It was a dark and stormy night in London, but the sounds of applause, classic rock and cheers abounded under a marquee at the CIPR Excellence Awards 2017. The Honourable Artillery Company played host to the annual awards – complete with casino and fun fair – which celebrated the best in public relations from across the UK.

Winners ranged from the Essex Police’s anti-domestic violence campaign to the Wellcome Collection’s adept use of digital to Exeter City Council’s fire response crisis management. The evening’s consultancy winners were iseepr, Dynamo Communications and M&C Saatchi PR.

The outstanding in-house team award was given to VisitScotland for its imaginative approach to PR and to continual professional development. In his opening remarks, CIPR president Jason MacKenzie talked about the ongoing value of PR, and of the need for public relations professionals to focus on their professional skills and growth. One such practitioner, Rachel Miller, has proven excellence in those areas due to her ongoing work through AllThingsIC. Miller was awarded this year’s ‘Outstanding independent practitioner’ prize.

Big winners throughout the night were the Wellcome Collection and Third City’s #OutsmartEpidemics campaign and Cifas for its ‘Data to go’ campaign, which both won twice. British Steel took home the award for ‘Best internal publication’ – the team also won a grand prix award for its excellence in rebranding at this year’s Transform Awards Europe. In the ‘Corporate and business communications campaign’ category, Engage by Bell Pottinger took home the gong for its work with Ripple, a US tech firm looking to enter the European market.

Following the Excellence Awards, the CIPR PRide Awards, which focus on excellence in regional PR, will close for entries on 13 June.