Archived press release

Friends of the Earth wins 2007 CIPR Excellence Award for Public Affairs

6 July 2007

Friends of the Earth has won one of the most prestigious awards in the communications industry - the Chartered Institute of Public Relations 2007 Excellence Award for Public Affairs.

The award is for Friends of the Earth's climate campaign, The Big Ask, which launched in May 2005 and has already led to the introduction of the Climate Change Bill in the Queen's Speech.

The campaign is on-going and has gathered public and political support for action on climate change. It has engaged a mainstream public audience as well as environmental activists and politicians,

The Bill would commit the government to make at least 3% cuts in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions every year - ensuring that the UK plays a leading role in tackling climate change and sets an example to the rest of the world.

For a full history of the campaign see: www.foe.co.uk/resource/media_briefing/brief_history_the_big_ask.pdf (PDF)

Nicola Jackson, Friends of the Earth Communications and Media Manager, said:

"The award is the Oscars of the communications world and recognises all the hard work that everyone at Friends of the Earth has done to engage the public and influence policy makers for real world action on climate change."

CIPR President Lionel Zetter said: "The Excellence Awards judging process is tough and competition is strong, so winning an award is a great achievement. It is confirmation thatFriends of the Earth's Big Ask climate campaign is amongst the best in Britain.

"The unprecedented amount and outstanding quality of entries this year demonstrates the good work being done in the industry. The individuals, teams and campaigns winning awards have all demonstrated a clear understanding of the central role PR plays in the success of an organisation and the ways in which it can contribute to society."

The campaign concept has been supported by CHI & Partners on a pro bono basis since 2004.

Campaign content includes:

• a national media launch by Radiohead's Thom Yorke
• a 60-second cinema advertisement, `Thinking'
• a campaign website (www.thebigask.com)
• viral advertisements
• local activist toolkit containing: posters, postcards, leaflets, bookmarks, beermats and badges
• Direct marketing appeals
• Public meetings across the country
• The Big Ask Live - a series of music gigs culminating in flagship London gig with celebrity guests and public
• Presence at music festivals
• The Co-operative Bank partnership and research - followed up by online and newspaper ad
• Partnership with The Observer to create a free Big Ask CD

Case studies from all the winning entries and a list of winners can be viewed on the CIPR website www.cipr.co.uk/excellence/winners.htm

This year the CIPR Excellence Awards received a record 730 entries for the 27 award categories, the highest number to-date. For a complete list of categories visit www.cipr.co.uk/excellence/award_cats.htm

The Excellence Awards recognise and reward best practice in public relations throughout the UK and acknowledge personal and team achievement at the highest professional level.

The judging procedures are rigorous and involve two stages. Each entry was shortlisted on the basis of a written submission to go through to the second round of judging. This involved being interviewed by a panel of judges, comprising senior PR practitioners and experts from the business, media, marketing and advertising communities.

The Chairmen of the Judges were Adrian Wheeler FCIPR, Partner at Agincourt Communications, and Ian Wright FCIPR, Corporate Relations Director at Diageo. The judges' comments can be viewed online at
www.cipr.co.uk/excellence/winners.htm

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To view PDF files you will need to download Adobe Acrobat Reader. Visually impaired users can get extra help with these documents from access.adobe.com.

If you're a journalist looking for press information please contact the Friends of the Earth media team on 020 7566 1649.

Published by Friends of the Earth Trust