Automotive Award 

Identifies work across the automotive and transport PR sector. This can include motor manufacturers, trade bodies, or work aimed at customers and driving sales. Work could cover campaigns relating to transport and automotive services, initiative, and products.

B2B Award – Sponsored by 3Gem

Recognises work that involves the promotion of products and services from one business to another. Entries can relate to a niche business sector or to the business community at large.

B2B Technology Award

This category showcases work for technology products, services, or brands, targeted at the business market.

Broadcast Award

This award recognises campaigns that use the broadcast medium effectively, either on its own or as part of an of an integrated programme of PR and targeted marketing activity. This can include podcasts, radio, TV, film, and entertainment.

Consumer Award – High Budget – Sponsored by Markettiers

(More than £50,000)

This category will recognise work that involves the promotion of products or services to consumers, working with a high budget (above

£50,000). This category is open to the private, public, or charitable sectors.

Consumer Award – Low Budget

(Less than £50,000)

The winning entrant will display successful use of a low budget (less than £50,000), involving the promotion of products or services to consumers. This category is open to the private, public or charitable sectors. Judges will be paying particularly close attention to budgets, ensuring that the winning entry has shown sufficient financials, while retaining innovation and creative thinking.

Consumer Award – In-House 

This award will showcase work that involves the promotion of products or services to consumers, delivered by the private, public, voluntary or charitable sectors.

Consumer Technology Award – Sponsored by 3Gem

This award highlights work for technology products, services, or brands, targeted at the consumer market.

Corporate, Financial, and Investor Relations Award 

This award showcases work across the whole range of financial PR, including investor relations, stakeholder engagement, and corporate affairs.

Crisis And Issues Management Award – Sponsored by Polpeo

Entries will recognise the work undertaken in a crisis situation and/or managing difficult issues. This might be by promoting an alternative perspective, or indeed by keeping an issue out of the media altogether. The successful entry will show effective communication strategy, including objectives and method deployed in a time of crisis. Judges are especially aware of the need for discretion in this category.

Digital and Social Media Award – Sponsored by Talkwalker

This category will highlight the campaigns that include a large element of digital and social media work. This can be individually or as part of an integrated programme of PR and targeted marketing activity. If a part of a longer-term project, clear aims and outcomes of the overall goal should be identified as well as the specific activity.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

This award showcases work furthering efforts towards a more diverse, equitable and inclusive society. This could include both internal or client work and might be focused on ethnicity, age, disability, sexuality, gender identity, religious belief, socioeconomic background, educational attainment, neurodiversity or any other aspect of diversity.

Employee Engagement Award

This award recognises campaigns that use internal communications to engage staff, drive organisational change, deliver increased stakeholder value, or change an organisation’s ethos. Entries should detail how on-going strategy has shown significant improvement and further engagement within the internal team.

Health and Wellbeing Award

This category will cover work across the whole range of healthcare and well-being PR, including the NHS, private healthcare, pharma, and medical research (including animal research).

Campaigns and/or projects could relate to a healthcare issue, consumer healthcare product, facility, or initiative.

International Campaign Award – Sponsored by OnePoll

This award recognises work by a UK organisation that engages international media, clients or stakeholders. The campaign must have run over a minimum of two countries excluding the UK and clear identification of how the campaign may have been altered, if applicable, to the different markets.

Media Relations Award – Sponsored by Vuelio

This award recognises campaigns that use targeted media relations to achieve creative, imaginative and outstanding results. The use of supporting material may be effective when needing to stand out from the crowd in this category.

Not-for-Profit and Charity Award – Sponsored by Higginson Strategy

This category will recognise work by/or on behalf of charities, voluntary and not-for-profit organisations. If there is a fundraising aspect to your entry, you must include an explanation of how the entry has contributed to the financial stability or fundraising objectives of the organisation.

Public Sector, Value for Money Award – Sponsored by Markettiers

Open to local authorities, public sector agencies, local bodies, and government departments. The winning entrant will have displayed work on a singular specific topic that has shown effective and impressive results in the public sector. This could include topical societal issues, the environment, health, or crime.

Purpose Award – Sponsored by PA Mediapoint 

Recognising societal need, impact made, employee engagement, CEO activism and links to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. The winning entry will need to show clear evidence of the campaign’s ultimate impact, as well as demonstrating a strong link to business objectives. One-off campaigns with a strong rationale will still be considered.

Also on the night the PRCA will award consultancy and in-house winners for:
– Campaign of the Year sponsored by Talkwalker
– Best Use of Planning, Research and Evaluation in a campaign sponsored by CARMA.
(If you enter a campaign category you are automatically entered into the running for both of these).

Young Communicator of The Year Award

Open to NextGen* Individuals in both consultancies and in-house teams. The winner will be recognised for an outstanding performance within their organisation and to the wider PR industry. Nominations for this award can be made by the individual themselves, a colleague, or employer. Organisations can enter any number of entries.

Please note: If you enter this award and are shortlisted, you will need be available for interview on Thursday, 29th September, 2022 as a part of the judging process.

*A NextGen individual is anyone under the age of 30 years old at the time of the final entry deadline on 11th July, 2022.

PR Leader of The Year Award – Sponsored by PA Mediapoint 

Judges will look for an individual (or joint heads) who have succeeded in making communications a strategic priority within their organisation, supporting or leading the organisation’s broader objectives.

The individual (or joint heads) will have shown outstanding performance, made a significant contribution to the industry and to their organisations. Nominations for this award can be made by the individual or a colleague and organisations can submit any number of entries.

Please note: If you enter this award and are shortlisted, you will need be available for interview on Thursday, 29th September, 2022 as a part of the judging process.

Mark Mellor, Outstanding Contribution Award
The Mark Mellor Award recognises exceptional achievement in, and contributions to, the development of the PR industry. The winner will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on 15^th  November.

Diversity Award – Sponsored by Milk & Honey PR

For judging criteria and information on what to include in your entry, please download our UK Awards Toolkit on the homepage.

This award recognises an PR agencies or in-house PR teams championing diversity, inclusivity and change within the industry. This could include both internal or client work to attract and retain a more diverse workforce, to ensure that talent from all backgrounds is reaching leadership levels, or to engage with, and learn from, diverse audiences in new ways that deliver measurable communications or business success. The winning entry will show clear evidence of the positive impact that the work of the PR agencies or in-house PR team is having on diversity. Please note: If you enter this award and are shortlisted you will need be available for interview on Thursday, 29^th September, 2022 as a part of the judging process.

Sustainability Award
The sustainability award celebrates environmental best practice. It  recognises work to improve the carbon footprint of a business or agency. Work should include footprint measurement and action, initiatives and policies to reduce environmental impact and evidence of progress as well as transparent reporting and roadmaps.

Please note: If you enter this award and are shortlisted you will need be available for interview on Friday, 30^th September, 2022 as a part of the judging process.

International Consultancy Award – Sponsored by Censuswide

This category is open to any consultancy, whether multi-discipline or niche; UK or internationally-based. Essentials to include: number of employees, date of incorporation, and details of turnover (acquisitions must be disclosed). Judges will be looking for clear objectives and analysis of performance alongside budgets, growth, and retention within staff and client base. Financial performance and growth will be assessed, and consultancies will be commended for their dedication to diversity.

Please outline initiatives you may have in place to encourage under-represented groups. More information can be obtained from the Rules of Entry page on the PRCA UK Awards website.

Specialist Consultancy Award

This category is open to any UK-based consultancy or team within a consultancy that specialises in a specific sector or PR discipline. Essentials to include: number of employees, date of incorporation, and details of turnover (acquisitions must be disclosed). Judges will be looking for clear objectives and analysis of performance alongside budgets, growth, and retention within staff and client base. Financial performance and growth will be assessed, and consultancies will be commended for their dedication to diversity. Please outline initiatives you may have in place to encourage under- represented groups. More information can be obtained from the Rules of Entry page on the PRCA UK Awards website.

New Consultancy Award

This category is open to any UK-based consultancy, whether multi-discipline or niche, founded up to 24 months prior to the entry deadline, 21^st July, 2020. Essentials to include: number of employees, date of incorporation, and details of turnover (acquisitions must be disclosed). Judges will be looking for clear objectives and analysis of performance alongside budgets, growth, and retention within staff and client base. Financial performance and growth will be assessed, and consultancies will be commended for their dedication to diversity. Please outline initiatives you may have in place to encourage under-represented groups. More information can be obtained from the Rules of Entry page on the PRCA UK Awards website.

Small Consultancy Award – Sponsored by Reuben Sinclair

This category is open to any UK-based consultancy, whether multi-discipline or niche, with a PR fee income of up to £2million.

For judging criteria and information on what to include in your entry, please download our UK Awards Toolkit on the homepage.

Medium Consultancy Award 

This category is open to any UK-based consultancy, whether multi-discipline or niche, with a PR fee income between £2.01million and £7.5million.

For judging criteria and information on what to include in your entry, please download our UK Awards Toolkit on the homepage.

Large Consultancy Award – Sponsored by PoliMonitor

This category is open to any UK based consultancy, whether multi-discipline or niche, with a PR fee income of over £7.5million.

For judging criteria and information on what to include in your entry, please download our UK Awards Toolkit on the homepage.

In-House Team – Private Sector Award – Sponsored by CARMA

This category is open to any UK-based in-house private, not-for-profit, or public sector PR and communications team. Judges will look for the role PR and communications play in the wider organisation, effective use of resources, and general contribution to the organisation’s objectives. As with all team categories, judges will mark your entry against the following criteria: team performance, staff, financial, and innovation. More information can be obtained from the Rules of Entry page on the PRCA UK Awards website.

In-House Team – Public Sector Award – Sponsored by OnePoll

This category is open to any UK-based in-house private, not-for-profit or public sector PR and communications team. Judges will look for the role PR and communications play in the wider organisation, effective use of resources and general contribution to the organisation’s objectives. As with all team categories, judges will mark your entry against the following criteria: team performance, staff, financial, and innovation. More information can be obtained from the Rules of Entry page on the PRCA UK Awards website.