2017 PR Award Winners
Awards in all of these categories were presented at The 15th Annual American Business Awards banquet on Tuesday, June 20, 2017 at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York City.
Learn about the judging and awards process here.
Public Relations Agency of the Year
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
PMK•BNC, Los Angeles, CA
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Arketi Group, Atlanta, GA
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
Makovsky & Co, New York, NY
Paragon Public Relations, Hoboken, NJ
Pascale Communications, Fairfield, CT
Communications Department of the Year
GOLD STEVIE WINNERS:
EFG Companies, Irving, TX: What does communication have to do with revenue, acquisitions, and efficiency?
Family League of Baltimore, Baltimore, MD: Family League of Baltimore External Relations
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
Altisource Portfolio Solutions S.A., Boston, MA: Altisource Recasts its Image with a Revamped Communications Team
Greysteel, Bethesda, MD: Greysteel Communications Department
LanguageLine Solutions, Monterey, CA: LanguageLine Solutions Communications Team
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS
Dentsply Sirona, York, PA: Dentsply Sirona Corporate Communications Team
Humana, Inc., Louisville, KY: Strategic Communications produces industry leading communications, giving Humana a competitive advantage
Main Path Marketing, San Diego, CA: Redefining Public Relations - Main Path Marketing
Communications Team of the Year
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Aflac, Columbus, GA: Aflac Corporate Communications Team
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
Cisco, San Jose, CA: Cisco Talent Brand Team - #WeAreCisco
FIS, St. Petersburg, FL: FIS Client Relations Communications Team
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
Cigna, Bloomfield, CT: Cigna's Health Care Reform Consulting and Communications Team
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Community Relations
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Comcast, Plymouth, MI: Comcast Heartland Region One of First Companies to Aid Flint Community
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
RizePoint, Salt Lake City, UT: RizePoint Launches Rize & Shine CSR Program
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
Petplan, Newtown Square, PA: Pup-nosticator Campaign
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Crisis Communications
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Lincoln Strategy Group, Tempe, AZ: Save Our AZ Solar, PR - Crisis Communications
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Events & Observances
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Makovsky, Washington, DC: A Tribute to Heroes in the Global Campaign Against Violent Extremism
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, CA: Celebrating Genentech’s Anniversary and the Rise of an Industry
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Global Issues or Issues Management
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Bacardi Limited, Coral Gables, FL: Good Spirited: Building a More Sustainable Future
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Cisco Systems, San Jose, CA: Cisco: Country Digitization Acceleration
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
Entergy Corporation, New Orleans, LA: Entergy Corporation: Navigating an Exit from Merchant Power
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Low Budget (Under $10,000)
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Avante, Atlanta, GA: MWC Media Relations Project with a Limited Budget
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Bullfrog + Baum, New York, NY: LEAP by B+B
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
Bank of America, Charlotte, NC: Bank of America Affordable Loan Solution: Bridging Credit-Worthy Homebuyers to Homeownership
Brand Definition, New York, NY: Voter
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing - Business-to-Business
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Calysto Communications, Atlanta, GA: Calysto and Inmarsat Doubled Goal in Vertical Media Placements with No News
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
Metis Communications, Boston, MA: Avention: Crowning the new king of ABM
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Marketing - Consumer Products & Services
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
John Hancock Financial, Boston, MA: John Hancock Rewards Policyholders for Healthy Eating
MSLGROUP, New York, NY: Like A Girl Emojis
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
4Life Research, Sandy, UT: 4LifeTransform® 30-Day Accelerator System
Weber Shandwick, Chicago, IL: My Morning Protein: How a High Protein Breakfast with Milk
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Multicultural
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Linqia, San Francisco, CA: Gerber Drives 25x More Coupon Downloads from Hispanic Moms in Texas through Influencer Marketing
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
U.S. Olympic Committee, Colorado Springs, CO & FleishmanHillard, San Francisco, CA: Team USA Shows Support for Brazil through #WeLoveRio Olympic Campaign
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
Imprenta Communications Group, Los Angeles, CA: Plastic Pollution Awareness Campaign
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Public Affairs or Public Service
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Davies, Santa Barbara, CA: Defying the Odds to Gain Permit Approval: Invenergy
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
The Conroy Martinez Group, Coral Gables, FL: Zika Virus: The Case of the Hidden Bug
Pioneer Services, a Division of MidCountry Bank, Kansas City, MO: Pioneer Services: Helping Improve Military Family Financial Readiness
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Reputation/Brand Management
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
IBM, Armonk, NY: Cognitive Creativity with IBM Watson
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Bank of America, Charlotte, NC: Rewriting the Narrative – Elevating Bank of America’s Leadership Through Exploration of Modern Homebuying Trends
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
EFG Companies, Irving, TX: EFG Companies’ 2nd Annual F&I Innovator of the Year Competition and Award
Navicor, LLC, Westerville, OH: Navicor Thinking (of you) Putty holiday greeting campaign
Communications or PR Campaign of the Year - Social Media Focused
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
MWWPR, New York, NY: Nikon’s Top Spot for Fall Foliage
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
Acorda Therapeutics, Ardsley, NY: The Many Faces of OFF
BML Public Relations, Florham Park, NJ: BMLPR's use of Social Media to Create the Viral #AlternateFacts Pizza Campaign
Cisco, San Jose, CA: WeAreCisco Snapchat for Employer Branding
Silverado Records, Nashville, TN: Second Largest Social Media Following of a Nashville Independent Record Label in One Year
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
Aflac, Columbus, GA: Aflac Spotlights Workplace Diversity
QUALISOY with MSLGROUP, Chesterfield, MO: QUALISOY Would Like to Connect with You on LinkedIn: Using Social Media to Encourage Product Trial
Worldwide Clinical Trials, Morrisville, NC: Worldwide Launches Strategic Social Marketing Program in 2016
Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Healthcare
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA: Deconstructing Stigma: A Change in Thought Can Change a Life
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Momentum Worldwide, New York, NY: Allergan Refresh America
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
Genentech, Inc., San Francisco, CA: Celebrating Genentech’s Anniversary and the Rise of an Industry
Medical Dynamics, New York, NY: COPD Awareness Month
Pascale Communications, Fairfield, CT: The Imprimis Cares Campaign
Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Internal Communications
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Bacardi Limited, Coral Gables, FL: Bacardi Employees Join No Straws Pledge
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
BRG Communications, Alexandria, VA: Cause for a Celebration
Voya, New York, NY: Voya’s Employee Value Proposition: Defining What’s Special About Working At Voya
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
Cisco Systems, Inc, San Jose, CA: Tac 20/20 - Strategy Expert Program
FBMC Benefits Management Inc., Tallahassee, FL: The Interactive Benefits Reference Guide for Jackson Health System (JHS)
FIS, St. Petersburg, FL: Payments Post Monthly Newsletter
Workiva Inc., Ames, IA: Workiva Helps Companies Work Smart
Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Media Relations
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
IBM, Armonk, NY: Cognitive Creativity with IBM Watson
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
John Hancock Financial, Boston, MA: John Hancock Rewards Policyholders for Healthy Eating
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS
Allstate Insurance Company, Northbrook, IL: Allstate Small Business Barometer
Alorica, Irvine, CA: Alorica Media Relations
March Communications, Boston, MA: March Communications Helps Marchex Reveal America’s Speech Patterns, Offering Rich Data for Companies to Foster Better Customer Relationships
Novartis, East Hanover, NJ: Novartis Reinvigorates Oncology Brand through Stakeholder Engagement and Strategic Storytelling
Tanis Communications, Menlo Park, CA: RetailNext Holiday Campaign
Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - New Product Launch
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Bhava Communications, Emeryville, CA: Bhava Communications and KnuEdge – Launching from Stealth
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Oceana, Washington, DC: The Launch of Global Fishing Watch
BRONZE STEVIE WINNER:
5W Public Relations, New York, NY: Rowenta Launches DW3 Steam Care Iron - #IronAnything
MSLGROUP, New York, NY: Conversation 2 Commerce
Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Sponsorship
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Constellation NewEnergy, Inc., Baltimore, MD: Constellation-NHL: Powering Game Day. Powering Every Day.
Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Technology
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
MissionCTRL Communications (mc²), San Francisco, CA: Death to Diesel Campaign
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
IBM, Armonk, NY: Cognitive Creativity with IBM Watson
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
Adobe, San Jose, CA: The Joy of Sketching with Adobe Photoshop Sketch CC
anthonyBarnum Public Relations, Austin, TX: MyScript Nebo Paradigm-Changing, Notetaking App Launch
Communications or PR Campaign/Program of the Year - Travel & Tourism
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
The James Agency, Scottsdale, AZ: Moxy Tempe Grand Opening Event
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
International Chardonnay Symposium, San Luis Obispo, CA
PR Innovation of the Year
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Catapult PR-IR, Boulder, CO: Catapult PR-IR
Communications, Investor Relations, or PR Executive of the Year
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Aflac, Columbus, GA: Jon Sullivan, Corporate Communications
SILVER STEVIE WINNER:
Bhava Communications, Emeryville, CA: Joe Franscella, SVP Public Relations
Communications Professional of the Year
GOLD STEVIE WINNER:
Cisco, San Jose, CA: Carmen Collins, Social Media Lead, Talent Brand
SILVER STEVIE WINNERS:
FIS, St. Petersburg, FL: Chris McAlexander, Corporate Communications Analyst Specialist
INK, Austin, TX: Allyse Sanchez, Senior Account Manager
Pascale Communications, Fairfield, CT: Kara Stephens, Account Director
RizePoint, Salt Lake City, UT: Whitney McCarthy, Successful PR professional in Utah
Virsig, LLC, Astoria, NY: Shelomo Alfassa, Director of Communications
BRONZE STEVIE WINNERS:
AdCellerant, Denver, CO: Aarin McKeel, Director of Marketing
Discovery Communications, Silver Spring, MD: Michelle Zajac, Total Rewards Communications Specialist
Power Digital Marketing, San Diego, CA: Kate Lobel, Director of PR & Outreach
Relic, Provo, UT: Chelsea Oldroyd, Public Relations Manager