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
PR Campaign of the Year: “Weber Shandwick & McDonald’s Canada – McCafé Retail Coffee Launch in Grocery.” (CNW Group/Canadian Public Relations Society)”.
Best Creative PR Campaign: “APEX Public Relations & Walmart Canada – Back-to-School with Walmart.” (CNW Group/Canadian Public Relations Society)”
