Every fall in NYC, PR News celebrates the agencies with exceptional campaigns at our Agency Elite Awards, which benchmark excellence in PR agencies’ key practice areas, from advocacy, crisis communications and social media to internal communications, media relations and reputation management.
As we head into judging phase for this year's awards on November 20th, let's look back at some of last year's highlights.
Winning for Agency Team of the Year was the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board Marketing Team, a group that brought home over 20 industry awards in 2017—a record for the group—as it continued on its mission to strengthen economic prosperity in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania.
Communications and media manager Rachel Riley told the audience that she sees her job as “not so much about storytelling but story-making.”
Agency Elite awardees, even while celebrating recent successes, also looked to the future. Mylan Cannon, senior video producer at APCO Worldwide, said activism is a key consideration for any strategy. “Millennial consumers expect brands to take a stance on the important issues of the day,” he said. APCO took home an award for its work with client Danfoss, in the category of “Shoestring Campaign."
Award-winning journalist and ESPN sportscaster Hannah Storm hosted the program and acted as keynote speaker. Storm also helped PR News editorial staff to announce the day’s winners and honorable mentions, along with Sarah Shepard, group vice president at Business Wire and Tatiana Holifield-Arthur, senior director of social media and digital marketing strategy at BET Networks.
Once announced, winners from brands like HP, National Geographic and Planet Fitness offered insights into their exemplary campaigns from the stage. In an inspiring fireside chat, Storm spoke with PR News Senior Content Manager Sophie Maerowitz about her career as the first solo woman to anchor a sports program, how she juggles messaging about her charitable foundation with that of her journalism role and production company and her advice for PR pros to build better relationships with the media.
What resonated most with attendees, though, was her insights about the use of vulnerability in branded storytelling. “When something comes from the heart, that’s what authenticity is,” Storm explained. “It’s something real, and that’s something we demand and expect.”
This also plays into her work with brands as an influencer, and can apply to any company dabbling in influencer marketing to promote a product or campaign. “It has to be something that both you and the influencer believe in, not something that someone’s just slapping your name on to make a quick buck. If they really love your product they’re going to be much more enthusiastic and their message is going to resonate so much more,” said Storm. So, she advised, hold out for that perfect influencer, rather than picking just anyone with a high follower count.
Check out the winners from last year here, and don't forget—the deadline for this year's entry submissions is Friday, June 28.