Last night the CIPR hosted its most presitigious annual event, the CIPR Excellence Awards. Over 800 guests descended upon Park Lane’s London Hilton in black tie attire to celebrate those who had performed with distinction in the public relations profession.

Over seven hundred entries were received across the multitude of categories demonstrating the esteem in which these awards are held. CIPR president Sue Wolstenholme acknowledged this when addressing the large crowd, saying “Our reputation as a profession is built by the kind of achievements we are recognising tonight. When public relations truly make a difference, not just to the client or organisation, but to the people served by those organisations then its value shines through.”

The winners of the evening’s most prestigious award for outstanding PR consultancy were Blue Rubicon whilst Transport for London took home the outstanding in-house consultancy team. Other winners include Cancer Research's R UV Ugly? campaign and Channel 4's Paralympic Games pitch. Charity and public organisations were among the night's big winners and social media innovation was honoured in a number of categories. 

The full list of winners is as follows:

Corporate and Business Communications Campaign: Ogilvy Public Relations/London – ‘The Gnome Experiment’

Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign: KPMG and Living Wage Foundation – ‘Living Wage’

Public Sector Campaign: West Dunbartonshire Council – ‘Do the Right Thing’

Best Broadcast Campaign: GolinHarris & St John Ambulance – ‘St John Ambulance 'Helpless' campaign’

Financial and Investor Relations Campaign: Direct Line Group – ‘The Direct Line Group IPO’

Low Budget Campaign: Dynamo PR – ‘Dynamo Writes 3Doodler into the Kickstarter Record Books’

Internal Communications Campaign: Glasgow Housing Association – ‘Think Yes’

Consumer Relations Campaign: Royal Mail Group – ‘Gold Medal stamps and gold postboxes’

Best Sporting Campaign: Channel 4/Pitch PR – ‘The London 2012 Paralympic Games on Channel 4’

Not-For-Profit Campaign: Unity & Cancer Research UK – ‘R UV UGLY?’

Global Public Relations Campaign: Ogilvy Public Relations/London – ‘The Gnome Experiment’

Public Affairs Campaign: Guide Dogs – ‘Dog Attacks Campaign’ Issues or Crisis Management: Action for Children – ‘Closing a service and getting it right’ Healthcare Campaign: Unity & Cancer Research UK – ‘R UV UGLY?’

Automotive Campaign: Tangerine PR – Essex Diamond RCZ

Best Use of Media Relations: MORE TH>N – MORE TH>N Pet Insurance

Integrated Campaign: Ogilvy Public Relations/London – The Gnome Experiment

Best Technology Campaign: The Red Consultancy – ‘From nowhere to everywhere in three months’

Best Use of Digital: Microsoft & 3 Monkeys Communications – ‘Brandon Generator’

Best Use of Social Media: Torfaen County Borough Council – ‘In the Depot’

Best External Publication: Tods Murray – ‘Firm Profile’

Best Internal Publication: Royal Mail – ‘Celebrating an Olympic achievement’

Best Event: Edelman – ‘Experience Halo’

Best Use of Research, Planning, Measurement & Evaluation: Channel 4/Pitch PR – ‘The London 2012 Paralympic Games on Channel 4’

Outstanding Young Communicator: Gemma Griffiths, Managing Director, The Crowd &I

Outstanding Freelance Practitioner: Hilary Berg – ‘Using PR Excellence to Empower Communities’

Outstanding Small Consultancy: Propel Technology

Outstanding In-House Public Relations Team: Transport for London – ‘Keeping London Moving’

Outstanding Public Relations Consultancy: Blue Rubicon

The People’s Choice Award: Andy Green FCIPR, Founder, andygreencreativity.com

Also awarded on the night:

The CIPR and Institute of Directors PR Director of the Year: Emma Gilpin-Jacobs MCIPR, Director of Communications, Financial Times