PR News honored the year's most creative, resourceful and shareable campaigns at the 2016 Social Media Awards luncheon on June 6 at the Ritz-Carlton South Beach in Miami. These awards celebrated the organizations that took chances and made incredible strides in the rapidly evolving social media space. Both the winners and honorable mentions exhibited a keen knowledge and respect for the power of social media within the discipline of public relations.
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PR News 2016 Social Media Awards Winners and Honorable Mentions
Social Media Team
Co-Winner: The Motherhood Inc.
Co-Winner: UN Foundation—Public Affairs
Honorable Mention:
- AT&T with FleishmanHillard - Mobilizing Your World
- Bayer Corporation - Communications Gets Scientifically Social
- Beach House PR + Social
- Klick Communications
- MWWPR - Social Strategy Practice
- Schneider Electric - Social is ON at Schneider Electric
App
Winner: The Honest Company—#Honest Loves Max
Honorable Mention:
- Remington Park - Global Gaming Solutions - MyRemington
Blog
Winner: McMurry/TMG - Health Essentials from Cleveland Clinic
Honorable Mention:
- The Coca-Cola Company - Coca-Cola Journey
- Liberty Mutual Insurance - The Torch: A Guide To Safe & Smart Living
- O'Reilly DePalma - SteamTherapy Blog for MrSteam
- USANA Health Sciences - Whats Up, USANA?
- Workfront - Structure vs. Creativity
Facebook | Community Engagement
Co-Winner: Aflac—What Does a Duck Say? Aflac!
Co-Winner: Dixon Schwabl—Faces of Freedom
Honorable Mention:
- Milton Hershey School - Office of Communications
- National Audubon Society - Making Facebook Take Flight by Cultivating a Vibrant Online Community
Facebook | Contests/Games
Winner: Sallie Mae—Good Things Come to Those Who Plan
Honorable Mention:
- 97 Degrees West/United Heritage Credit Union - Summer Showtime
- Deveney Communication - Windsor Court Hotel's "30 Ways to Give Back"
- Dixon Schwabl - Frontier Communications Takes a Virtual Road Trip through the Great 28
- Hollywood Public Relations - The Original Muck Boot Company "LifeInMyBoots" Sweepstakes
- U.S. Bank - #DIYFails Quiz/Contest
Facebook | Marketing Campaign
Winner: Weber Shandwick & GSK—What's Your Why? Campaign
Honorable Mention:
- The Brandon Agency - Duplin Winery
- Eastwick's Digital Brand Lab Helps BMC Bring #ModernIT to Life
- Finn Partners - Jamba Juice: Blending in the Good for 25 Years
- Lincoln Financial Group - Real Chief Life Officer
- Media Horizons on Behalf of Schwan's Home Services, Inc. - New Customer Acquisition Campaign
- The Stanislaus County Fair - Imagine the Fun; Imagine the Memories
Facebook | PR Campaign
Winner: RockOrange—Macy's + Thalia Sodi—Fashion Show & Facebook Media Launch
Honorable Mention:
- American Heart Association - My 5 Years
- Children's Specialized Hospital - #FightFace
- Coyne Public Relations - Seniors Get Social with Humana & National Senior Games
- The Economist Group - The Economist Independence Campaign
Facebook | Promoted Post
Winner: Solomon McCown & Company—Lahey Health: World Prematurity Day
Honorable Mention:
- Live Nation Entertainment - Dixie Chicks Tour Announce Campaign
- Schneider Electric - simple actions also bring great results
Facebook | Social Good Campaign
Winner: Mars, Incorporated—M&M'S Red Nose Day Campaign
Honorable Mention:
- American Kidney Fund - Spreading Awareness. Spreading Inspiration.
- Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging - #SaveALife
Facebook | Use of Video
Co-Winner: Children's Specialized Hospital—#FightFace
Co-Winner: Periscope—Buffalo Wild Wings Alive Events
Honorable Mention:
- Kaiser Permanente - Random Acts of Health
- Munchkin Inc. - Orcas Live in Oceans
- Schneider Electric - Company Story: Live is On
- The Stanislaus County Fair - Imagine the Fun; Imagine the Memories
- UN Foundation - #EarthToParis Anthem Video
- Weber Shandwick & GSK - Kick Start Your Quit Journey
- West Virginia University - Defining our manifesto: a WVU social media video series
- Whistle Sports - The Shot Doctor
Instagram | Marketing Campaign
Winner: Prudential—#20StoriesOfStrength
Honorable Mention:
- FreshDirect - #FDFriendsgiving
- Halo, Purely for Pets - #HaloFeeditForward at Barkworld 2015
- Visit Houston - #MyHouston
Instagram | PR Campaign
Winner: Honest Tea—#RefreshinglyHonest Campaign
Honorable Mention:
- American Kidney Fund - Practicing what we Preach
- Edelman & AKQA with Activision - Destiny: The Taken King - Xuriosity
- InStyle Awards
- UN Foundation - Girl Up Team
LinkedIn | Marketing Campaign
Winner: CompTIA—#CompTIAPerks
Honorable Mention:
- Jackson National Life Insurance Company - Jackson Associate Longevity Campaign
Periscope Campaign
Winner: Experian—#CreditScope
Honorable Mention:
- MSLGROUP - Similac's #EndMommyWars Roundtable
- Seminole Hard Rock Tampa - Seminole Hard Rock Girls
Snapchat | Marketing Campaign
Winner: Hyatt Hotels—It's Good Not To Be Home
Honorable Mention:
- West Virginia University - WVU engages with prospective students using Snapchat
Twitter | Community Engagement
Co-Winner: Bayer Corporation—Bayer gets scientifically social
Co-Winner: Hyatt Hotels—How Hyatt Uses Social Customer Service to Better Care for Guests
Honorable Mention:
- Dwell - #ModernMonday
- Hofstra University - A Day in the Pride + My Pride Monday
- lotus823 for Audio-Technica - Breaking into Gaming
- Mars, Incorporated - M&M'S 1 Million Tastes of Crispy Giveaway: #NashHasCrispy
- Weber Shandwick & Milk Processor Education Program - Get Real: Rallying Around The Truth About Milk
Twitter | PR Campaign
Winner: Baylor Scott & White Health—#HeartTXLive: First-ever Live Tweet of a Heart Transplant
Honorable Mention:
- Acorn: An Influence Company - #AcornKisses Twitter Party
- Cohn & Wolfe - Debuting Optic White's #BrilliantSmile & #BrilliantStyle on the CMA Awards 2014 Red Carpet
- Hyundai Motor America - Drive Your Phone
- MasterCard - Cashless Challenge
- Murphy O'Brien Public Relations - The Beverly Hilton Golden Globes Campaign
- Oregon Department of Transportation - Work Zone Safety Awareness
- Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems - Poland Patriot
- The Royal Agricultural Winter Fair Association of Canada - Turbo The Goat takes Transit to The Fair
Twitter | Promoted Tweet Campaign
Winner: Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems—Poland Patriot
Honorable Mention:
- MasterCard Worldwide Communications - MasterCard Wearables Announcement Meme
- Raytheon Company - Raytheon Paris Air Show Campaign
- Trend Micro/HCK2 Partners - re:Invent
Twitter | Social Good Campaign
Winner: Golin on behalf of Astellas—#pass4prostate: Astellas' unlikely match to raise awareness for prostate cancer
Honorable Mention:
- Acorn: An Influence Company - #WeSparkChange
- Mars, Incorporated - M&M'S Red Nose Day Campaign
Twitter | Tweet Content
Winner: Periscope—Buffalo Wild Wings Posts Post Game Report
Honorable Mention:
- IW Group - McDonald's New York Tri-State Social Media
Twitter | Use of Hashtags
Winner: Mars, Incorporated—M&M'S Red Nose Day Campaign
Honorable Mention:
- Acorn: An Influence Company - #TryImpressa Hashtag
- Center for Audit Quality - Auditor Proud
- Children's Specialized Hospital - #FightFace
- FGL Sports Ltd. (Sport Chek) - #MyNorth
- Live Nation Entertainment - #RIPMotleyCrue Campaign
- Mars, Incorporated - M&M'S 1 Million Tastes of Crispy Giveaway: #NashHasCrispy
- Periscope - Buffalo Wild Wings #TweetShirtCanon
- Trend Micro/HCK2 Partners - #ProtectYourNet
- UN Foundation - #EarthToParis
Use of Images
Winner: EC Hispanic Media—Pinterest Case Study
Honorable Mention
- CompTIA - Top 10 Help Desk Pet Peeves Campaign
- Safe Kids Worldwide - How to Not Get Hit by a Car
- Texas County & District Retirement System - TCDRS Facebook Photo Essays
YouTube | Content
Co-Winner: Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center—Shake It Off
Co-Winner: SheKnows Media—#HatchKids
Honorable Mention
- athenahealth - Let Doctors Be Doctors
- FGL Sports Ltd. (Sport Chek) - Stamkos vs. Drone
- Munchkin Inc. - Orcas Live in Oceans
- Time Warner Cable - TWC Uses Drone to Reconnect Texas Flood Victims
YouTube | PR or Marketing Campaign
Winner: MasterCard Worldwide Communications—MasterCard EMV Makeover Video Series
Honorable Mention
- Coyne Public Relations - Seniors Get Social with Humana & National Senior Games
- National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers - NACDL Presents: The Right to Counsel Video
- The Stanislaus County Fair - Imagine the Fun
- Weber Shandwick & National Pork Board - "Grill Crashers" Campaign
- Zoosk - Joan Actually Dating Advice