Pitching the media is no easy task—if it was easy, companies wouldn’t hire PR departments and firms to do it. 

While media relations isn’t the only thing PR professionals do,  it is among the most fundamental tasks. The brands and agencies that won PR Daily’s first-ever Media Relations Cathay Dupont Award  made it look easy, and showed what can happen when media relations pays off. 

Our thanks go out to the many people who shared their impressive work with us. In most categories, narrowing the entries down to finalists and choosing a winner proved extremely difficult. 

Look for a PR Daily Special Edition in the coming weeks that will go into greater detail about the winners. And as always, thanks for being part of the PR Daily community. 

Best Branding or Positioning 

Winner: 

Norwegian Cruise Line 

Honorable Mentions: 

Current Lifestyle Marketing for Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressings and Dips

Eastwick for Violin Memory

Grow Marketing for Birkenstock USA

KC Projects, LLC for Slice Pizza & Brew

M Booth for Unilever

RF|Binder for BAND-AID Brand

RF|Binder for Dunkin' Donuts

Best Crisis Communications 

Winner: 

Spirit AeroSystems 

Honorable Mentions: 

Strategic Communications of FTI Consulting 

Best Event or Stunt 

Winner: 

MWW for Nikon, Inc. 

Honorable Mentions: 

Ad-diction for Autogermana MINI

Nemours Children's Hospital

Katz & Associates for The California Office of Traffic Safety

LoJack Corporation

RF|Binder for Scharffen Berger Chocolate Maker

USA Swimming 

Best Integration of PR in a Business Campaign 

Winner: 

Thornton Communications for Proffitt-Dixon Partners 

Honorable Mentions: 

Bankrate, Inc. 

Donath Business & Media

Genesis and Peppercomm Strategic Communications for Steelcase

Northwestern Mutual

Wood Group 

Best Issue/Cause Advocacy Campaign 

Winner: 

Saeger Media Group for Romano's Macaroni Grill 

Honorable Mentions: 

Center for Climate and Energy Solutions

Luna Media Group for World AIDS Institute and Timothy Ray Brown Foundation

Peel District School Board

RF|Binder for Harlem Educational Activities Fund

Riley Children's Foundation 

Best Online Newsroom 

Winner: 

Cisco Systems 

Honorable Mentions: 

Florida Realtors

Hilton Hotels & Resorts

Strategic America for USS IOWA 

Best PR Campaign - Under $24,999 

Winner: 

Hanson Dodge Creative 

Honorable Mentions: 

Konnect Public Relations for Babiators

NYU Langone Medical Center

Quinn & Co. Public Relations for Waldorf Astoria New York

RF|Binder for Abine

Silvera for Seniors 

Best PR Campaign - $25,000-$49,999 

Winner: 

M!ke PR for Zippo Manufacturing Company 

Honorable Mentions: 

Crosby-Volmer International Communication for CoreLogic Spatial Solutions

KC Projects, LLC for Slice Pizza & Brew

Matter Communications for Aquabotix

National Treasury Employees Union

RF|Binder for Gazelle

Strategic America for USS IOWA 

Best PR Campaign - $50,000-$99,999 

Winner: 

MGH for Reed Street Productions 

Honorable Mentions: 

Child's Play Communications for Reading Rainbow

CommunicationWorks, LLC for "Generation on a Tightrope"

Quinn & Co. Public Relations for Affinia Hotels 

Best PR Campaign - $100,000+ 

Co-Winners: 

Hilton Hotels & Resorts

RF|Binder for Dunkin' Donuts 

Honorable Mentions: 

Cantor Fitzgerald for its affiliate BGC Partners, Inc. 

GYMR Public Relations for ABIM Foundation

Ketchum for DoubleTree by Hilton

National Restaurant Association

Phillips & Company for Explore Mars 

Best PR Innovation 

Winner: 

Quinn & Co. for AKA 

Honorable Mentions: 

Gate 7 for Visit California Australia

MWW for Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. 

Sports Illustrated 

Best Product Launch 

Winner: 

Child's Play Communications for Reading Rainbow 

Honorable Mentions: 

Cathay Pacific Airways

Current Lifestyle Marketing for Hidden Valley Original Ranch Dressings and Dips

Formula PR, Inc. for Native Union

GolinHarris Canada for McDonald's Restaurants of Canada, Ltd. 

MWW for Samsung Telecommunications America

RF|Binder for BAND-AID Brand 

Best Response to Breaking News 

Winner: 

Vantage Communications for Life360 

Honorable Mentions: 

Affect for Sophos Brownstein Group for The Graham Company

Crosby-Volmer International Communications and CoreLogic Spatial Solutions

DuPont Pioneer

Edmonton Police Service

Goodwill Industries International 

Best Use of a Celebrity or Personality 

Winner: 

Hilton Hotels & Resorts 

Honorable Mentions: 

Kaiser Permanente

MWW for Nikon Inc. 

Northwestern Mutual

RF|Binder for JOHNSON'S Baby Brand

The Nature Conservancy 

Best Use of Social Media 

Winner: 

M Booth for The National Trust for Historic Preservation and American Express 

Honorable Mentions: 

Chobani 

Current Lifestyle Marketing for The Clorox Company

MWW for Nikon Inc. 

Phillips & Company for LEGO Education

RF|Binder for Talenti Gelato e Sorbetto 

Best Use of the Internet or Digital Tools 

Winner: 

Union Pacific Railroad 

Honorable Mentions: 

Eastwick for NetBase

M Booth for Unilever

MWW for Nikon Inc. 

SAESHE for CalRecycle

U.S. Department of Labor 

Best Use of Video 

Winner: 

Cisco Systems 

Honorable Mentions: 

Northwestern Mutual

Southwest Airlines

Union Pacific Railroad 

Best Website 

Winner: 

Phillips & Company for Explore Mars 

Honorable Mentions: 

SAESHE for CalRecycle

Strategic America for Wendy's

Union Pacific Railroad 

Grand Prize: Media Relations Campaign of the Year 

Winner: 

MWW for Samsung Telecommunications America 

Honorable Mentions: 

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Niagara Tourism & Convention Corporation

Sports Illustrated