Weber Shandwick wins the MEPRA Agency of the Year

Seventeen award winners announced at the MEPRA Awards; Memac Ogilvy wins campaign of the year and Mubadala in-house team of the year

The Middle East’s public relations industry came together last night to celebrate its achievements over the last twelve months and honor the winners of the MEPRA Awards, the only awards competition for excellence in communications and public relations. A record-breaking 161 entries for the MEPRA Awards were whittled down to seventeen winners.

The top accolade, that of MEPRA Agency of the Year, was won by Weber Shandwick MENA. Memac Ogilvy Dubai won the Best Campaign award for The Autocomplete Truth initiative. Mubadala won the In-House Team of the Year. In total ten agencies and organizations won for their creativity and execution, with Weber Shandwick, Memac Ogilvy and Hill+Knowlton Strategies winning multiple categories.

The winners were selected by a distinguished jury of marketing and communications leaders from across different sectors and organizations. The jury selected entries that exemplified best practices across five categories – issue identification, research, strategic approach, planning, and execution. Entries were received from across the region, including from Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates, for the seventeen categories.

“The judges noted the quality of the entries this year, and they were impressed by how well the winners had managed to convey the underlying issue, the depth of research undertaken, the thought behind their strategic approach, the amount of planning which went into the winning campaigns, and the quality of execution,” said Carine Duvignaud, MEPRA’s General Manager. “This year’s award winning campaigns, agencies and organizations prove that the region has moved beyond what is traditionally viewed as a function that only embodies media relations to a profession that adds real value to the bottom line in terms of reputation building, issues awareness and incremental business.”

The full list of winners and highly commended campaigns is below and organized by award title, agency name and campaign name:

Sectors & Services

Best Consumer Goods Campaign – Memac Ogilvy PR Tunisia –Delice

Best Consumer Services Campaign – House of Comms – Bounce: The Free-Jumping Revolution

Best Consumer Services Campaign (Highly Commended) – Hill+Knowlton Strategies – WWE Riyadh Tour 2014

Best Corporate Reputation & Image Campaign – Weber Shandwick MENA – The DGC- X- Factor! How DGCX Transformed Its Regional and Global Profile

Best Corporate Social Responsibility & Environmental PR Campaign – Blue Rubicon – Action on Diabetes Ramadan Campaign

Best Government Communications Campaign – Hill+Knowlton Strategies – Inspiring a Sporting Generation – Qatar National Sports Day

Best Health Care & Services Campaign – Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – Break Away from Psoriasis

Best Business to Business Campaign – Weber Shandwick MENA – Credit Where It’s Due! Raising Understanding of S&P’s Role in Regional Capital Market Development

Best Internal Communications Campaign – ENEC – 123 Tarkeez

Techniques

Best Integrated Campaign – Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – The Autocomplete truth

Best Launch Live Event/Stunt – DABO & CO – The Launch of Nokia Lumia 1020: Reaching New Heights

Best Use of Media Relations – Mojo PR – ICAEW

Best Use of Social Media & Digital PR – Atlantis the Palm

Best Use of Sponsorship – Hill+Knowlton Strategies – “Winning the ultimate World Cup battle of the brands for Adidas”

People & Agencies

Agency of the Year – Weber Shandwick MENA

In-House Team of the Year – Mubadala

Best Overall Campaign of the Year – Memac Ogilvy PR Dubai – The Autocomplete truth

Dave Robinson Award for Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year – Becki Willis, Hill+Knowlton Strategies