Silver and Bronze Standards

The best of the profession was on display this past June 8 as PRSA held its annual Anvil Awards Ceremony at the Edison Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan in the heart of the Theater District.

The evening allowed attendees to network and celebrate the accomplishments of their peers during a happy hour and sit-down dinner, where PRSA CEO Linda Thomas Brooks and 2023 Chair Michelle Egan, APR, Fellow PRSA welcomed the guests.

Michael Gross, APR, chair of the PRSA Honors and Awards Committee, and committee member Ann Andrews Morris presented the Anvil Awards, which recognize the best PR tactics, strategies and campaigns of the year and the highest standards of performance for the profession.

“Every year at the Anvil ceremony, we get the chance to see the exceptional and trailblazing work taking place throughout our community,” Egan said, “all of which continues to make me proud to say that I am a communications professional. Congratulations to the winners and participants.”

Among all winners, tactics and campaigns encompassed a wide breadth of topics, causes and themes. These included a campaign showcasing the need for U.S. support in Ukraine by providing developments on the ground to U.S. media, a documentary following real characters whose struggles with sleep threaten to unravel their waking lives, and a campaign created by and for Washington’s Black community to encourage the unvaccinated to reconsider their choice.

PRSA presented the Best of Silver Anvil Award to the Florida Power & Light Company with rbb Communications for their campaign, “A Sound Response to a Record-Setting Storm: FPL Gets the Lights Back On After Hurricane Ian.”

Last Sept. 28, Hurricane Ian arrived as a Category 4, on the verge of Category 5 strength, in Southwest Florida. With deadly flooding, storm surge and wind speeds topping 155 miles per hour, Ian caused catastrophic damage to homes, businesses and lives.

Florida Power & Light Company was ready for the storm and delivered when it mattered most. With its year-round preparation, in-field reporting and real-time communication, the strategic implementation and flawless execution of their response plan led The Daily Sun to declare: “We’ll happily tout Florida Power & Light’s response as one of the best planned recoveries from any disaster to ever hit Florida.”

In addition, PRSA showcased overall agency excellence in the Silver Anvil Organizational Awards. The honorees were:

• Best Boutique Agency:
  Firebrand Communications
• Best Mid-Sized Agency:
  Fahlgren Mortine
• Best Mega Agency:
  Ketchum

PRSA bestowed 38 Silver Anvil Awards, 21 Bronze Anvil Awards, 34 Awards of Excellence and 25 Awards of Commendation during the evening. Visit the PRSA website to see the full list of winners.

Watch the S&T Live with the Best of Silver Anvil recipients here.