CPRS Toronto ACE Awards 2025

The Achieving Communications Excellence (ACE) Awards has celebrated Toronto’s talented and innovative public relations community for more than twenty-eight years.

The Awards recognize outstanding work in the practice of public relations and strategic communications, as judged by some of the industry’s most accomplished leaders. An ACE Award is synonymous with talented insight and skillful execution, helping to raise the winner’s profile, generate new business opportunities, and elevate the profession across organizations and sectors.

Each year, award winners are celebrated at the highly anticipated CPRS Toronto ACE Awards Gala. Please stay tuned for the May 2025 event date and full details.

Who can enter?

All CPRS Toronto members and associates, as well as non-member public relations, communications, public affairs and marketing professionals in the Greater Toronto and the surrounding area, are eligible for the ACE Awards. Each campaign or project submitted must be planned, produced and completed within a period of two years prior to the entry deadline. The entrant organization must have executed or directly managed the project submitted.

What do the three award levels mean?

The ACE Awards recognize three levels of achievement. For all general communications strategy awards, the  levels are:

• Bronze: 70 – 79 per cent
• Silver: 80 – 89 per cent
• Gold: 90 – 100 per cent

NEW: For the communications products awards (audio, video, writing, publication), the levels are:

• Bronze: 50 – 59
• Silver: 60 – 69
• Gold: 70 – 80

COMIG SOON –  THE FULL AWARD SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES

Entry deadlines and fees

Early-bird entry deadline: 11:59 p.m. on January 24, 2025

Member early bird: $250 + tax

Non-member early bird: $350 + tax

Regular entry deadline: 11:59 p.m. EST on February 14

CPRS Member Regular Entry: $295 + tax

Non-Member Regular Entry: $395 + tax

Late entry deadline: 11:59p.m. EST on February 28

CPRS Member Late Entry: $350 + tax

Non-Member Regular Entry: $450 + tax

Please note that payment is only accepted via credit card through the online entry form.

Campaign entry categories

1. Brand Development Campaign of the Year

Recognizes outstanding success in brand development, repositioning, or rebranding of an established brand (either a product, service, or corporation) through the use of strategic public relations.

2. Community Relations Campaign of the Year

Recognizes community campaigns related to local projects, public meetings, special interest group program(s) or ongoing community programs that are designed to establish and maintain mutually satisfactory relationships or shift community opinions.

3. Crisis or Issues Management Campaign of the Year

Recognizes effective crisis and/or issues management work through the use of strategic public relations.

4. CSR or Cause-Related Campaign, Best

Recognizes exemplary CSR or cause-related campaigns that successfully engage with target audiences to launch/raise awareness of causes, help an organization reach its CSR goals or help a cause reach its financial or other goals.

5. Digital Communications Campaign of the Year

Recognizes exemplary digital campaigns that successfully engage with target audiences to create engaged communities, launch/raise awareness of products, or manage issues and/or crisis.

6. Employee Engagement/Internal Communications Campaign of the Year

Recognizes exemplary employee engagement and/or internal communication programs that improved employee-management relations, strengthened employee communities and/or successfully administered change management.

7. Government Relations/Public Affairs Campaign of the Year

Recognizes the most effective use of government relations and/or public affairs to change/enlist public opinion in order to influence government policy and/or regulations.

8. Investor/Financial Relations Campaign of the Year

Recognizes outstanding communications work targeted toward investors, shareholders and other financial audiences.

9. Marketing Communications Campaign of the Year

Recognizes outstanding strategy development and implementation of integrated communications programs, including but not limited to media relations, digital media, paid media and creative material development.

10. Media Relations, Best Use of (Over $50,000)

Best Use of Media Relations (over $50,000) recognizes effective and creative use of media relations to execute or support a public relations campaign with a budget over $50,000.

11. Media Relations, Best Use of (Under $50,000)

Best Use of Media Relations (Under $50,000) recognizes effective and creative use of media relations to execute or support a public relations campaign with a budget under $50,000.

12. New Product or Service Launch Campaign of the Year

Recognizes a new product or service launch that generated awareness and product/service recognition through the use of strategic public relations planning and execution.

13. Publication, Best (digital or print)

The Best Publication Award Recognizes outstanding publications of any kind, including annual reports.  The publication will be evaluated on the writing, the visual elements and the publication’s contribution to the success of the overall campaign.  In addition to the executive summary, please submit the entire publication.

14. Social Media Campaign, Best, and/or Influencers, Best Use of

The Best Social Media Campaign/Best Use of Influencers award recognizes a strategic campaign that is solely or primarily executed on social media.

15. Special Events or Experiential Marketing, Best Use of

Best Use of Special Events or Experiential Marketing recognizes effective and creative use of an event or experience to execute or support a public relations campaign.

16. Writing, Best

The Best Writing award recognizes outstanding public relations writing in any form to execute or support a public relations campaign.  In addition to the executive summary, please submit a one-page sample of the writing.  The award will be granted to the writer or writers of the winning piece(s).

17. Canadian Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Campaign of the Year

This award recognizes a campaign or program aimed at building a culture of inclusion for an organization, with internal and/or external stakeholders. Campaigns or programs can include specific topic-based initiatives, special events or wider strategies to advance Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals.

18. Audio or Video production, Best Use of

This award recognizes the most effective and creative use of audio (e.g. podcast or other audio production) or video in a public relations strategy. Please submit the video as well as adhere to requirements for creative award submissions.

19. Artificial Intelligence in a PR Campaign, Best Use Of

This award recognizes outstanding AI use within a PR strategy, department or campaign to foster innovation, creativity or efficiency.

Student award categories

CPRS student awards are designed to attract, encourage and reward future talent. Students may enter a campaign or plan that was produced at any point during their post-secondary experience, provided the entrants (or, in the case of a group project, the majority of the entrants) are still students in good standing at a recognized post-secondary institution. Campaigns or plans produced in the spring of each year may still be entered the following year even if the students have graduated (i.e., a student plan written in May 2024 can be entered in the 2024 student awards but may not be entered in the 2025 awards).

All student awards must include:

• A letter from the course instructor endorsing the entry and attesting to the eligibility of the students named in the submission;
• An executive summary of the project/campaign; and
• Work samples or photos (for executed campaigns or events).

20. Student Public Relations Campaign or Event of the Year, Executed

Recognizes a student or student group for excellence in communications planning and execution.

21. Student Public Relations Communications Plan of the Year

Recognizes a student or student group for excellence in communications planning.  The entry should focus solely on the communications plan following the RACE formula, regardless of whether the plan has been implemented.

CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year 

Please see details below in “Leadership award categories”

COMING SOON – THE AWARD SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS AND GUIDELINES

Leadership award categories

Know an impressive public relations practitioner worthy of recognition for their industry leadership? Nominate a deserving professional or student across five potential categories with simple submission criteria. There is no cost to submitting in the leadership categories.

22. CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year

Individuals may enter themselves or be nominated by others. This award will be presented to a CPRS Toronto full or part-time student graduating in 2025 with a solid academic record and has demonstrated interest in professional development.

The award is designed to attract, encourage and reward future talent. The winning entrant will be awarded a one-year student membership as well as entry into five selected CPRS Toronto professional development and networking events.

Entry requirements:

• Resumé (maximum two pages)
• A one-page endorsement from a nominator (faculty, fellow student or mentor)

23. CPRS Toronto New Public Relations Professional of the Year (less than five years’ experience)

This award recognizes an individual, with less than five years’ PR work experience (at December 31, 2024), who has made significant achievements in their career. Individuals may enter themselves or be nominated by others.

Entry requirements:

• Nomination from employer(s) detailing nominee’s career history and professional qualifications (maximum two pages)
• A 250-word statement from the nominator outlining why this individual should be awarded this special recognition. Judges will look for evidence of outstanding achievement in supporting clients and/or senior-level staff, development of public relations/communications strategies, business savvy, creativity, knowledge of public relations tactics, and contributions to business objectives and to the overall profession.

24. CPRS Toronto Public Relations Professional of the Year

An individual may enter themselves or be nominated by others. The award recognizes outstanding personal achievement within the public relations industry over their career, with particular focus on the past year.

Entry requirements:

• Resumé (maximum two pages)
• A 250-word statement from the nominator outlining why this individual should be recognized
• Two reference letters from past or present clients or employers

25. CPRS Toronto Mentor of the Year Award

Candidates must be nominated by someone other than themselves. The award recognizes a volunteer who has served as a mentor to public relations professionals or students in 2024/2025 and throughout their career.

Entry requirements:

• A brief description that outlines the nominee’s volunteer involvement as a mentor within and outside CPRS Toronto and explains why this nominee should be honoured (maximum one page)
• Names and testimonials from individuals mentored by the volunteer
• Resumé (maximum two pages)

26. CPRS Toronto Volunteer of the Year Award

Candidates must be nominated by someone other than themselves for the award. The award recognizes a volunteer within CPRS Toronto during the previous year.

Entry requirements:

• A brief, one-page outline of the nominee’s volunteer/committee involvement in CPRS Toronto that explains why this nominee should be honoured with this award
• List of the CPRS Toronto committees in which this person was involved
• Resumé (maximum two pages)

27. CPRS Toronto Educator of the Year Award

This award recognizes an outstanding professional committed to enhancing education. The nominee must have a minimum of five years of cumulative experience as a public relations educator at a recognized college or university in the Greater Toronto area (full time, part time and sessional instructors may be nominated). The nominee must be actively teaching public relations courses during the year they are nominated and must have at least 10 years of experience as a professional communicator.

Entry requirements:

• Resumé (maximum two pages)
• Three letters of support: two must be from prior students, one must be from a fellow public relations educator