Special Edition: Inside the winning campaigns of the PR Daily's Digital PR and Social Media Awards

The winners of the first-ever PR Daily Digital PR and Social Media Awards are diverse—they include a couple of nonprofits, one of the world’s largest automakers, several PR firms, a casino, an airline, and a bitchin’ kitchen.

Despite their differences, all of the winners share a common trait: They were bold.

Whether it was a tech company’s bold attempt to hijack its competitor’s conference or a nonprofit communicator’s bold reporting trip to the Horn of Africa, the winners reveal a courageous streak among PR and marketing people in the digital age—it’s a brave new world, and they’re not afraid to dive in.

PR Daily’s 2012 Digital PR and Social Media Awards were presented by Synaptic Digital. Learn more about Synaptic Digital here (pdf).

Thanks to everyone who took part in the awards—and thanks for being part of the PR Daily community. Now sit back and learn why these winners finished at the head of a tight pack.

Want to see your hard work recognized? Enter PR Daily's 2013 Digital PR Awards!


Best Blog
Winner:

Caesars Entertainment

Honorable Mentions:
Adfero Group and American Airlines Cargo
Black Duck Software
Cook Children's Health Care System
Definition 6 and LexisNexis for Lawyers.com
Likeable Media
National Peace Corps Association
Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute

Best Community Manager
Winner:
Angelique Picanco for Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen

Honorable Mentions:
Applied Robotics, Inc.
BCV and InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco
MD Anderson Cancer Center

Best Content Marketing/Brand Journalism Site
Winner:
Adfero Group and American Airlines Cargo

Honorable Mentions:
Blue Fountain Media
CSC Global Brand and Digital Marketing
Forsythe Technology
Levick Strategic Communications
Nissan Global Media Center

Best Crisis Management
Co-Winners:
Spirit AeroSystems
Weber Shandwick and American Airlines

Honorable Mentions:
AMD Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Chevrolet - General Motors
Levick Strategic Communications

Best Digital Marketing Campaign
Winner:
Cramer and ableBanking

Honorable Mentions: 
AMD C Squared Advertising and Ainsworth Engineered
HORN
Ignite Social Media, LLC and Chrysler Group
Informatica Corporation
Porter Novelli New Zealand and WilliamsWarn
PR Newswire Association and Apple Vacations

Best Digital Newsroom
Winner:
Just A Pinch Recipe Club 

Honorable Mentions: 
MWW and Nikon Inc.
TURKCELL

Best Digital PR Campaign
Winner:
The Clorox Company and Ketchum

Honorable Mentions: 
Allrecipes.com and 360 Public Relations
AMD
Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Mullen and CENTURY 21
MWW and Bowling Proprietors' Association of America
RadioShack and Weber Shandwick

Best Email Marketing Campaign
Winner:
Noble Strategic Partners, Inc. and Smoke-Free Texas Campaign

Honorable Mentions: 
Agri Beef Co. and Double R Ranch Co.
Earthbound Farm and Leereedy Xylem Digital
ICMA-RC
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Best Email Newsletter
Winner:
Hunter Public Relations 

Honorable Mentions: 
Coyne PR EvansHardy+Young, Inc. and National Honey Board
Regional Transportation District
Syracuse University College of Law
Ulteig Engineers, Inc.

Best Event or Stunt
Winner:
HORN

Honorable Mentions: 
Chesapeake Energy Corporation
KB Home
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
MWW and Nikon
Ripley Entertainment Inc.

Best Google+ Site
Winner:
Children's National Medical Center


Best Government Social Media

Winner:
U.S. Department of Energy and Stratacomm

Honorable Mentions: 
City of Regina
Regional Transportation District
UT Southwestern Medical Center and LifeBlue Media
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Best Location-Based Campaign
Winner:
World Vision

Honorable Mentions: 
AMD
Matter Communications and Verizon Wireless of New England

Best Media Relations Campaign
Winner:
American College of Physicians

Honorable Mentions: 
HealthStar PR and Conceptus, Inc.
Matter Communications and Pinhole Press
MWW and Bowling Proprietors' Association of America
MWW and Zumba Fitness
The Tech Museum
TrojanOne Ltd.

Best Microsite or Custom Website
Winner:
The Colorado Health Foundation

Honorable Mentions: 
Adfero Group and American Airlines Cargo
Dana-Farber Cancer Institute
Southwest Airlines
Ultimate Software
UT Southwestern Medical Center and LifeBlue Media

Best Mobile App
Winner: 
Waggener Edstrom and tenfour Agency

Honorable Mentions: 
Borenstein Group, Inc.
City of Regina
LeapFrog Interactive and Texas Roadhouse
Regional Transportation District
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Tampa
Xivic Inc.

Best New Website
Winner:
Levick

Honorable Mentions: 
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Just A Pinch Recipe Club
Rich Products Corporation
T.Y. Lin International
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide and the Shared Learning Collaborative
Weber Shandwick and MilkPEP

Best Relaunch or Redesign of a Site
Winner:
University of California, Berkeley

Honorable Mentions: 
Cramer
KB Home
University of Massachusetts Lowell

Best Social Media Campaign
Winner:
The Clorox Company, Current, Matter and EQAL

Honorable Mentions: 
AMD
Brandware Public Relations and Airgas Inc.
CRT/tanaka and Vibrant Rioja
GolinHarris and Nintendo of America
Identity and Children's Leukemia Foundation of Michigan
MSL China, MSLGROUP and Singapore Tourism Board

Best Social Media Director
Winner:
Shannon Zimmerman, Auntie Anne's Pretzels

Honorable Mentions: 
Angelique Picanco, Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen
Joshua Landsberg, KB Home
Tim Baker, MWW Group

Best Social Media News Release
Winner:
AMD

Honorable Mention: 
Weber Shandwick and American Airlines

Best Social Media Team
Winner:
KB Home

Honorable Mentions: 
Access Communications
Auntie Anne's Pretzels
BCV and InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco
Chobani, Inc.
MWW
Norwegian Cruise Line

Best Use of Digital or Social Media for Media Relations
Winner:
MWW and McDonald's 

Honorable Mentions: 
Anaheim Orange County Visitor & Convention Bureau and Purry Communications Group
D S Simon Productions, Inc
GolinHarris
RF|Binder and Akerman Senterfitt
The U.S. Army and Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick and Unilever

Best Use of Facebook
Winner:
Scholastic Inc.

Honorable Mentions: 
Backbone Media and Polartec
Edelman and True Value
Grow Financial Federal Credit Union
Mountain America Credit Union
Nawras (Omani Qatari Telecommunications Company SAOG)
Rachel Kay Public Relations
Weber Shandwick and American Airlines

Best Use of Pinterest
Winner:
Honda and RPA

Honorable Mentions: 
Chobani, Inc.
MD Anderson Cancer Center
Scholastic Inc.

Best Use of SEO
Winner:
CRT/tanaka and The Federation of Quebec Maple Syrup Producers

Honorable Mentions: 
Kimco Realty Corporation
LeapFrog Interactive and Sun Tan City
lotus823
Risdall Marketing Group and Allina Health
Risdall Marketing Group and CVS Flags

Best Use of Twitter
Winner:
Delta Air Lines

Honorable Mentions: 
Angelique Picanco for Nadia G's Bitchin' Kitchen
BCV and InterContinental Hotels of San Francisco
Chobani, Inc.
Dixon Schwabl and Heritage Classic Foundation
EvansHardy+Young, Inc. and California Walnuts
R|F Binder and Scharffen Chocolate
TURKCELL

Best Video
Winner:
CRT/tanaka and Network Solutions, LLC

Honorable Mentions: 
BECU and Colehour + Cohen, DNA, and Zaaz
Chesapeake Energy Corporation
D S Simon Productions, Inc
Kaiser Permanente
Talenti Gelato e Sorbetto and RF|Binder

Best Viral Campaign
Winner:
Honda and RPA

Honorable Mentions: 
AMD D S Simon Productions, Inc
Lehigh University
NetBase
Waggener Edstrom and tenfour Agency

Grand Prize: Best Digital PR and Social Media Campaign
Winner:
Major League Baseball

Honorable Mentions: 
AMD Chesapeake Energy Corporation
HORN
HORN for NBC and News Corporation
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
Porter Novelli New Zealand and WilliamsWarn

Publisher's Award
Winner:
Jamie Pent for charity: water

Congratulations to all the winners!

Want to get recognized for your hard work? Find out about Ragan and PR Daily’s award programs here: http://www.prdaily.com/Main/RaganAwardsPrograms.aspx