CPRS ACE Awards 2015

TORONTO, May 20, 2015 /CNW/ – The Canadian Public Relations Society (CPRS) Toronto chapter honoured theGreater Toronto Area’s best public relations (PR) practitioners this evening at the annual Achieving Communications Excellence (ACE) Awards Gala. Attended by over 300 practitioners, the ceremony at Arcadian Court celebrated the accomplishment of PR professionals.

“This is a very special night for the public relations industry in Toronto, as we get to highlight all of the creative and innovative work that our colleagues bring to life,” said Maryjane Martin, President, CPRS Toronto Chapter. “The level of expertise on display tonight was fabulous and I’m very proud to see the industry coming out to support each other.”

The ACE Awards concluded with the presentation of the two most prestigious awards: Best PR Campaign of the Year and Best Creative PR Campaign of the Year. Weber Shandwick & McDonald’s Canada was honoured for PR Campaign of the Year for the strategic planning and execution of the “McCafé Retail Coffee Launch in Grocery” campaign. The Best Creative PR Campaign of the Year was awarded to APEX Public Relations & Walmart Canada for the innovation and creativity behind the “Back-to-School with Walmart” campaign.

“A dedicated panel of volunteer experts carefully reviews all of our submissions to find the very best campaigns,” saidCarolyn Schulz, ACE Awards chair, CPRS Toronto. “For our members, an ACE Award is a calling card that represents skill, ability and trust.”

The 2015 ACE Award recipients include:

PR Campaign of the Year

• Weber Shandwick & McDonald’s Canada – McCafé Retail Coffee Launch in Grocery

Best Creative PR Campaign

• APEX Public Relations & Walmart Canada – Back-to-School with Walmart

Leadership Awards

• Lois Marsh Award: Barry Waite, Chair, School of Communications, Media & Design at Centennial College
• Volunteer of the Year: Arden Bagni, Humber College
• CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year: Jessica Grace Chong, Centennial College

Media Relations – Budget Over $50,000

Gold

• APEX Public Relations & Walmart Canada – Walmart Canada: Christmas Comes Together for Less
• APEX Public Relations & Walmart Canada – Back-to-School with Walmart

Silver

• Edelman Public Relations – The AMD #2BetterThan1 Campaign
• Paradigm Public Relations & Tim Hortons – Tim Hortons Camp Day Raises $11.8 million
• Strategic Objectives – A&W Ingredients Guarantee

Bronze

• APEX Public Relations – Nestlé Halloween Scary Bars
• Citizen Relations – Future Shop Back-to-School 2014 Campaign
• Cohn & Wolfe – Sunbeam Supports with Warmth
• Edelman Public Relations – Kraft Hockeyville 2014
• Edelman Public Relations – Symantec Canada Honey Stick Project
• GCI Group & Novartis Canada – VOLTAREN Emulgel^® Stay in the Play
• Kaiser Lachance Communications – Thought Leadership in Canadian Real Estate: The Royal LePage House Price Survey
• NATIONAL & Boehringer Ingelheim – Kiss IPF Goodbye – 2014
• NATIONAL & Pfizer Canada – Quit to List
• Paradigm PR, Energizer Personal Care & Real Interactive – Schick Hydro “Becoming my Dad”
• Weber Shandwick – Protecting Our Tomorrows
• Weber Shandwick & McDonald’s Canada – McCafé Retail Coffee Launch in Grocery

Media Relations – Budget under $50,000

Gold

• Kaiser Lachance Communications – Wealth Simple, Canada’s First Online Investment Service
• Lamb Creative Group – Yves Veggie Cuisine Food to Love

Silver

• DDB Public Relations – 26th Annual Beaches Jazz Festival
• MSLGROUP Canada – The Randstad Award 2014
• Veritas & Microsoft Canada – Microsoft XP EOS

Bronze

• Argyle Communications & COLD-FX – COLD-FX Holiday Media Engagement
• Argyle Communications & Novartis – World Asthma Day, Helping Canadians Breathe Easier
• Canadian Tire Corporation – Jumpstart Red Ball Campaign 2014
• TVO and marblemedia – Back-to-School with Hi Opie!
• Veritas & Disney Consumer Products Canada – Minnie Mouse at World Master Card Fashion Week

Best Use of Special Events

Bronze

• Argyle Communications & DHL Express – Connecting Mothers Around The World
• Centennial College Students – ART HAUS
• DDB Public Relations and Shopper DDB – CIL Décor Experts on the Road”
• Shaw Media and Unit PR – Chopped Canada Media Challenge

Brand Development Campaign of the Year

Gold

• DDB Public Relations and Shopper DDB – CIL Décor Experts on the Road
• Strategic Objectives – Second Cup Coffee Company: Café of the Future

Silver

• Ford of Canada & NATIONAL Public Relations – Mustang 50th Anniversary & Global Launch
• Canadian Tire Corporation – We All Play for Canada

Bronze

• Argyle Communications & Real-Estate Council of Ontario – Communicating Real Estate Protection
• Edelman Canada – Revealing the Truth about RVing
• Hill + Knowlton Strategies Canada – ABSOLUT MakerFest: Curiosity, Creativity, Canadian
• Paradigm PR, BOOM! Marketing, Real Interactive & Energizer Personal Care – Join the Panty Party
• Veritas & CBC – #FALLforCBC

Employee Engagement / Internal Communications Campaign of the Year

Silver

• City of Vaughan – Internal Communications Strategy

Bronze

• DDB Canada – Share DDB: Art Crawl & Auction
• Ford of Canada – Ford of Canada and Free The Children Partnership

Community Relations Campaign of the Year

Bronze

• Citizen Relations – Hyundai Hockey Helpers

Best Digital Campaign of the Year

Gold

• Hill + Knowlton Strategies Canada – Make it a #MoscatoMonday
• Toronto Public Health – Breastfeeding in Public Campaign
• Strategic Objectives – The Great #PringlesDIPbate

Silver

• DDB Public Relations and Shopper DDB – CIL Décor Experts on the Road
• Ruckus Digital & Husqvarna Canada – Bring it On!

Bronze

• Argyle Communications & The American Peanut Council – Getting Social Around the Campfire
• Toronto Hydro – Be Enlightened Whiteboard Video

Government Relations/Public Affairs Campaign of the Year

Silver

• Cohn & Wolfe and Hoffmann-La Roche Limited – The Ontario IPF Patient Watch List Advocacy

Bronze

• The Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan – The Defined Benefit Pension Evolution Thought Leadership Program

Investor/Financial Relations Campaign of the Year

Silver

• Kaiser Lachance Communications – Divestiture of Sherritt’s Coal Business

New Product or Service Campaign of the Year

Gold

• Toronto Hydro – The Making of Copeland Station
• Narrative PR – Jaydess Launch – Sex Ed 2.0
• Weber Shandwick & McDonald’s Canada – McCafé Retail Coffee Launch in Grocery

Silver

• Manulife’s Advisory Services & Veriday – Empowering advisors to take control
• Strategic Objectives – Second Cup Coffee Co. Flat White Launch

Bronze

• Citizen Relations – Hyundai Hydrogen Fuel Cell Launch

Best Student PR Campaign of the Year

Gold

• Centennial College – Talk is Cheap 7.0

Silver

• Centennial College, Wilki Team – Wilki Night Out

Bronze

• Centennial College – More Than Just a Brew
• Humber College – Clearpath Robotics CSR Strategy

The Canadian Public Relations Society is a national professional organization focused on establishing and upholding educational and ethical standards in Public Relations. CPRS Toronto is one of the largest local societies with nearly 600 members. For more information, please visit:https://www.cprstoronto.com.

Special thanks to our sponsors:

GOLD:

CNW
Leger
Marketwired
Postmedia

SILVER:

CP Images
Fifth Story
Freeman Audio Visual

BRONZE:

McMaster-Syracuse Master of Communications Management

SPECIAL PARTNERS:

Ampifii
ConsumerVision

ConsumerVision

 

The Canadian Public Relations Society is a national professional organization focused on establishing and upholding educational and ethical standards in Public Relations. CPRS Toronto is one of the largest local societies with nearly 600 members. For more information, please visit:https://www.cprstoronto.com.

-30-

For further information or to schedule an interview, please contact:

Robin Smith
Lead, ACE Marketing/Communications
CPRS Toronto ACE Awards Committee
ace@cprstoronto.com