The golden arches took top spot at the PRINZ Awards this week, with representatives from Mango, Fuse and McDonald’s New Zealand taking to the stage for the win of the Supreme Award for ‘Crave and rave – golden praise drives results for golden arches’.
Claudia Macdonald of Mango, Gina McKinnon of Fuse and Simon Kenny of McDonald’s New Zealand were presented with the award, the second for the entry as it came out on top in the Marketing Communication – PR category.
Macdonald, managing director of Mango, is thrilled the campaign won both its category and the Supreme Award, but is most excited that the public relations work for McDonald’s has finally been recognised.
“It was brave and successful – the most rewarding type of PR. Sean Brown and Dean Taylor at Mango led the campaign and did an amazing job.”
Chief judge Lisa Finucane said the entry encompassed both strong professionalism and the “wow” factor that identifies winning campaigns.
“This campaign was solidly planned and implemented; from the original research to the execution to the evaluation it holds its own as an exemplar of best practice.
“What gave it the winning edge though was the way it targeted and convinced key stakeholders to ‘crave and rave (about)’ the new McDonald’s ‘Create your Taste’ burger experience. They created a positive experience around an organisation that often attracts more disapproval than applause.”
Finucane was joined on the panel by PRINZ president Bruce Fraser and PRINZ life member Gordon Chesterman to judge the 69 entries, a record number for the awards.
The awards recognise excellence in New Zealand’s public relations and communications industry, promote continuous improvement and celebrate best practice. Eight entries were found to be eligible for the Supreme Award.
All category winners are eligible to enter the global COMM PRIX Awards organised by the Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communication Management. This year, two previous PRINZ Awards winners from 2015 are finalists in the COMM PRIX awards – Spark PR & Activate and HMC Communications.
- See photos from the night here.
Final Results
Corporate Public Relations
Highly Commended: It All Starts Here – Challenging public perceptions of SKYCITY – Colin Espiner, Kelly Armitage, Rebecca Foote and Jade Lucas, SKYCITY Entertainment Group
Highly Commended: The Game Changer – Kirsten Robinson and Emilia Mazur, Lotto New Zealand
Government / Quasi Government Public Relations
Winner: Helping New Zealanders play a part in shaping ACC – Michael Player, Gemma Bevan and Laura Barlow, Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)
Highly Commended: Dogs with jobs…and business cards – Michael Richards, Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand (CAANZ)
Internal Communications
Winner: Vodafone New Zealand – A journey to pride – Marie Hodson and Sarah Newcombe, Vodafone New Zealand
Highly Commended: Bringing our people leaders together – Michelle Quirke, Inland Revenue
Highly Commended: “But it’s always been free!” – Communicating the introduction of paid parking at the University of Waikato – Peta Goldsworthy, Mike Watson and Megan Burton-Brown, University of Waikato
Issues, Crisis or Emergency Management
Winner: The New Zealand International Convention Centre – An exercise in crisis management – Colin Espiner, Kelly Armitage, Rebecca Foote and Jade Lucas, SKYCITY Entertainment Group
Highly Commended: Microsoft phone scammer response – Sarah Williams, Natasha Gillooly, Brad Pogson, Porter Novelli New Zealand; Brendan Boughen, Microsoft
Limited Budget Public Relations
Winner: SPCA Cupcake Day 2015 – Sarah Williams, Morgan Bailey and Kaya Arai, Porter Novelli New Zealand
Highly Commended: Human Walkies campaign – Sharon Buckland, Auckland Council
Highly Commended: Paper Plus Father’s Day – Joanna James and Jessica Edward, FCB
Marketing Communication – Integrated
Winner: Jetstar spreads its wings – Announcing Jetstar’s regional expansion plans – Gemma Doughty, Spark PR & Activate
Highly Commended: Not just another onboarding scheme – using graduate recruitment as a marketing & communications tool – Louise Poppelwell, Simpson Grierson
Marketing Communication – PR
Winner: Crave and rave – golden praise drives results for golden arches – Claudia Macdonald, Mango; Gina McKinnon, Fuse; Simon Kenny, McDonald’s New Zealand
Highly Commended: Ben & Jerry’s Mooo-ves In – Amber Conroy, Spark PR & Activate
Highly Commended: Countdown Free Fruit for Kids- Sarah Williams, Louise Wright, Morgan Bailey and Kaya Arai, Porter Novelli New Zealand; James Walker and Charlotte Haycock, Countdown
Highly Commended: Dirt is the new Gold – the Crankworx Rotorua Journey – Jacky James, Jenha White, Rebecca Roling, Madeleine Moore, Shine PR
Special Event or Project
Winner: Anzac Day 2015 Combined Civic Service “Commemorating 100 years, together” – Amanda Weatherley, Tauranga City Council
Highly Commended: Audi quattro bistro – Angela Spain and Laura Douglas, FCB
Sustained Public Relations
Winner: Dance Till Dawn – saving the Auckland dance scene – Rob Warner
Highly Commended: Defining Architectural Design – Rebecca Kinraid and Jackie Curtis, Cherry Red Consulting
Highly Commended: Making haste slowly with God on our side – John Durning, Perception Public Relations & Marketing
Highly Commended: Recovering Christchurch’s Heritage – Susan Gibson, Heritage Hotel Management Ltd
Paul Dryden Tertiary Award
Winner: Able Products – Clean for a Cause – Sarah George and Cassie Arauzo, AUT University
Sally Logan-Milne Young Practitioner of the Year
Winner: Jenha White, Shine PR
Highly Commended: Laura Barlow, Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)
