AUT student winners of 2010 PR Practice Award

Network PR announces AUT student winners for 2010 PR Practice Award

A highly successful public relations campaign for the New Zealand Rugby Foundation (NZRF) has won a group of AUT Communications students the annual Network PR Practice Award.

The Network PR Practice Award recognises excellence in planning and executing real life campaigns for not-for-profit organisations, which AUT public relations students complete as their final programme assessment.

The winning group organised a celebrity wheelchair rugby match to raise the profile of the NZRF’s No8 brand and created a valuable online sponsorship platform for the organisation. The group members were Isaac Banks, Victoria Ellis, Angela Pointon, James Roberts and Safia van der Zwan.

Network PR’s Auckland General Manager, Jane Dodd, says the group’s passion and commitment shone through in the quality of their work and the fantastic results they achieved for their client.

“As a whole, the teams demonstrated a good grasp of what makes a successful PR campaign, and it is very exciting to see such capable and enthusiastic young practitioners entering the profession.”

AUT’s Head of PR and Communications Management, Joseph Peart, says the Award gives students the chance to hone their presentation skills and learn what is required in a professional pitching situation.

“We’re delighted that Network PR’s sponsorship provides our students with this opportunity to showcase their work in front of an industry judging panel. This presentation demands that they measure results and are accountable for the outcomes according to professional best practice.”

Guest judge Jennifer Baird, Marketing Manager for Auckland real estate company Barfoot & Thompson, says the teams have created an excellent foundation for their clients that will endure beyond their involvement in the project.

The student team supporting a rebranding of the Gynaecological Cancer Foundation was this year’s runner-up. The group included Kate Allinson, Courtney Bennett, Moniquea Frear and Jess Miller.

The student groups working for the Sophie Elliot Foundation (Kristina Adell, Naomi Ball, Tereza Burgess, Jordan Schuler and Pavel Zivnustka) and the Great Potentials Foundation (Charissa Burchell, Maia Harrison, Robert Steven and Nicole Wall) were also recognised as finalists.

The Network PR Practice Award is open to third year and post-graduate students in the Bachelor of Communications and Post Graduate Diploma in Communications at AUT University for work they do for non-profit clients in their final year of study. All Communications students were invited to submit their project to be eligible for the award, and four finalist groups were then invited to present to the judging panel.

Over four months, AUT University students run their own public relations agency, Outside the Square, in which they work voluntarily, under supervision, for non-profit clients. Each year, more than 20 AUT student projects provide clients with project management and publicity valued between $5,000 and $20,000 per campaign.

ENDS

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