Apex Porter Novelli Communication staff display their trophy after the firm won the Consumer Relations Campaign of the Year category during the PRSK awards ceremony held at Safari Park Hotel, Nairobi, on Friday.
BluePrint PR beat more than 10 rivals to win the best 2012 PR company of the year award at a gala organised by the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK).
The society’s 12th award ceremony, whose theme was “Inclusion and Diversity”, was held at the Safari Park Hotel in Nairobi on Friday night. BluePrint PR was feted for running the best PR campaign of the year with its Ma Youth Wa Kenya Mpo–Nipo drive.
Kenya Commercial Bank won the highest number of awards. KCB unseated CFC Stanbic to win the Corporate Publication of the Year award with its Cascade magazine.
KCB also won the Internal Communication Campaign of the Year award with the In Your Shoes campaign, and Technology Campaign of the Year with the Mobi Bank campaign.
“The awards will set the benchmark for PR in Kenya and the region thereby underscoring the outstanding PR achievements that have been made in the period under review,” said PRSK chairperson Kentice Tikolo.
The best consumer relations campaign award went to Apex Porter Novelli with the Longonot Gate Development, Apex also scooped the Public Affairs campaign of the Year award with its Kaa Chonjo campaign.
The evening saw Gina Din Corporate Communications win the PR Event of the Year award, while the Association of Kenya Insurers bagged the Agents of the Year and the Social Responsibility Campaign of the Year awards with Crown Paints Transforms your world.
Golden honours
Hill and Knowlton Strategies won the Sponsorship of the Year award with the Airtel Rising Stars campaign, while Imagine IMC bagged the Media Relations Campaign of the Year award with the Heineken UEFA Champions League Trophy Tour.
Patricia Kariuki, Stephen Wangaji, Waimiri Kungu, and Raphael Mworia were awarded golden honours for exemplary work in the industry. The local public relations profession has grown significantly, attracting external firms as evidenced by the increased number of job opportunities, consultancies, and academic institutions offering PR as a course.
Kenya has close to 40 registered PR firms which offer a diverse range of services to local and regional clients.
The entry of multinational firms in the country has boosted the public relations industry. Over the years, public and private sector organisations have embraced the use of PR as a strategic tool in reaching out to their clients.
A case in point is the PRSK’s registration of all Government ministry PR officers and the creation of PR dockets within parastals and other private organisations. A host of universities and mid-level colleges now offer PR courses. RSK was established in 1971.
