Strategies	Not out of the Woods	Senate SHJ	SenateSHJ in partnership with bioCSL	WINNER
Integrated Marketing and Communications Strategies	ING DIRECT ‘ Say no to ATM fees‘	ING DIRECT	Corporate Affairs Team	Highly Commended
Integrated Marketing and Communications Strategies	Digital Roadies Take Centre Stage	Weber Shandwick Sydney	Ava Lawler	Highly Commended
Integrated Marketing and Communications Strategies	Nespresso: Milk Expertise	Weber Shandwick	Ava Lawler	Highly Commended
Integrated Marketing and Communications Strategies	Orchestrate Amazing: The Launch of Microsoft Azure Data Centre in Australia	Microsoft Australia & Ogilvy PR Australia	Microsoft Australia & Ogilvy PR Australia	Commended
Integrated Marketing and Communications Strategies	Tourism Northern Territory’s ‘Mates of the Territory’ celebrity ambassador program	Kite Communications	Robyn Sefiani	Commended
International/ Change Management	Bayer Australia and New Zealand – Ambition 2015	Bayer Australia Limited	Kirsten Impey, Communications	WINNER
International/ Change Management	Ahead of the Game	Thiess John Holland Dragados	TJHD Communications Team	Highly Commended
Issues Management and Crisis Communication	The Release of Peter Greste	Ogilvy Public Relations Australia	Ogilvy Public Relations Australia & Al Jazeera English	WINNER
Issues Management and Crisis Communication	Rebuilding Trust in Malaysia Airlines in Australia & New Zealand	Crossman Communication	Jackie Crossman	Commended
Public Affairs	Australia’s Future Submarine Project	Weber Shandwick Australia	Ava Lawler	Highly Commended
Public Affairs	The Release of Peter Greste	Ogilvy Public Relations	Ogilvy Public Relations Australia & Al Jazeera English	Commended

Category	Title of Entry	Company	Entrant			Result
Public Affairs	Helping #saveaHUSlives – Government funding secured for life-saving treatment for ultra-rare blood disease	VIVA! Communications	Kirsten Bruce			Commended
Public Affairs	Joined Up Innovation	Microsoft Australia and Ogilvy PR Australia	Microsoft Australia & Ogilvy PR Australia			Commended
Public Affairs	Australian higher education reforms and veterinary profession	Australian Veterinary Association	Public Affairs Team			Shortlisted
Public Affairs	Saving Life 2015: A pre-election campaign	Cancer Council NSW	Cancer Council NSW			Shortlisted
Small Budget/Pro Bono	Tackling Homophobia in Sport	Sydney Convicts Rugby Club	Erik Denison			WINNER
Small Budget/Pro Bono	Kiss Goodbye to MS Campaign 2015	Cube and MS Research Australia	Anne-Marie Sparrow			Highly Commended
Small Budget/Pro Bono	Introducing Sydney to the fine arts of the streets with #chalkurbanart	IMPACT Communications Australia	IMPACT Communications Australia			Commended
Small Budget/Pro Bono	“Whats up with Mum?” – Explaining MS to kids	LBPR PTY LTD	Lisa Burling, Managing Director			Commended
Start-Up	Launching an ‘Australian first’ challenger brand: RateSetter	Sefiani and Kite Communications	Robyn Sefiani			Commended
Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility	Samsung ADAPPT- Adappt for success: Encouraging young Aussies to design the change they want to see in the world.	Edelman	Edelman			Highly Commended
Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility	Sailing through adversity: Biogen and Oceans of Hope ANZ	Palin Communications	Martin Palin			Commended
Sustainability/Corporate Social Responsibility	McHappy Day NSW ACT 2014 #OurFamilyPromise	PPR	PPR & McDonald’s NSW/ACT			Commended
Technology Product	Orchestrate Amazing: The launch of Microsoft Azure Data Centres in Australia	Microsoft Australia and Ogilvy PR Australia	Microsoft Australia & Ogilvy PR Australia			Shortlisted
Measurement and Analytics	Foodbank Australia: Hunger in the Classroom	Red Agency	Natasha Carroll			Shortlisted
Top sPRinters 2015	Melanie Wellington	Weber N2N Communications	Melanie Wellington			WINNER
Top sPRinters 2015	Amity Harrold	PPR	Amity Harrold			Commended
Top sPRinters 2015	Chloe Turner	PPR	Chloe Turner			Commended
Top sPRinters 2015	Heather-Ann Cody	Weber Shandwick	Heather-Ann Cody			Commended
Top sPRinters 2015	Hannah Rayment	Weber Shandwick	Hannah Rayment			Commended
In-House PR Team of the Year	Elevating Media Trips	The Travel Corporation	Rae White, PR Director			Commended
In-House PR Team of the Year	Media and PR Team	NPS MedicineWise	Media & PR Team			Commended
Micro-Consultancy of the Year	LBPR Pty Ltd	LBPR Pty Ltd		Lisa Burling – Managing Director		WINNER
Medium Consultancy of the Year	Sauce Communications	Sauce Communications			Liane Sayer-Roberts	WINNER
Medium Consultancy of the Year	Kite Communications	Kite Communications			Robyn Sefiani	Commended

Category	Title of Entry	Company	Entrant	Result
Medium Consultancy of the Year	S2i	S2i	Jenny Lourey	Shortlisted
Medium Consultancy of the Year	Agent 99 Public Relations	Agent 99 Public Relations	Sharon ZeevPoole	Shortlisted
Large Consultancy of the Year	Red Agency	Red Agency	James Wright	WINNER
Large Consultancy of the Year	PPR	PPR	Richard Lazar	Highly Commended
Large Consultancy of the Year	N2N Communications	N2N Communications	Vanessa Liell	Commended
Large Consultancy of the Year	Edelman	Edelman	Edelman	Shortlisted
Large Consultancy of the Year	Weber Shandwick	Weber Shandwick	Ava Lawler	Shortlisted

 

Winners from last night now have the opportunity to be recognised at the 2015 GTA National Finals, held during the PRIA National Conference, on Monday 26 October, at Hotel Grand Chancellor, Hobart, Tasmania.