MANILA – The much coveted Anvil Awards of the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) continues the tradition of awarding exemplary public relations programs and tools. Now on its 51st year, the PRSP received 326 entries – 192 PR Programs and 134 PR Tools.
Of these entrants, the partnership of an NGO (the Center for Health Solutions and Innovations Phils. Inc.) and a media agency (PageOne Media) emerged as the top winner taking home the Grand Anvil Award during the glitzy awards night attended by more than 800 PR practitioners.
The winning PR program, “You For You (U4U): Educating the Youth About the Risk of Teenage Pregnancy,” addresses a growing concern that the youth have become more “permissive” and increasingly more “aggressive” given popular culture, but unfortunately unprepared for its consequences. Utilizing a multi-platform and highly interactive campaign, U4U has reached more than a million teenagers with desired behavior changes.
The Anvil Award is the most prestigious award in public relations in the Philippines. It is awarded by a distinguished multi-sectoral jury to outstanding PR programs and tools. An Anvil Award is given only if the high standards set by the jury members are met.
PRSP President Ramon “Bong” Osorio, APR, observed that, “this year’s Anvil entries and winners in both programs and tools categories are impressive. The programs are tremendously laudable, while the tools are creatively friendly and realistic. They demonstrate and live the principle of public relations that is all about great performance with great results.”
For his part, Ron F. Jabal, APR, 51st Anvil Awards Chairman, said that, “We are very excited and elated about the turnout for this year’s Anvil Awards. We are especially pleased by the number of excellent PR programs and tools which clearly show that companies are giving more attention and resources to the work of its PR departments and more than anything else a very strong indication of the outstanding creativity of PR practitioners.”
Other major winners are top corporations which were recognized with Platinum trophies – Metrobank Foundation’s 2014 Annual Report entitled “Empowering Filipinos, Building the Nation,” ABS-CBN’s “Pope TYSM (Thank You Sa Malasakit)” – a compilation of social media feedback on Pope Francis’ Philippine visit in 2015, and Warner TV (Turner Broadcasting System Asia-Pacific, Inc.) / Grupo Agatep’s “Warner TV: Bringing Shows to Life” omnibus multi-media presentation.
There were two Hall of Fame Awardees this year, namely: “Metrobank Foundation Art and Design Excellence (MADE)” (PR Program) – for its multi-platform initiative encompassing various aspects of art; and Petron’s “Vision Petron: Folio Magazine” (PR Tool) – for bringing Philippine art and culture to the attention of the Filipino youth in the development of its content and design treatment.
To further spice up the 51st Anvil Awards, two new awards were given these are: the “PR Agency of the Year Award” and the “Company of the Year Award.” The PR Agency of the Year Award is given to a PR Agency that garners the most number of trophies (e.g. Platinum, Gold, Silver); while the Company of the Year Award is given to the company/organization that garners the most number of Gold Awards.
The “PR Agency of the Year” is Stratworks, Inc. while the “Company of the Year Award” went to Metrobank Foundation, Inc. and Smart Communications which tied for the number of metal haul.
Dr. Donald Lim of ABS-CBN, Chairman of the Board of Jurors, said “the jurors were overwhelmed with the volume of entries. The excellent quality of the submissions made our task doubly harder in finding the best. We are proud to present to the PR industry this year’s crop of winners, as they truly embody the best our country’s best traditional and digital minds can offer; that can even benchmark against global standards.”
In image: Center for Health Solutions and Innovations Phils. Inc. and PageOne Media win the Grand Anvil during the 51st Anvil Awards held at the Makati Shangri-la Hotel.
