Christchurch Entry Wins National PRINZ Award

A joint entry by Convergence Communications and Social Innovation won the Supreme Award at the 2012 NZ Public Relations Institute Awards, for communications by the Student Volunteer Army following the 22 February earthquake.

The win marks the second time in the last three years that Convergence has won the Special Project or Event category, which always attracts the majority of entries. The PR consultancy which has offices in Auckland and Christchurch also won in 2010 for its marketing and promotion of Auckland’s Splore music festival.

Awards chief judge Anna Radford said the Student Volunteer Army campaign captured the public’s imagination and support. “Working in a crisis situation with limited resources and budget, the Student Volunteer Army’s organisers achieved outstanding results by leveraging community empathy through clever mass media targeting and social media savvy.”

PRINZ President Jane Dodd said, “The project was well-planned and executed and a great example of leading edge work in the public relations sector.”

Erin Jamieson said Convergence was proud to partner with Sam Johnson from the Student Volunteer Army and Louis Brown from Social Innovation by working pro bono, together with financial support from Convergence client Mercury Energy. “Not only are the awards recognition of the work undertaken by our team, it highlights the importance of excellent communications during an emergency.

Other Christchurch entries were also successful. University of Canterbury won the Not for Profit Public Relations award for its response to the Canterbury Quake, while Christchurch City Council was highly commended in the Government or Quasi Government Public Relations with Environment Canterbury also highly commended for Internal Communications category.

“The communications industry in Christchurch, like all other businesses, was severely tested and stretched during the Canterbury earthquakes,” said Erin Jamieson. “The awards received are testament to the hard work and talent of the communications professionals who choose to live in Christchurch.”

ENDS

© Scoop Media