The Anvil Awards, considered to be “the Oscars” of the PR industry in the Philippines, is presented annually by the Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) to recognize excellent PR campaigns that have impact on their target audience and the society in general.
The 54th Anvil Awards was highlighted by the digitization of the awards process, a first in the Anvil’s 54-year history. Under the new digital system, submission of entries, screening, judging, and payment were undertaken electronically.
Anvil’s Gabi ng Parangal on January 30 concluded with 181 Anvil trophies presented to outstanding public-relation programs and tools in 2018. Andy Saracho, APR chairman of the 54th Anvil Awards, announced that 121 Anvils were awarded to campaigns under the PR Programs category while 60 awards were handed to entries under PR Tools.
Under the PR Programs category, 88 Silver Anvil awardees, 33 Gold Anvil awardees The Grand Anvil were awarded to the entry “STI Mobile School: Driving Education Where IT Matters in the Age of K-12” of STI ESG and PageOne Inc.
For PR Tools, 17 Gold and 43 Silver Anvils were awarded. Adjudged Platinum Anvil Awardees were the entries “On the March: the Jesuits in the Philippines Since the Restoration” of Media Wise Communications Inc. and “OMGeo Vlog Series: the Geothermal Effect” of Energy Development Corp. and PageOne Inc.
The Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. was awarded Company of the Year while PageOne Inc. won the Agency of the Year Award.
Dr. Alfredo Pascual, chief executive officer of the Institute of Corporate Directors, chaired the multisectoral panel of judges that evaluated the short-listed Anvil entries.
What makes an excellent PR campaign?
According to DDB Group Philippines, one of the top 3 finalists for Agency of the Year in the 53rd Anvil Awards last year, the shift in the use of public relations toward supporting both the marketing objectives and the corporate social-responsibility initiatives of companies and institutions is very much evident these days.
The PR programs and tools that usually win in the industry’s highest accolades were those considered highly effective not only in raising brand loyalty and awareness, but also informing and educating the public and building consumer trust and engagement; and also those that serve higher human and community needs, according to the group.
Couple with the use of social media, the campaigns amplify content among various target audiences.
And with more Filipinos hooked on the Internet, the more the campaigns become successful as more audiences get engaged and share their experiences.
For the PRSP, only the legitimate PR programs and tools will find their way to the Anvil Awards, being the vanguard of the PR profession implementing the Anvil with utmost credibility based on the following criteria: result and social impact, sustainability, and innovation. These are what it takes to be a winner: the program should be innovative, trailblazing, and game-changing or transformative.
That’s why the PRSP, turning 62 this year, continues to be the guiding body of Filipino communicators and PR practitioners. More than just uniting the country’s communicators and PR practitioners, PRSP intends to live up to the very DNA, which it was created for: Promoting professional integrity based on sound and ethical practice. PRSP President Ritzi Villarico Ronquillo, APR, affirmed this in an earlier interview by this writer for the BusinessMirror.