PR and communications professionals face the constant challenge of quantifying and showcasing their impact. One powerful way to do so is with industry awards. They provide concrete validation of your work that resonates with leadership and peers alike. And beyond the accolades, these honors also provide valuable benchmarking opportunities and position your brand as an industry leader.
We've compiled this comprehensive guide to help your team navigate the most prestigious PR and communications awards in 2025. Whether you're looking to highlight individual excellence, campaign success, or organizational achievement, you'll find opportunities that match your strengths and accomplishments.
Expert Tips for Your Award Submission
Before diving into specific awards programs, let's explore key strategies for creating winning submissions. We've partnered with Gideon Fidelzeid, vice president at Haymarket Studio and 20-year veteran of the PRWeek Awards, to bring you insider perspectives on what makes entries stand out.
Here are some top tips for crafting award-winning submissions:
- Plan ahead: Start early and work backwards from submission deadlines to allow time for review and refinement.
- Be selective: Focus on categories where your work truly stands out rather than submitting to every available option.
- Follow submission guidelines meticulously: Pay attention to word counts and include relevant supporting materials that support your narrative. As Gideon notes: “I know that for the PRWeek Awards, we stress the inclusion of videos with all entries where it would be applicable. These give the judges something else to ponder beyond what's part of the normal entry. And if you submit a video, make sure it's one that fits the entry. Too often, submitters will take a video that was clearly created for something else and submit it with their entry. In those cases, judges will notice the incongruity.”
- Tell a compelling story: Frame your submission around three key elements – the challenge you faced, your strategic approach, and the measurable results you achieved. Help judges understand not just what you did, but why it mattered and how it made a difference.
- Focus on meaningful metrics: According to Fidelzeid, “Metrics such as impressions truly do not indicate much — and any judge presiding over awards will know that. Instead, where you are able, focus on results such as behavioral change among the target audience or, yes, sales.”
- Include context: Help judges understand any constraints you overcame, whether budget limitations, tight timelines, or complex stakeholder dynamics.
- Get a fresh perspective: As Fidelzeid emphasizes: “That third-party viewpoint will most closely mirror the viewpoint judges will have when they see the entry for the first time. And you will undoubtedly be so close to the entry that there will be things you might miss that someone who has never seen it before will catch.”
- Double-check every detail: Fidelzeid’s advice: “Make sure the spelling and grammar are both flawless. As an award entrant, you should assume that you will be up against a lot of other entries that are strong contenders. An entry that has spelling and/or grammatical errors will stand out — and not in the way you want.”
2025 PR and Communications Awards
Note: Awards are listed by submission deadline.
NYX Awards
For teams pushing creative boundaries in PR and communications, the NYX Awards offer distinctive recognition. Their categories specifically reward work that challenges conventions and sets new standards for the industry, making them ideal for innovative campaigns and groundbreaking strategies.
Nominations due: January 8, 2025
Announcement date: May 9, 2025
PRmoment Awards
Focused on the UK market, the PRmoment Awards celebrate excellence across the full spectrum of PR work. Categories span from B2B campaigns and content strategy to internal communications and media relations, offering multiple opportunities to showcase your team's achievements.
Nominations due: January 10, 2025
Announcement date: March 27, 2025
Titan Business Awards
The Titan Business Awards level the playing field between emerging and established organizations. Their PR & Communications categories recognize excellence regardless of company size, making them an attractive option for growing teams looking to showcase their work alongside industry leaders.
Nominations due: January 15, 2025
Announcement date: May 16, 2025
IABC Gold Quill Awards
As IABC's flagship awards program, the Gold Quill Awards set global standards for strategic communication excellence. Their comprehensive framework spans four key areas: management, research, training, and tactical skills. The program's thorough evaluation process makes winning a Gold Quill a particularly meaningful achievement for communication teams.
Nominations due: January 19, 2025
Announcement date: April 2025
PR Daily Social Media & Digital Awards
PR Daily’s Social Media & Digital Awards celebrate outstanding digital work across industries – from transformative campaigns to innovative communications. Whether you're a brand, agency, nonprofit, or public sector organization, these awards can distinguish your team’s achievements as among the best in the field.
Nominations due: January 24, 2025
Announcement date: TBA
The Communicator Awards
Judged by industry leaders from companies like Amazon, Disney, and IBM, the Communicator Awards carry significant credibility. Their focus on effectiveness makes them particularly valuable for teams that combine creative excellence with measurable results.
Nominations due: January 24, 2025
Announcement date: TBA
PRWeek Global Awards
The PRWeek Global Awards are widely considered the gold standard in PR recognition. These awards celebrate outstanding work across regions and disciplines - from agency excellence and CSR programs to innovative content campaigns. Winning a PRWeek Award signals your team's position among the industry's best performers.
Nominations due: January 30, 2025
Announcement date: May 15, 2025
PRSA Anvil Awards
The PRSA Anvil Awards represent the highest standards of PR excellence in North America. The program features three tiers: Bronze Anvils for outstanding PR tactics, Silver Anvils for exceptional campaigns, and the prestigious Gold Anvil - PRSA's lifetime achievement award for PRSA industry veterans with over 20 years of impact.
Nominations due: January 30, 2025
Announcement date: May 15, 2025
American Business Awards
As part of the prestigious Stevie Awards family, the American Business Awards offer dedicated PR categories alongside broader business recognition. These awards provide a unique opportunity to benchmark your communications work against the best in U.S. business.
Nominations due: February 5, 2025
Announcement date: April 24, 2025
Global Social Media Awards
For teams pushing the boundaries of social media engagement, the Global Social Media Awards showcase excellence in digital communications. Whether you excel on specific platforms or deliver integrated social campaigns, these awards recognize work that drives meaningful audience connections and measurable results.
Nominations due: February 27, 2025
Announcement date: April 24, 2025
APEX Awards
Open to organizations and individual practitioners alike, the APEX Awards celebrate excellence across the communications spectrum. From employee engagement and corporate reputation to digital presence and annual reports, these awards offer multiple opportunities to showcase your team's best work.
Nominations due: February 28, 2025
Announcement date: TBA
The Drum Awards for Marketing Europe, Middle East, and Africa
The Drum Awards EMEA celebrate marketing innovation across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Beyond traditional industry categories, they spotlight exceptional uses of PR, B2B strategy, creative campaigns, and social media - making them ideal for teams pushing creative boundaries in their markets.
Nominations due: March 5, 2025
Announcement date: June 11, 2025
Cannes Lions Awards
The Cannes Lions represent the pinnacle of creative achievement in marketing and communications. Since 1954, these awards have set the global benchmark for work that not only delivers business results but shapes culture. With 30 categories across nine tracks, they recognize excellence in everything from traditional campaigns to cutting-edge digital innovation.
Nominations due: March 6, 2025
Announcement date: June 16, 2025
AME Awards
The AME Awards celebrate campaigns that deliver real business impact through creative excellence. Whether you solved a complex marketing challenge or drove measurable results through innovation, these awards recognize work that combines strategic thinking with powerful execution. Special recognition is also given to campaigns driving positive social change.
Nominations due: June 15, 2025
Announcement date: TBA
Other Notable Awards to Watch in 2025
While the following awards have yet to release their 2025 details, they’re undoubtedly worth keeping your eye on as potential opportunities for participation.
AVA Digital Awards
The AVA Digital Awards spotlight excellence in digital communications, from immersive brand experiences to strategic social campaigns. If your team excels in creating compelling digital content – whether it's interactive websites, engaging newsletters, or innovative social strategies – these awards offer relevant recognition opportunities.
Best in Biz Awards International
What sets the Best in Biz International Awards apart is their distinguished judging panel of global business journalists. With 21 PR-focused categories spanning crisis management to CSR initiatives, winning here means your work has impressed some of the industry's most discerning critics.
¡BRAVO! Awards
Presented by the Hispanic Public Relations Association, the ¡BRAVO! Awards celebrate excellence in Hispanic and multicultural communications. For teams delivering culturally authentic campaigns that resonate with diverse audiences, these awards offer valuable recognition of your specialized expertise and impact
Bulldog PR Awards
With journalists as judges, the Bulldog PR Awards evaluate entries through the media's lens. They welcome submissions from organizations of all sizes and offer unique categories like holiday campaigns, lead generation, and visual storytelling. Their inclusive approach makes them particularly valuable for boutique agencies and in-house teams competing alongside global firms.
Communitas Awards
For teams making a difference through purpose-driven communications, the Communitas Awards offer meaningful recognition. They celebrate initiatives that combine communication excellence with community impact, from targeted CSR projects to comprehensive corporate citizenship programs.
Digiday Awards
The Digiday Awards recognize digital innovation that moves the needle. Whether you're pioneering multi-platform campaigns or breaking new ground in influencer marketing, these awards spotlight work that defines what's next in digital communications.
DotCOMM Awards
The dotCOMM Awards celebrate digital excellence across all formats - from podcasts and virtual events to social campaigns and emerging media. Their flexible category structure, including the option to propose custom categories, ensures innovative digital work gets the recognition it deserves.
Hermes Creative Awards
The Hermes Creative Awards recognize excellence across the full marketing communications spectrum. Whether your strength lies in traditional PR, brand storytelling, or digital innovation, these awards offer multiple paths to showcase your team's creative achievements.
MarCom
The MarCom Awards recognize outstanding achievement in marketing and communications. Administered by the AMCP, these awards stand out for their broad perspective on excellence, celebrating both creative innovation and strategic effectiveness across all communication disciplines.
PR and Marketing Excellence Awards
The Business Intelligence Group's PR and Marketing Excellence Awards focus on one key criterion: business impact. They specifically recognize teams and campaigns that deliver measurable growth through strategic communications and creative storytelling.
Ragan and PR Daily Awards
As leading voices in the PR industry, Ragan and PR Daily's awards carry significant weight. Their programs span the modern communications landscape – from employee engagement and CSR to content marketing and media relations – with a particular focus on innovative approaches and measurable outcomes.
SABRE Awards
PRovoke Media’s SABRE Awards represent the pinnacle of PR achievement globally. While their traditional program celebrates excellence in engagement and relationship building, the Innovation SABRE Awards specifically recognize teams pushing PR's boundaries through data-driven strategies and multi-channel storytelling.
While you’re planning for the year ahead, check out our 2025 PR and Comms Content Planning Calendar. It’s full of key dates and expert tips to inspire and inform your next (award-worthy) campaign.
