Recognises the most effective launch of a pharmaceutical product, including both over-the-counter and prescription-only drugs and/or a healthcare product, such as products linked to improving health, including vitamin products and products designed to tackle, for example, obesity, cigarette or alcohol addiction, or mental ill-health. It can include communications with target audiences such as primary care departments, prescribers, NHS budget holders, patient groups and specialist media as well as disease awareness and direct to consumer work.

Recognises the best campaign to manage or promote awareness of a particular disease or condition. It can be aimed at the wider general public or at a more specific, targeted group.

Recognises the best pro-active lobbying campaign with a specific public affairs objective related to a cause or an issue; eg: introducing a new law or policy.

Recognises the best handling of a company’s stock market flotation from a communications perspective. The winning entry will need to show the steps it took to implement an effective comms strategy around the IPO, including how it worked with other parties (eg: investors, employees and other stakeholders) and dealt with challenges along the way, including possible negative publicity. It would be a benefit if the entry can show how the comms strategy benefited the client’s reputation.

Recognises the most effective campaign for a corporation that engages internal stakeholders such as managers, employees, and trade unions. Judges will be looking for clear outlines of the campaign’s specific objectives and the steps taken to meet them, alongside the results of the campaign, preferably supported with data (eg: employee satisfaction levels, staff retention etc).

Recognises the most effective management of an issue or crisis by a consultancy or corporate in-house team, or a combination of both. Because of the sensitive nature of this type of work, entrants may mark parts of their submission as strictly confidential and not for publication.

Recognises the best use of media relations as part of a campaign. It could include reactive or proactive media relations activities, or a combination of both. Judges will be looking for evidence of how media coverage and media relations activities helped achieve specific goals, eg: changing public sentiment towards a company, selling more products, supporting a specific cause or changing public behaviour.

Recognises the best use of social media or social media ‘influencers’ as part of a campaign by, or on behalf of, a corporation. Judges will be looking for evidence of how social media and/or influencer activity helped achieve specific goals, eg: changing public sentiment towards a company, selling more products, supporting a specific cause or changing public behaviour. Entrants can show how social media and/or influencer activity was used part of a wider campaign that could include other elements, such as lobbying or advertising; however, the winning entry will be able to demonstrate how social media and/or influencer activity specifically was crucial to achieve outcomes (rather than merely social media analytics data). The idea must be PR-led, although we will not exclude entries that involve payment or other incentives to influencers; however, please detail these in your entry.

This award will be given for the most effective use of content as part of a campaign. The entry can come from the private, public or third sectors, or a combination. The objectives, strategy and method deployed should be clearly set out, alongside metrics on the impact of the content. The entry should include methods of how content was distributed and used to attract and retain audiences. Judges will be looking at the impact of the content beyond ‘reach’ (eg: number of views, likes etc) and towards outcomes (eg: changing behaviour, increasing sales).

Recognises the best handling of a de/merger or acquisition deal from a communications perspective. The winning entry will need to show the steps it took to implement an effective comms strategy around the deal, including how it worked with other parties (eg: investors, employees and other stakeholders) and dealt with challenges along the way, including possible negative publicity. It would be a benefit if the entry can show how the comms strategy improved the client’s reputation after the deal.

This category is open to any consultancy that offers one of the services outlined below. Judges will be looking for evidence of market share and financial growth at the agency, particularly in relation to the specified work. They will be looking at client list growth and client retention. Please give examples of the most effective work undertaken by the agency in the past 12 months (maximum of five examples), including data to support the impact (eg: change to law or government policy, amount of positive coverage etc).

This award is open to any consultancy that has been trading for up to 24 months. The consultancy must operate in at least one of the below disciplines. Judges will be looking for evidence of market share and financial growth at the agency, particularly in relation to the specified work. They will be looking at client list growth and client retention. Please give examples of the most effective work undertaken by the agency in the past 12 months (maximum of five examples), including data to support the impact (eg: change to law or government policy, amount of positive coverage etc).

This category is open to any consultancy that offers two or more services and excels at integrated work covering multiple disciplines “for example: corporate comms, public affairs, healthcare comms, digital comms. Judges will be looking for evidence of market share and financial growth at the agency, particularly in relation to briefs covering the disciplines. They will be looking at client list growth and client retention. Please give examples of the most effective integrated work undertaken by the agency in the past 12 months (maximum of five examples), including data to support the impact (eg: sales, change to law or government policy, amount of positive coverage etc).

Open to any in-house comms team. In your entry please include the number of staff employed within the team (split executive and support staff) and annual PR budget (broken down into areas of marketing activity directly under the team's control). The judges will look for evidence of success in executing campaigns or programmes during the period covered by the awards as part of an overall PR strategy, in particular to corporate communications work. They will also look for cost-effective use of both in-house and external resources. Teams will also be commended for their dedication to diversity. Please outline the proportion of employees who are women, and who are black/Asian/or of other minority ethnic backgrounds, both across the team and in senior leadership roles. Please also outline any initiatives in place to encourage under-represented groups, and information on the team’s flexible working policies to help staff work part time.

Open to any in-house public affairs team. In your entry please include the number of staff employed within the team (split executive and support staff) and annual PR budget (broken down into areas of marketing activity directly under the team's control). The judges will look for evidence of success in executing campaigns or programmes during the period covered by the awards as part of an overall PR strategy, in particular to corporate communications work. They will also look for cost-effective use of both in-house and external resources. Teams will also be commended for their dedication to diversity. Please outline the proportion of employees who are women, and who are black/Asian/or of other minority ethnic backgrounds, both across the team and in senior leadership roles. Please also outline any initiatives in place to encourage under-represented groups, and information on the team’s flexible working policies to help staff work part time.

Open to PR professionals who have worked in the sector for no more than three years. Nominations are accepted from employers, who should include the details of the nominee’s career history and professional qualifications. Along with the submission, please attach a 200 word statement or short video from the person nominated, outlining why they feel they should win this award. Judges will be looking for: evidence of outstanding achievement in handling projects and campaigns; creativeness in relevance to brief and results; influence and contribution to the organisation and colleagues; and evidence of the nominee’s ability and willingness to extend their range of skills and expertise. Please note: the video does not need to be high production quality; it can be recorded using your smartphone. There will not be extra points given for high production quality videos. This is an opportunity for the nominee to express themselves and their personality within the entry.

This award will go to the agency-side professional in a leadership role who is judged to have achieved the most in one of the sectors outlined below in the past 12 months. Judges will be looking for evidence of exceptional client handling, use of innovative ideas and techniques, successful execution of projects and/or campaigns, and strong leadership qualities. Please give examples of the most effective project work undertaken by the individual over the past 12 months (maximum of five examples), including, where relevant, data to support the impact (eg: sales or share price lifts, amount of positive coverage etc).

This award will go to the in-house professional in a senior role who is judged to have achieved the most in one of the sectors outlined below in the past 12 months. Judges will be looking for evidence of successful execution of projects and/or campaigns, use of innovative ideas and techniques, and strong leadership qualities. Please give examples of the most effective project work undertaken by the individual over the past 12 months (maximum of five examples), including, where relevant, data to support the impact (eg: sales or share price lifts, amount of positive coverage etc).