Public Relations agencies can be the unsung heroes of any communications team. They step in to provide needed council, brainstorm dynamic creative strategies, and fill in the gaps where organizations, big and small, may struggle.
That's why PRNEWS celebrates the best of the best each year with its Agency Elite Awards. The Agency Elite Awards benchmark the communications and marketing firms that, over the last year, truly stood out for their creativity, strategic expertise and achievement of successful outcomes for clients.
The winners embody excellence in PR agencies’ key practice areas, from community relations, thought leadership and social media to integrated communications, branding and business to business messaging.
This year's Agency Elite Awards winners will be announced at PRNEWS' Top Places to Work and Agency Elite Awards luncheon, Nov. 21 at the Yale Club in New York City. Deirdre Breakenridge, CEO of Pure Performance Communications, will deliver a keynote speech on connecting cross-generational employees through emotional intelligence practices.
The full list of the 2019 Agency Elite Awards finalists are in each category below:
Account Lead
- Cortney Johnston, ARPR
- Courtney Myers, Red Havas
Administrative Assistant/Gatekeepers
- Pat Helger, Y&R PR
Agency of the Year
- 10Fold Communications
- Bospar
- CCOM Group, Inc.
- CURA Strategies
- Half-Moon Media
- IW Group, Inc.
- Murphy O'Brien
- SiteMedia Consultancy
Beauty & Fashion
- #SiteMedia Ltd.: #daretowowandcare
Best for Diversity & Inclusion
- Highwire PR
Best Training/Education Program
- University of South Carolina
Branding
- Flowers Communications Group: Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago's "BEBOLD&INSPIRE" Campaign
- Half-Moon Media: Find Your Voice
Business to Business
- Action Mary: Builds Leading2Lean's Reputation as Experts of the Plant Floor
- Portavoce PR: Integrated Marketing Communications Moves the Needle for Industrial Manufacturing Giant
- IW Group, Inc.: Nielsen: Advocating the Asian American Consumer Market
- Red Lorry Yellow Lorry: Shining a Spotlight on FOX Sports’ Revolutionary World Cup TV Workflow with IBM Aspera
- Stein IAS and Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure: Smart Marketing Marketing Smart
Cause Marketing/Social Good
- Tier One Partners: Ally's "Girls Who Count" Event
- Marina Maher Communications: Merck for Mothers: Putting Maternal Mortality In 'Reverse'
- DoSomething.org: Take Back the Prom
Community Relations
- Red Havas: Curiosity Cube Sparks Passion in STEM
- Marina Maher Communications: Merck for Mothers: Putting Maternal Mortality In 'Reverse'
Consumer Marketing
- H+M Communications - With Zumba Fitness to Captivate Trendsetting Hispanic Females, Despicable Me 3 Dances to the Top of the Global Box Office
- MWWPR - Atkins Nutritionals: Exposing The Hidden Sugar Effect
- MWWPR - Increase Awareness of a Destination That Has More to Offer Than Meets the Eye
- O'Malley Hansen Communications - Ninja® Intelli-Sense™ Kitchen System Launch
- Pac/West Communications and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife - Take a Friend Hunting
- Taylor Strategy - Ted Danson + Smirnoff Made in America Day
Content Marketing
- ARPR: Attention All Flyers: Using content marketing to saturate the news cycle about America’s most cyber insecure airports
- Marina Maher Communications: Elevating corporate reputation by showing how Novartis turns science fiction into science fact
- Intralink Global: Origin Investments
- Marina Maher Communications: Pantene transforms every #BadHairDay into a #GreatHairDay with the 14 Day Challenge
Crisis Management
- PAN Communications: Crimson Hexagon and a Courageous Conversation about Consumer Privacy: A Crisis Situation that Moved the Industry Forward
- King Media: Grand Haven Area Public Schools
Environmental
- Red Havas: Global Climate Action Summit
Fastest Growing Agency of the Year
- ARPR
- SiteMedia Consultancy
Financial Communications/Investor Relations
- Peppercomm: Transforming Thought Leadership in the Financial Sector: The Wilmington Trust Capital Markets Forecast
- Nationwide Financial Marketing, IPS Life and Annuities: Nationwide Life Insurance Refresh: Life Insurance Video Series
- Tier One Partners: Ally's "Girls Who Count" Event
General Manager/Partner
- Angela Griffo, 10Fold
Government/NGO
- Curve Communications: The No BC Proportional Representation Campaign
- Dalton Agency: Easterseals 100th Anniversary
- Impact Marketing + Communications: end+disparities ECHO Collaborative
Healthcare
- Sharp HealthCare: World's Smallest Baby
Hospitality/Tourism
- Hotwire PR: Even Divas Stay in Hostels
- Valley Forge Tourism & Convention Board: VFTCB Summer TV Spot
Innovator
- Lubomir Alamanov, SiteMedia Ltd.
- Renee Spurlin, ARPR
Integrated Communications
- Peppercomm: Changing the Perception of Guaranteed Lifetime Income – Not Your Grandfather’s Annuity
- Teuwen Communications: Cognac Classic Crawl
- King Media: Grand Haven Area Public Schools
- CCOM GROUP INC.: Leveraging Hispanic Trusted Voices: Johnson & Johnson CCOM GROUP INC.
- TogoRun: Obagi's SKINCLUSION Initiative
Internal Communications
- Y&R PR
Manager/Supervisor
- Nicole Paleologus, SSPR
Marketing Communications
- C-4 Analytics: March Madness Themed Creative Campaign Ramps up Wrangler Interest, Generating Significant ROI
- Curve Communications: The No BC Proportional Representation Campaign
- RXMOSAIC: Terry Bradshaw Pitches A Different Kind of Timeshare to Boomers to Raise Awareness About Pneumococcal Pneumonia
Media Relations
- CURA Strategies/American College of Cardiology: ACC. 19
- Gillian Small Public Relations: Green Giant Creates Viral News Story and Sparks National Debate by Naming Broccoli as America’s Favorite Vegetable
- Mekky Media Relations: Elevating a Local Store to a National Player: Mekky Media’s Creative Thought Leadership for Abt Electronics as Agency of Record
- Strategic Communications Africa Limited: Emirates One-Off A380 FLIGHT TO ACCRA
- PAN Communications: Making a Name for Mr. Stubbs
- Nike Communications: Moët & Chandon Living Ties x Patrick Ta
Multicultural Marketing
- Flowers Communications Group: AT&T Believe Chicago
- IW Group, Inc: Crazy Rich Asians - Asian American Marketing
- TogoRun: Obagi's SKINCLUSION Initiative
PR (Agency Person)
- Evan Goldberg, ARPR
Pro Bono Campaign
- PRLab at Boston University: PRoBono 2018
- Stein IAS: Somewhere to Believe In
Product Launch
- Diffusion PR: Burrow: From Early D2C Startup to Powerhouse Lifestyle Brand
- Burson Cohn & Wolfe: Driving Conversations and Connections: The Integration of Technology and Homebuying
- BML Public Relations & Villa Italian Kitchen: Gender Reveal Lasagna
- Nationwide Financial Marketing, IPS Life and Annuities: Nationwide Life Insurance Refresh: Life Insurance Video Series
- Stein IAS and Trelleborg Marine & Infrastructure: The SafeTug 360° Experience
- Red Havas: Transitions Style Products Launch
Product Relaunch/Repositioning
- CCOM GROUP INC.: Launching Neutrogena Hydro Boost Body to Latinas
- Pac/West: Rocky Mountain Voter Outreach
Public Affairs/Issues Management
- CGP Europe SA: Israel 70 Anniversary
- Argentum Partners: World Famous Mustang Ranch
Publicity
- BML Public Relations & Villa Italian Kitchen: Pizza Bouquet and Boutonniere
Social Media
- Nike Communications: Moët & Chandon Living Ties x Patrick Ta
- Marina Maher Communications: Pantene transforms every #BadHairDay into a #GreatHairDay with the 14 Day Challenge
Sports
- Hope-Beckham Inc.: 2017 ESPN Events' Celebration Bowl
Thought Leadership
- IW Group, Inc: Nielsen: Advocating the Asian American Consumer Market