NEW YORK, NY—(Marketwired – June 05, 2015) – The New York Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA–NY) held its 28th annual Big Apple Awards Gala last week at the Mandarin Oriental New York, awarding 81 finalists with top honors for a broad range of 2014 PR campaigns. The evening highlighted the campaigns' outstanding research, strategies, tactics and results, including non–media results. Several deserving individuals were also honored for their contributions to both the public relations field and the Chapter.
Ketchum took home the Best of the Best Big Apple Award, representing the best work produced by the industry in 2014, for its work with MasterCard, and their campaign titled “MasterCard Bites into Apple Pay, Gets to the Core of Safe & Secure Contactless Payments.” The Big Apple Award for Best Business/Campaign Outcomes, went to Campari America and M Booth for “Negroni Week: Tapping Bartenders' Creativity for Sales and Charity.” The award for Best Use of Research, Measurement and Evaluation, sponsored by the Institute for Public Relations, was presented to P&G Always and MSLGROUP for “Always #LikeAGirl: Turning an Insult into a Confidence Movement.”
Individual chapter award recipients included: Michael P. Rinaldo, Executive Vice President & General Manager, dna Communications, winner of the Philip Dorf Award for mentoring, sponsored by the Dorf family; and Lynn Appelbaum, APR, Fellow PRSA, Professor/Director for the Advertising/PR program at The City College of New York (CCNY), winner of the PRSA–NY President's Award for her contributions to PRSA and the Chapter. The “lifetime achievement” award went to Barri Friedman Rafferty, Senior Partner & CEO North America, Ketchum, winner of the John W. Hill Award.
“It's such an honor for me to receive the John W. Hill Award, named for the man who was one of the cornerstones of this industry,” said Rafferty. “Looking to the future, I believe we must continue to embrace the values Mr. Hill believed in so strongly — integrity, ethics and public service — and at the same time, we must all champion the best talent, helping to grow the next generation of leaders based on competencies and skills, and eliminating gender bias across the board.”
For a complete list of the 2015 Big Apple Award Winners and Honorable Mentions, click here.
Looking to the Future of PR
More than 250 public relations professionals arrived at the 2015 Big Apple Awards Gala to find a futuristic setting. The event focused on #FuturePR as its theme, building on the 2014 theme of homage to various forms of media old and new. Attendees checked in to find “Magic 8 Balls,” futuristic violin performers, fortune cookies with custom messages, as well as custom cocktails compliments of Perfect Drink. Guests interacted in person and via social media by posting event photos throughout the night with the hashtags #BigAppleAwards & #FuturePR.
PRSA–NY President Linda Krebs and PRSA–NY President–elect & Big Apple Chair Bill Doescher kicked off the evening with a tag–team appearance setting up the gala and quipping on the future of PR. Next, Simone Boyce, Entertainment Reporter for Fox 5 New York, and Marc Santia, Reporter for NBC 4 New York, took the stage for the presentation of the awards. The animated duo captivated the audience and added a flare of fun to the event. Announcer Doug Doescher, Imaging Director for CBS Sports Radio Network, added his voice to the TV duo's lively conversation as each of the awards was presented.
“The winners' campaigns announced at the Big Apple Awards proved once again that PR can indeed make a difference in the world no matter what the issue. The campaigns also highlighted the fact that PR is an industry to reckon with now and in the future. The 2015 individual award winners selected exemplify the kind of superior talent the PR field espouses,” said Bill Doescher.
2015 Big Apple sponsors include: Platinum– D S Simon Productions; Gold–North American Precis Syndicate (NAPS); Silver– dna Communications, Edelman, Ketchum, Makovsky, Prudential; Bronze– Anchin, Block & Anchin, Buchbinder Tunick & Company, LLP, Hunter Public Relations, Perfect Drink, Ruder Finn, Spong, Stanton Public Relations & Marketing; PRSSA Student Benefactors– Doescher Group, Goodnewsforpets.com; Chapter Leader– 360 Public Relations, Affect, Doescher Group Ltd, Feintuch Communications, Germinder & Associates, Kellen, LKPR, Inc., Ragland Burton Communications, The Stevens Group; Friends of Big Apple– Gould+Partners LLC, Marketwired; John W. Hill Award– Hill+Knowlton Strategies; Philip Dorf Award– The Dorf Family; In–kind– FLM Graphics, Pernod Ricard USA, The Tags Group, UberRUSH.
About PRSA–NY
The Public Relations Society of America, New York City chapter is one of the founding chapters of the Public Relations Society of America, the world's largest professional organization for public relations practitioners. Founded in 1948, PRSA–NY is the third largest PRSA local chapter in the U.S. The chapter serves the interests of public relations professionals working in business and industry, counseling firms, government, associations, hospitals, schools, professional services firms and nonprofit organizations. Chapter board and committee members are volunteer public relations professionals who work in the New York metropolitan area. For more information, please visit prsany.org; and follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.