The Public Relations Society of America's National Capital Chapter celebrated the value of public relations and honored the talent and innovation in Washington public relations professionals at its 41st annual Thoth Awards, held at the historic Willard InterContinental Hotel.
Nearly 150 guests attended to witness presentations of 44 awards across 28 categories. Thoth Awards were given to 24 winners, and 20 Certificates of Excellence were also presented. Award recipients included a wide array of Washington area public relations agencies, companies, government organization, and trade and professional associations.
The Thoth “Best of Show” award, photo above, was presented to Oceana for its “Cut the Bait” campaign. The campaign had clear goals and objectives through research and planning, impressive implementation and one of the most comprehensive evaluations and metrics. Oceana also received the Thoth Award for Global Communication, a Certificate of Excellence for Public Affairs/Issues Management and the Thoth Award for Speeches.
A news seminar was hosted prior to the gala to discuss the future of news and the changing role of journalists and PR professionals with regard to public communications. A panel of industry leaders, shown above, from both fields shared their perspectives on the working relationship between public relations and media professionals and the economic and technological challenges facing each group. The panelists included Thomas Burr, senior Washington correspondent of The Salt Lake Tribune, Beth Frerking, assistant managing editor of Politico, Mark Hamrick, business editor for broadcast of Associated Press, Keith M. Kupferschmid, senior vice president, intellectual property policy & enforcement of Software and Information Industry Association, and Robert Mathias, managing director/Washington of Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide. The panel was moderated by Debbi Jarvis, vice president of communications of PEPCO Holdings.
Thoth Awards and Certificates of Excellence presented included:
Program Awards
Community Relations
- Thoth – Fairfax County Public Schools
Reputation/Brand Management
- Thoth – Xenophon Strategies
Events and Observances (seven or fewer days)
- Thoth – CRT/tanaka
- Certificate of Excellence – Biotechnology Industry Organization
Events and Observances (more than seven days)
- Thoth – GolinHarris and West Virginia Cable Telecommunications Association
- Certificate of Excellence – Crosby Marketing Communications and Anne Arundel County Department of Health
Public Service
- Thoth – Ketchum DC
- Certificate of Excellence – Crosby Marketing Communications and Catholic Communication Campaign
- Certificate of Excellence – Crosby Marketing Communications and Catholic Campaign for Human Development
Public Affairs/Issues Management
- Thoth – Hyde Park Communications
- Certificate of Excellence – Oceana
- Certificate of Excellence – Air Transport Association
Marketing Consumer Products & Services
- Thoth – Ketchum DC and ConAgra Foods
Marketing Business-to-Business Products & Services
- Certificate of Excellence – Maryland Health Care Commission and Van Eperen Public Relations
Global Communications
- Thoth – Oceana
Crisis Communications/Issues Management
- Thoth – Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and American Chemistry Council
Internal Communications
- Thoth – Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and Appraisal Institute
Multicultural Public Relations
- Thoth – Ketchum DC
Integrated Communications
- Thoth – Booz Allen Hamilton
- Certificate of Excellence – Susan Davis International
- Certificate of Excellence – American Legacy Foundation
Component Awards
Media Relations
- Thoth – CRT/tanaka and George Washington Foundation
- Certificate of Excellence – American Legacy Foundation
- Certificate of Excellence – Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and Jones Apparel Group
Online Communications
- Thoth – Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and Lenovo
- Certificate of Excellence – U.S. Department of Defense Emerging Media Directorate
Annual Reports
- Thoth – National Capital Planning Commission
- Certificate of Excellence – American Society for Training and Development
Newsletters/Electronic Version
- Certificate of Excellence – GovBenefits.gov
Magazines, Print Version
- Certificate of Excellence – Practice Greenhealth
Brochures/Print Version
- Thoth – Crosby Marketing Communications and Turbohaul
Press Kits/Media Kits
- Thoth – Booz Allen Hamilton and Real Warriors Campaign
Direct Mail/Direct Response
- Thoth – U.S. Army Post-Deployment Health Reassessment Program
Public Service Announcement
- Thoth – Crosby Marketing Communications and Catholic Campaign for Human Development
- Certificate of Excellence – Crosby Marketing Communications and Catholic Campaign for Human Development
- Certificate of Excellence – Booz Allen Hamilton and Real Warriors Campaign
Speeches
- Thoth – Oceana
Feature Stories, Editorials, Op-Ed Columns
- Thoth – Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association
Web Sites (external, internal or extranets)
- Thoth – Research!America
- Certificate of Excellence – U.S. Department of Defense Emerging Media Directorate
- Certificate of Excellence – Crosby Marketing Communications and Catholic Communication Campaign
External Video Programs
- Thoth – Montgomery County Office of Public Information
Satellite Media Tour
- Certificate of Excellence – Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide and the Federal Emergency Management Agency