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.

Categories

Best Blog

WINNER

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

Honorable Mentions

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

Best Content Marketing/Brand Journalism Site

WINNER

Honorable Mentions

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

Best Content Marketing/Brand Journalism Site

WINNER

Honorable Mentions

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

Best Crisis Management

WINNER

Honorable Mentions

  • AMD
  • Chesapeake Energy Corporation
  • Chevrolet - General Motors
  • Levick Strategic Communications

Best Crisis Management

WINNER

Honorable Mentions

  • AMD
  • Chesapeake Energy Corporation
  • Chevrolet - General Motors
  • Levick Strategic Communications

Best Digital Marketing Campaign

WINNER

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

Honorable Mentions

  • MWW and Nikon Inc.
  • TURKCELL

Best Digital PR Campaign

WINNER

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

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

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

Honorable Mentions

  • Chesapeake Energy Corporation
  • KB Home
  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art
  • MWW and Nikon
  • Ripley Entertainment, Inc.

Best Government Social Media Communications

WINNER

Honorable Mentions

  • City of Regina
  • Regional Transportation District
  • UT Southwestern Medical Center and LifeBlue Media
  • UT Southwestern Medical Center

Best Location-Based Campaign

WINNER

Honorable Mentions

  • AMD
  • Matter Communications and Verizon Wireless of New England

Best Media Relations Campaign

WINNER

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

Honorable Mentions

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

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

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

Honorable Mentions

  • Cramer
  • KB Home
  • University of Massachusetts Lowell

Best Social Media Campaign

WINNER

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

Honorable Mentions

  • Angelique Picanco, Nadia G’s Bitchin’ Kitchen
  • Joshua Landsberg, KB Home
  • Tim Baker, MWW Group

Best Social Media News Release

WINNER

Honorable Mention

  • Weber Shandwick and American Airlines

Best Social Media Team

WINNER

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

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

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

Honorable Mentions

  • Chobani, Inc.
  • MD Anderson Cancer Center
  • Scholastic, Inc.

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

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 Use of Twitter

WINNER

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

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

Honorable Mentions

  • AMD
  • D S Simon Productions, Inc
  • Lehigh University
  • NetBase
  • Waggener Edstrom and tenfour Agency

Publisher's Award

WINNER

Grand Prize

Grand Prize: Best Digital PR and Social Media Campaign

GRAND PRIZE

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