Development West Coast received the Supreme Award at the annual PRINZ Awards for its campaign, ‘Unlocking minerals through trust and policy alignment’.
Over 230 PR and communications professionals from across the country gathered on June 4 to celebrate the excellence and achievements of Aotearoa’s PR industry at a gala dinner.
The evening resulted in more than 70 award winners and a record number of gold awards.
The 15 categories are designed to highlight the wide range of roles and outcomes that communications professionals practice.
The 12 gold award-winning campaigns, submitted by Anthem, Belle PR, Convergence Communications, Development West Coast, FleishmanHillard Aotearoa, Hamilton City Council, Network Communication and Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori, went head-to-head to take away the final award of the evening, the Supreme Award.
A campaign that shifts behaviour
Development West Coast earned the ultimate award by leading a holistic government relations and public affairs programme to reposition modern mining as nationally strategic, regionally enabling and environmentally responsible.
The West Coast holds nationally significant deposits of gold and critical minerals vital to clean energy and advanced manufacturing, but boom-and-bust cycles left communities wary and investors cautious.
Development West Coast integrated public affairs, media, decision-maker immersion and community storytelling to shift behaviour, not just awareness. Their work resulted in government support for industry-enabling infrastructure and housing projects, local mining jobs rising, employment growth and a shift in the nation’s sentiment and understanding of mining.
Expertly executed
The judges found the campaign to be “a highly strategic and expertly executed programme that demonstrates the full power of integrated government relations, media and stakeholder engagement to influence both narrative and policy settings.”
They noted that the scale, coordination and discipline of the work was exceptional.
Chief judges Nikki Wright FPRINZ and Tracey Bridges LPRINZ say: “this is a standout piece of work that exemplifies the very best of modern public relations and is a deserving Supreme Award winner, demonstrating the impact that well-executed, strategically grounded communications can achieve.”
High calibre campaigns
One Plus One Communications won PR Consultancy of the Year (Large) while one of its team, Hannah Kronast, received the Sally Logan-Milne Young Practitioner of the Year.
Belle PR took home the Isentia Prize for Excellence in Research, Measurement and Evaluation while regional agencies The Shine Collective (Bay of Plenty) and Brainchild (Waikato) received Gold Awards in the Consultancy (Small to Medium) category.
PRINZ says the high calibre of the campaigns resulted in the highest number of gold awards in recent years.
The awards were supported by principal partner Isentia and sponsors Truescope, Streem, Telum Media, Momentum Consulting and Celebrity Speakers.
Full list of 2026 PRINZ Award winners
| Category | Winner |
| Isentia – Best Use of Digital and Social Media | |
| Gold | * Network Communication – National Blood Donor Week |
| Silver | * Breakout Room – The Teaseburger *Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – Ake Ake Ake – 50 years of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori |
| Bronze | * New Zealand Police – All roads lead to recruitment * Tertiary Education Commission – Job Hunters’ Workbook |
| Telum Media – Best Use of Media Relations | |
| Gold | * Development West Coast – Changing the narrative in a contested sector |
| Silver | * Network Communication – National Blood Donor Week * Association of Salaried Medical Specialists – Healing the Nelson Hospital * Barnardos Aotearoa – Media in action: Rallying and driving change for children |
| Bronze | * Scope Communications – Selling a Legend: How the Cardrona Hotel campaign became a national moment * Anthem – Spark Kids: Launching New Zealand’s First Purpose-Built Kids Mobile Plan * Great Scott – Making the longest day last even longer – Sharing Coast to Coast stories * FleishmanHillard Aotearoa – All Brads are equal at Macca’s * Ngāi Tahu Tourism – Celebrating 60 years of thrills on the Kimiākau * Māia – How WIPCE 2025 lifted Indigenous voices to lead the news |
| Best Use of Small Budget for Impact | |
| Gold | * Belle PR – Urban Miners Digital Graveyard – Tech or Treat |
| Silver | * Silvereye Communications – Craigieburn Basin Restoration Trust: Feel the Burn * ProCare – Patient Voice: How patients drove the fight for fair GP funding * Breakout Room – Raising awareness by asking people to ‘Please Ignore It’ |
| Bronze | * FleishmanHillard Aotearoa – All Brads are equal at Macca’s * Acumen New Zealand – Attracting more diverse learners to the trades |
| Streem – Corporate and Business Public Relations | |
| Gold | * Convergence Communications – Regional Investment in Business Done Well |
| Silver | * Alexander PR – Master Electricians: Building the backbone of New Zealand’s electrification future * Suncorp NZ – Insuring New Zealand’s Future: How Suncorp prepared Kiwis for the reality of climate risk |
| Bronze | * HMC Communications – Making Private Wealth a Public Conversation * One NZ – Leading the Way: How One NZ is building trust on its journey to become the most AI enabled telco |
| Community Relations and Engagement | |
| Gold | * Hamilton City Council – Election 2025 – Breaking Down Barriers |
| Silver | * Auckland Council – Taking the lead: protecting at-risk communities with dogged determination * Whakatāne District Council – Stand for Something | Tū Tūturu – Election campaign 2025 |
| Bronze | * Carterton District Council – Carterton District Council Community Survey – a fundamental shift * Great Scott – Night for Flight: Turning local stories into life-saving support * Māia – Te Paringa Tai – How WIPCE 2025 united diverse communities |
| Celebrity Speakers – Experiential and Activation | |
| Silver | * FleishmanHillard Aotearoa – Worst Children’s Library |
| Bronze | * Hamilton City Council – Election 2025 – Breaking Down Barriers |
| Government Relations and Public Affairs | |
| Gold | * ProCare – Patient Voice: How patients drove the fight for fair GP funding * Convergence Communications – Regional Investment Done Well * Development West Coast – Unlocking minerals through trust and policy alignment |
| Silver | * Alexander PR – Giving an industry its voice back: How Master Electricians used government relations and public affairs to reshape New Zealand’s electrification future |
| Bronze | * Suncorp NZ – Insuring New Zealand’s Future: How Suncorp shaped NZ’s National Adaptation Framework |
| Internal Communications | |
| Silver | * The New Zealand Automobile Association – AA App: Early employee access building confidence, readiness and advocacy * Summerset Retirement Villages – An EVP anthem unites Summerset’s employees * One NZ – Leading the Way: One NZ empowering every employee to work with AI Confidently and Responsibly |
| Bronze | * Spark – Introducing SPK 30 to Spark’s People * Port Marlborough NZ Ltd – Seen, Valued, Recognised |
| Truescope – Issues, Crisis or Reputation Management | |
| Bronze | * PowerNet Ltd – Backbone Broken: PowerNet’s October 2025 Storm Response * Auckland Airport – Karawhiua: Give it heaps! * One NZ – Swift, Values-Based Response: Managing reputational risk and protecting trust during the actress incident |
| Momentum Consulting – Marketing Communication | |
| Gold | * FleishmanHillard Aotearoa – The Pollination Tour * FleishmanHillard Aotearoa – Worst Children’s Library * Anthem – Spark Kids: Launching New Zealand’s First Purpose-Built Kids Mobile Plan * Te Taura Whiri i te Reo Māori – Ake Ake Ake – 50 years of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori |
| Silver | * Eleven PR – Scammers Bloom *FleishmanHillard Aotearoa – Kina Cottage |
| Bronze | * One Plus One Communications – Stopping the Stigma Surrounding Medicinal Cannabis * Eleven PR – ANZ x Auckland FC Record Season |
| PR In-house Team of the Year | |
| Gold | * CentrePort |
| Silver | * Development West Coast * Barnardos Aotearoa |
| Bronze | * Spark New Zealand * One NZ * University of Waikato |
| PR Consultancy of the Year (Small to Medium) | |
| Gold | * Brainchild *The Shine Collective |
| PR Consultancy of the Year (Large) | |
| Gold | One Plus One Communications |
| Sally Logan-Milne Young Practitioner of the Year Award | Hannah Kronast |
| Isentia Prize for Excellence in Research, Measurement and Evaluation | Belle PR for Urban Miners Digital Graveyard – Tech or Treat |
