We’re thrilled to announce the results of the CIPR North East PRide Awards 2021. Click on the links below to view the winning entries.
Note: All case studies are in PDF format and open in a new window.


INTERNAL COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN

GOLD WINNER:
North East Ambulance Service
Communicating during Covid – keeping ambulance crews informed
 
Keeping a distributed workforce engaged and informed is challenging enough at the best of times, but doing so during a pandemic is significantly tougher. This campaign used senior leaders to build trust and engagement to good effect. Using good tactics to build social engagement and take the focus away from the day job to provide a safe space for staff to share challenges and concerns, this campaign certainly sounds the alarm for internal comms!
 
SILVER WINNER:
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
Communicating to a diverse workforce during a pandemic

PUBLIC SECTOR CAMPAIGN

GOLD WINNER:
North East Ambulance Service
#MoreThanAUniform: Tackling assaults against ambulance crews
 
A well-articulated submission getting across the emotive and powerful message that assaults on workers is not ok and raising awareness. They thought of everything including consulting with the police to ensure they wouldn’t jeopardize any investigations. Just imagine what they could have achieved with a budget.
 
SILVER WINNER:
Nexus
Our record consultation to design new Metro trains

COMMUNITY RELATIONS CAMPAIGN

GOLD WINNER:
South Tyneside Council – South Shields, Tyne and Wear
#LoveSouthTyneside
 
A lovely much-needed campaign. A great feel-good campaign when people and communities needed it most and apt to launch it on Valentine’s day.

NOT-FOR-PROFIT CAMPAIGN

GOLD WINNER:
Gardiner Richardson
mynewhair by Trevor Sorbie
 
A powerful campaign on a taboo subject. Good research and some great ideas around storytelling that makes for an emotive and powerful marketing and PR tool. Nice social purpose and good use and collection of metrics to support the demonstration of outcomes. Overall an impressive campaign.
 
SILVER WINNER:
Karol Marketing
Northumberland National Park: Recover Together

HEALTHCARE CAMPAIGN

GOLD WINNER:
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
A new Eye Hospital in Sunderland
 
In a closely contested category, this was a good robust all-round campaign that achieved what it set out to do and more. With a really strong focus on stakeholder management. Working with multiple stakeholders to ensure messaging was aligned and key milestones were met. Good use of data and insight to support the campaign design and delivery and use of metrics in their evaluation.
 
SILVER WINNER:
North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care System
#DoYourBit campaign North East and North Cumbria

INTEGRATED CAMPAIGN

GOLD WINNER:
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
Introducing changes to children’s A&E services
 
A good, clear, positive outcome is well demonstrated with the use of metrics and key measures. Good use of the PESO model to provide integration of messaging across channels throughout the campaign. A well-thought-out and well-executed campaign to ensure continuity of service for users.
 
SILVER WINNER:
McBryde & Co
‘Thank You North East’

LOW BUDGET CAMPAIGN

GOLD WINNER:
South Tyneside Council
#ProudtoSupport
 
This campaign achieved a great deal with minimum budget. This was a strong campaign where all partners worked together from top to bottom and were inclusive to all. A nice ‘feel good’ campaign that hit the brief
 
SILVER WINNER:
Jule Wilson
Jule Wilson Communication and National Poetry Day 2020: a Vision for Verse

ARTS, CULTURE, SPORTS OR ENTERTAINMENT CAMPAIGN

GOLD WINNER:
Jule Wilson
Jule Wilson Communication and National Poetry Day 2020: a Vision for Verse
 
An important campaign and subject to engage young people in poetry. Great effort from a PR perspective making a difference to young creative minds using arts and culture

REGIONAL CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

GOLD WINNER:
Nexus
Our record consultation to design new Metro trains
 
Good use of evaluation to demonstrate impact. Worked well with local communities to engage them and generate buy-in, coped well with the challenges thrown up by Covid19 and lockdown impacting on engagement, and overall worked effectively with local service users to facilitate input to service design.
 
SILVER WINNER:
McBryde & Co
‘Thank You North East’

BEST USE OF MEDIA RELATIONS

GOLD WINNER:
Gardiner Richardson
Launching a major report for a Smokefree 2030
 
Gardiner Richardson’s entry shows firm use of content to drive the media agenda. The strategy was well set out. The tactic of using high-profile spokespeople and real stores to generate an emotional response to the report worked well resulting in a campaign launch that secured widespread media coverage in the national print and broadcast media along with regional exposure. The lasting impact of this work is yet to come but the fact that endorsement of the report’s recommendations was secured from leading health organisations is a good first step.
 
SILVER WINNER:
North East Ambulance Service
#MoreThanAUniform: Tackling assaults against ambulance crews

BEST USE OF DIGITAL AND SOCIAL MEDIA

GOLD WINNER:
Nexus
Our record consultation to design new Metro trains
 
A great pivot from a campaign that was going to be ‘live’ to using digital channels and good to see the use of AR. The judges particularly liked the fact that this opened up the debate, got people talking, and also resonated with their key audiences. A well-thought-out campaign.
 
SILVER WINNER:
South Tyneside Council
#ProudtoSupport

BEST USE OF CONTENT

GOLD WINNER:
Nexus
Trust your Metro right through this pandemic
 
A great submission showing how the use of data from fortnightly pulse surveys informed a strategy to tackle negative messaging about public transport in the pandemic. Good use of storytelling and content showing behind-the-scenes work of cleaners and engineers humanised the process and assets that were created for social media were picked up by the media and shared extensively. The result was a seven-year high in customer satisfaction. A well-executed campaign.
 
SILVER WINNER:
North East Ambulance Service
#MoreThanAUniform: Tackling assaults against ambulance crews

BEST EVENT

GOLD WINNER:
Karol Marketing
Master Locksmiths Association Headquarters Opening Event
 
Faced with a real challenge of creating a media event in an area that did not lend itself well to events, the team at Karol Marketing got creative and worked with businesses in the surrounding area to help to make the space more welcoming and created an invite that caught the attention of the target media and resulted in a successful event.
 
SILVER WINNER:
Cool Blue Brand Communications and Tees Valley Combined Authority
Taking a Tees Valley event international

BEST COVID RESPONSE

GOLD WINNER:
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
#TeamSTSFT COVID-19 response
 
This is a very well-thought-out and well-executed campaign. A very clear understanding of the needs of patients, staff and the public was demonstrated from the start. The team at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust used the STSFT brand well to provide reassurance and guidance at the time when it was most needed.
Case study
 
SILVER WINNER:
South Tyneside Council
#ProudtoSupport

BEST STAFF WELLBEING INITIATIVE

GOLD WINNER:
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
Launch of STSFT Health and Wellbeing Strategy
 
The South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust team used the data from the 2020 staff survey to firmly place health and wellbeing as a priority. The team drove the strategy around the feedback from the survey and set out six key themes. A range of tactics was employed and listening to staff was at the heart of this campaign.
 
SILVER WINNER:
North East Ambulance Service
#MoreThanAUniform: Tackling assaults against ambulance crews

BEST PUBLICATION

GOLD WINNER:
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
News for You
#TeamSTSFT staff magazine

OUTSTANDING YOUNG COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR

GOLD WINNER:
Jen Millard
Northumberland County Council
 
Jen was a pleasure to meet. She demonstrated a clear understanding of the importance and potential of PR and Communications to support real change, and she had a developing understanding of strategic communications. Her experience of working through the pandemic showed her commitment and her skill in understanding her stakeholder’s starting point. She is motivated, self-starting and already accomplished in her career. She also showed a thirst for lifelong learning and a commitment to CPD, Self aware and technically competent – she is a worthy winner.
Case study
 
SILVER WINNER:
Ellie Lyall
Gardiner Richardson Ltd

INDEPENDENT PR PRACTITIONER

GOLD WINNER:
Jule Wilson Chart.PR MCIPR MPRCA
Jule Wilson
 
Jule is a worthy winner as Independent PR Practitioner 2021. As one of the first five practitioners in the region to become chartered in 2016 she became an independent practitioner as part of a portfolio career. Her volunteering role at the CIPR has seen her as Communications Editor and Acting Group Secretary, then on the national Diversity and Inclusion Group committee. A fantastic advocate for PR, she has represented the profession at career fairs and through voluntary positions as a school and university mentor, a STEM Learning Ambassador, and a guest lecturer at Sunderland and Northumbria Universities. Jule’s passion for PR is clear to see in her many roles.
Case study

IN-HOUSE PR TEAM OF THE YEAR

GOLD WINNER:
South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust
 
Solid entry showcasing the value the Comms team bring to the trust and a clear illustration of the tactics used in the campaign, the outputs but also the impacts it had on local residents
Case study
 
SILVER WINNER:
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

SMALL PR CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR

GOLD WINNER:
Karol Marketing
 
Karol marketing was honest about some of the challenges they’ve faced due to the pandemic which makes their performance and growth all the more worthy of both recognition and praise. They have invested in business development, looked after their clients and been rewarded with customer loyalty and an impressive new pipeline of high-value clients. They have maintained a strong focus on CPD amid significant change, looking after staff welfare, investing in training and growing their team further to include an apprentice. The campaign was impressive in that it presented a significant challenge but they responded to this with a creative and experience-led integrated project which generated some great coverage for their client.
Case study
 
SILVER WINNER:
Brand & Reputation

PR CONSULTANCY OF THE YEAR

GOLD WINNER:
Cool Blue Brand Communications
 
Cool Blue provided a good all-round entry with good budget information to provide context. The strongest part of the entry was their campaign for the Tees Valley Mayoral Election campaign. They showcased excellent planning to execution, with metrics in the campaign description, clear outcomes and an excellent result for the client.
Case study
 
SILVER WINNER:
Gardiner Richardson