2011 Winners
Rising Star - Individual (Agency)
Winner:
Chris Bose, Lansons
26-year-old account director Chris Bose joined Lansons in 2008 and has made a stellar ascent within the agency's ranks, going from research assistant to being offered equity partnership in May this year, making him one of his agency's youngest employees to be offered partership. Chris has directed his agency's flagship account, as public affairs adviser to the Isle of Man Government, and also impressed the judges with his vision for the public affairs sector and his commitment to it.
Rising Star - Individual (In House)
Winner:
Emma Boon, TaxPayers' Alliance
Since moving to the Taxpayers' Alliance last year, Emma quickly proved her ability to influence the media and political climate, becoming campaign director within nine months. The former broadcast journalist is a regular media pundit, whose public affairs objectives have ranged across the case for tax and spending-cuts to increasing government transparency. In the eyes of the Presentation Day judges, Emma is a highly professional and exceptionally lucid communicator, delivering public affairs results by both media and 'traditional' Public Affairs.
Freelancer Of The Year
Winner:
Rhoda Macdonald
Rhoda's achievements in the past year have included successful lobbying in the 'Save our Coastguard' campagin, which included a Downing Street petition to ensure a proposal to cut the number of stations from 18 to eight did not end with the closing of Stornoway and Shetland's coastguard stations. She is a former Burson-Marsteller London managing director and ex-Bell Pottinger Public Affairs director.
Trade Body Of The Year
Winner:
EEF, The manufacturers' organisation
EEF, the manufacturers' association, impressed the judges with its lobbying on the UK's capital allowances regime. The Chancellor announced that from April this year the Finance Bill would introduce an extension of the current short-life asset regime from four to eight years. The profile achieved by the EEF on this issue has led to roundtable meetings with Treasury minister David Gauke and an invite to advise the Office of Tax Simplification on tax-relief for businesses.
Campaign Of The Year - Devolved Administrations
Winner:
'Placing the Voice of the Child at the Heart of Children's Hearings' campaign - Aberlour, Action for Children Scotland, Barnardos Scotland, Children 1st and Quarriers
Five children's charities - Aberlour, Action for Children Scotland, Barnardos Scotland, Children 1st and Quarriers - won over the judges by their successful pooling of resources to 'strengthen the voice of the child' in the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Bill. Their joint-campaign helped to bring about the biggest change that children's charities have made to Scottish legislation since the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.
Party Conference Innovation 2011
Winner:
Whizz-Kidz, MP interviews
Whizz-Kidz' aim at conference was to engage as many politicians with their core message 'Every disable young person deserves the right equipment at the right time to aid independence'. Whizz-Kidz also wanted to ensure that the 1000 Ambassadors that are campaigning around the UK would see politicians as real people. This was achieved by asking everyday question on an iPhone App and downloading the interview with a picture directly to Twitter. The MPs found this innovative way of engagement fun and the young people can now relate to their representatives.
Innovative Campaign Of The Year
Winner:
Fairer Fillings Campaign, RSPCA
The RSPCA, assisted by agency MHP Communications, wanted to build political support for its 'Freedom Food' farm assurance scheme. Its 'Fairer Fillings' campaign encouraged people to think about animal-welfare when buying sandwiches. So, during British Sandwich Week, the RSPCA opened (for one day only) a sandwich stall in Victoria Towers Gardens next to the Houses of Parliament. MPs and Peers were invited to sample a sandwich and then photographed as they voted for their favourite sandwich. The day's results were then promoted by new-media, scoring invaluable PR hits.
Political Tweeter Of The Year
Winner:
John Rentoul, Independent on Sunday
"Apart from his contrarian but welcome Blair-philia, he is probably the first person whose tweets - "the banned list" - have been turned into a book and whose Daily Mail-inspired Questions to which the Answer is No prompts considerable twitter traffic"
Best Agency to Work For
Winner:
Open Road
Open Road runs an array of social activity that convinced the judges that the agency is a great place to work. Initiatives include a running club, exercise classes and welcome drinks for new employees before they even start. The agency does pro bono work for various clients and has a fun Twitter feed that shuns most agencies' overly corporate approach. Last Christmas the agency created a YouTube spoof which led to the donation of £1,000 to Marie Curie.
Specialist Consultancy Of The Year
Winner:
Cicero Consulting
Cicero is a well-known financial services specialist that is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year. The London-headquartered agency estimates annual growth in fee income of 40 per cent during the past year, and has opened offices in Washington DC and Singapore, as well as launching its own online news site, GFS News. Big-name client wins have included HSBC, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and DeutscheBank, as well as TheCityUK.
Campaign Of The Year - Voluntary
Winner:
Write the Principles of the Military Convenant into Law, Royal British Legion
The campaign achieved its objective to persuade the Government to write the principles of the Military Covenant - the special bond between the Nation and those who serve to protect her - into law. Campaign work included liaising with ex-soldier Conservative MP Philip Hollobone and a media campaign with the News of the World. The achievement has been hailed by the Prime Minister and the Legion's director-general, Chris Simpkins, as "an historic breakthrough".
Campaign Of The Year - Private
Winner:
'A Fair Tax on Flying' campaign, ABTA
The 'Fair Tax on Flying' alliance, co-ordinated by ABTA, has repeatedly made headlines as the lobbying initiative to campaign on Air Passenger Duty. The high-profile campaign united the industry's collective political weight and helped to ensure that the tax was frozen for 2011-2012. The campaign remains ongoing, with air-tax continuing to be a high-profile concern across Britain's travel and tourism industry.
Outstanding Contribution
Winner:
Kevin Bell
One of the best-known lobbyists in Westminster, Kevin has - in the words of one of PAN's judging panel - 'hired and inspired a generation of public affairs and corporate communication professionals'. A founding director of the famous agency Westminster Strategy way back in 1987, Kevin has maintained his contact-base among numerous senior Conservative politicians despite most recently being regional president for global agency Fleishman-Hillard across a sprawling geographical remit comprising the UK, Africa and Middle East.
In House Team Of The Year
Winner:
MS Society
The MS Society's public affairs function is just three years old and has grown to a five-string team. Led by head of policy and campaigns Laura Weir, the MS Society impressed by Presentation Day judges with achievements including their UK-wide 'manifesto'; an 'MS forum' of experts; innovative party conference work; and securing an update of the clinical guideline for MS.
Consultant Of The Year
Winner:
Kevin Craig, PLMR
Kevin describes the past year as "one of the most exciting and challenging" since starting his communications career in 1993. His firm PLMR has almost doubled in staff size, with profits up by 156 per cent, but Kevin himself has maintained a lead adviser role on clients including Combat Stress and the Durand Academy. Kevin founded PLMR in 2006 and is a former Labour parliamentary candidate.
Consultancy Of The Year
Winner:
Hanover
After having being shortlisted for this same award in the past, it is finally Hanover's year to win! The past 12 months have brought outstanding results for Charles Lewington's agency, which achieved 34 per cent growth in fee income and bagged 22 new clients including Lilly, SITA, Pearson, Sanofi-Aventis, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme and Goldman Sachs. Hanover's new Brussels office has recorded an excellent debut year and the agency has recently expanded into corporation reputation and digital work.
