Bristol public relations professionals have landed four golds at the region’s top PR industry awards – with two of them claimed by the city office of international communications agency Grayling.
More than 100 PR professionals gathered at the Double Tree in Bristol City Centre Hotel for the 2023 CIPR South of England and Channel Islands PRide Awards, which recognise excellence in public relations and communications.
Grayling’s Bristol team, pictured, did the double by winning the Corporate and Business Communication Gold Award for its work with multinational law firm Gowling WLG and earning securing Gold in the Low Budget Campaign category for supporting LegumeChef, a marketing campaign promoting pulses and legumes to the restaurant trade and food industry.
Grayling worked with lawyers from Gowling WLG to publish Tomorrow’s World, a powerful report exploring young people’s role in shaping future ESG (environmental, social and governance) strategies.
Judges described it as a fantastic insight-led campaign that took a different approach to what could have been quite a traditional piece of comms activity.
“It was great to see a campaign that was so well integrated across multiple channels and it paid off in the strong results,” they added.
Tasked with launching LegumeChef in the UK, Grayling aimed to elevate the typical influencer partnership by working with renowned food educator, eco-chef, author and columnist Tom Hunt.
The social media campaign resulted in extensive media coverage, including a notable feature in The Guardian.
Also landing Gold at the awards were Avon and Somerset Police for its This Is Not Who We Are campaign, which topped the Internal Communications category, and Pinch Point Communications, which secured the Healthcare and/or Wellbeing Campaign title.
The judges praised Avon and Somerset Police’s winning entry, describing it as “an elegant campaign, which deployed a clever use of media based on real content and hard-hitting research, prompting open debate and delivering exceptional results”.
Pinch Point’s Someone Like Me campaign was also highly regarded by the judges, who said it had “clear and measurable objectives, across a variety of metrics”.
They added: “The evidence-led nature of the idea, research and planning as well as testing were impressive. To use real people and stories to lend authentic support to awareness raising and worked highly effectively on all channels. It is no surprise this thorough strategy delivered such a successful impact.”
In a successful night for Grayling, the team also received two Silvers.
One was in the Not-For-Profit category for its work with animal rights group Viva! on a campaign to prioritise carbon footprint labelling on menus in the aftermath of the media’s obsession with the introduction of calories on menus, and in the Consumer Relations category for supporting bar brand Cosy Club’s Cosy Christmas campaign.
This included collaborating with social media sensation Greeters Guild to generate buzz and excitement during the festive season, driving bookings and also garnering just over 100 pieces of media coverage.
Grayling director and head of its Bristol office Richard Chapman said: “We are overjoyed to have received this quartet of awards. They are a testament to our team’s talent and dedication, as they consistently go above and beyond to deliver outstanding results for our clients.”
Chair of CIPR Channel Islands Nicole Culverwell congratulated all the winners, saying: “I am always impressed by the high standard of entries, whether they came from in-house teams, agencies, or independent practitioners – there was not a single entry that did not display ingenuity, professionalism, and impact, giving our judges a real challenge to choose any winners.”
The CIPR PRide Gold winners were:
Corporate and Communications Campaign: Grayling, Gowling WLG – Tomorrow’s World
Internal Communications Campaign: Avon and Somerset Police – This Is Not Who We Are
Consumer Relations Campaign: Highlight PR – Papa Johns Stranger Bling
Public Sector Campaign: Program Agency – Safer Exeter Bystander Campaign
Not-for-Profit Campaign: Fugu – #WorldBankWorldProblems
Healthcare and/or Wellbeing Campaign: Pinch Point Communications – Someone Like Me
Integrated Campaign: Highlight PR – #MiffyLondon
Low Budget Campaign: Grayling – Cooking over Fire with LegumeChef
Travel, Leisure or Tourism Campaign: Civil Aviation Authority, Civil Aviation Authority – ATOL Protection
Best Use of Media Relations: Canny Comms – A media service: unbiased geopolitical analysis
Best Channel Delivery: Second Mountain Comms – The Good Journeys with Second Mountain podcast
Best Use of Content: University of Bath – Research with Impact
Best Event: Briscoe PR – Cuteness overload – Westlands Lambing Days
Environmental Campaign: Fugu – #WorldBankWorldProblems
Issues, Crisis or Reputation Management: Devon and Cornwall Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner – Operation Scorpion – making the South West #NoPlaceForDrugs
Best Long-term Campaign: ADPR – HH X RNLI campaign
Best Long-term Client Care: Darren Northeast PR – Best Long-Term Client Care Campaign
Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year: Jordan Hooker, Darren Northeast PR
Independent PR Practitioner of the Year: Ben Veal Chart. PR, MCIPR, Second Mountain Comms
In-House PR Team of the Year: Benefact Group
Small PR Consultancy of the Year: ADPR
PR Consultancy of the Year: Man Bites Dog
