The document provides an analysis of creative campaigns and rankings based on awards won across various public relations initiatives. It highlights key campaigns, agencies, and their effectiveness using a unique scoring methodology focusing on global significance. The top-ranked campaigns include IBM's centenary campaign and Unilever's handwashing initiative, showing a diversity in geographic origin and thematic focus.

1. CREATIVE INDEX 2012

2. CREATIVE INDEX
can deliver a certain level of crea- METHODOLOGY awards won. However, restricting
tive currency within the industry. the criteria to campaigns that had
This is not to say, of course, that To compile these rankings the Hol- won more than three awards pre-
these rankings are the only measure mes Report first selected more than vented campaigns that had scooped
of creativity. But they offer a useful 20 key global, regional and local just one award on a global scale fin-
benchmark for organisations and PR award shows over a 12-month ishing higher than campaigns that
agencies alike, particularly given the period, using the 2012 Cannes Li- may have won three or four different
increasing investment that PR award ons as a cut-off date. Some of the awards on a local or regional scale.
shows now attract. shows included were the various Agencies have been ranked based
All of the work featured in this report PRWeek Awards, the European Ex- upon how many points they have
furthermore, factor effectiveness cellence Awards, the Cannes PR been awarded, not how many
INTRODUCTION into their output. Public relations awards they have won. Therefore an
Lions, and our own SABRE Awards
campaigns, rightly, are measured programme. agency may have won less awards
In the public relations industry, crea- according to their results. A power- overall than agencies below it, but
Each show was then weighted
tivity is too often overlooked. This re- ful idea, in isolation, is irrelevant if it we believe the awards it has won are
according to our knowledge of its
port aims to spotlight the campaigns does not drive relevant, measurable more significant on a global scale.
scope and scale, looking specifically
that buck that trend, by demonstrat- outcomes. The sector tables were created us-
at its significance; geographic remit;
ing that the power of big ideas is not The organisations and firms fea- ing the same methodology.
and, reputation within the PR com-
outside the remit of modern public tured here should be commended munity.
relations. for their commitment to break- Where one campaign has won
This report only considers award- through thinking. We hope this sig-
winning campaigns, and there are nals the start of a broader conversa-
multiple awards at the same show, CONTENTS
points are only awarded once. If,
any number of innovative, cutting- tion that ultimately elevates creative however, a campaign has won a
edge PR programmes that have levels within the PR industry. best in show award – campaign Campaign Rankings ................. 3-6
either not entered award shows, or
of the year or similar – it is award-
have come home empty-handed.
Arun Sudhaman ed double points. In addition, only Agency Rankings ................... 7-10
Neither should we overlook the reg-
campaigns that have won more than
ular flow of PR work, often from the Managing editor three awards across different shows Network Rankings .....................10
public affairs and crisis management
The Holmes Report have been considered. The tables
space, that remains confidential
are created from these rankings.
Regardless, there is some sub- arun@holmesreport.com
Campaigns are ranked accord-
stance to the idea, popularised in
ing to overall points, not number of
adland, that credible award shows
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3. CAMPAIGN INDEX TOP 15 CAMPAIGNS
CAMPAIGN CLIENT AGENCY MARKET SCORE*
1 IBM at 100 IBM Ketchum USA 15
2 Parallel Lines Philips OneVoice (Fleishman- UK 13
Hillard, Ketchum)
3 (=) Lifebuoy School of 5 HandWashing Campaign Unilever Apex Porter Novelli Kenya 11
3 (=) A Lifetime Commitment to Safety Goodyear Ogilvy PR China 11
3 (=) Flip Your Profile Cisco Text 100 Singapore 11
4 Vac from the Sea Electrolux Prime PR Sweden 10
5 (=) Trojan Pulls Back the Sheets on Sexy Tech Trojan Edelman USA 9
5 (=) The Starbucks Brand Transformation Starbucks Edelman USA 9
5 (=) Bomb Threat Response American Airlines Weber Shandwick USA 9
5 (=) BlackBerry Customers - Loving what they do online RIM Edelman Asia-Pacific 9
5 (=) Every One Save The Children India Weber Shandwick India 9
6 (=) Cookie CAREavan Across America Doubletree by Hilton Ketchum USA 8
6 (=) Flight Plan for the Future JetBlue MWW Group USA 8
6 (=) 7 - Eleven Unites America with Purple Slurpees 7 - Eleven Freshworks/Ketchum USA 8
7 2 Minutes Silence Royal British Legion Burson-Marsteller UK 6
*Based on the Holmes Report’s Creative Index Methodology
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4. CAMPAIGN INDEX
IBM - Centenary Campaign
Goodyear - A Lifetime Commitment to Safety
Cisco - Flip Your Profile
Electrolux - Vac from the Sea
Philips - Parallel Lines programme
An IBM campaign to celebrate its centenary has IBM narrowly edged out Philips’ Parallel Lines pro- theme was reinforced by high-scoring campaigns
emerged as the most awarded PR campaign in the gramme, which won considerable recognition in for Save the Children India and Royal British Legion
world, according to the Holmes Report’s first Crea- Europe. in the UK.
tive Index. Three campaigns tied for third: Unilever’s Lifebuoy The results themselves offer some interesting find-
The Rankings analysed entries and winners from School of 5 Handwashing campaign by Apex Por- ings. Firstly, there is a refreshing geographic diver-
more than 20 PR award programmes from around ter Novelli Kenya; Goodyear China’s Lifetime Com- sity among the top 15 campaigns, featuring work
the world, over a 12 month period that used the mitment to Safety programme with Ogilvy PR; and, from traditional powerhouse markets such as the
Cannes Lions 2012 festival as a cut-off point. Scores Cisco’s Flip Your Profile initiative with Text 100 Sin- US and UK, along with eye-catching programmes
were weighted according to a Holmes Report for- gapore. from Kenya, China, Singapore and India.
mula that placed particular emphasis on Best of A Swedish campaign from perennial awards show There is also plenty of variety among the types of
Show winners. The full methodology is available on contender Prime - Electrolux’s ‘Vac from the Sea’ campaigns that score highly, across technology,
page 2 of this report. - took fourth spot. Together with IBM, Unilever and consumer, social responsibility, crisis management,
The results reveal that the IBM at 100 campaign, Goodyear, the Electrolux initiative demonstrated the digital media and public affairs.
developed in conjunction with Ketchum, took top importance of a strong social responsibility element
spot, thanks to a slew of wins at US shows. when it comes public relations innovation. That
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5. CAMPAIGN INDEX
Negroni
Starbucks - The Starbucks Brand Transformation
Unilever’s - Lifebuoy School of 5
Handwashing campaign
Doubletree by Hilton - Cookie CAREavan Across America
Trojan - Pulls Back the Sheets on Sexy Tech
TOP 4 CONSUMER CAMPAIGNS
CAMPAIGN CLIENT AGENCY SCORE*
1 Lifebuoy School of 5 HandWashing Campaign Unilever Apex Porter Novelli 11
2 (=) Trojan Pulls Back the Sheets on Sexy Tech Trojan Edelman 9
2 (=) The Starbucks Brand Transformation Starbucks Edelman 9
3 Cookie CAREavan Across America Doubletree by Hilton Ketchum 8
*Based on the Holmes Report’s Creative Index Methodology
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6. CAMPAIGN INDEX
TOP 4 TECHNOLOGY CAMPAIGNS
CAMPAIGN CLIENT AGENCY SCORE
1 IBM at 100 IBM Ketchum 15
2 Parallel Lines Philips OneVoice (Fleishman- 13
Hillard, Ketchum)
3 Flip Your Profile Cisco Text 100 11
4 BlackBerry Customers - Loving what they do online RIM Edelman 9
TOP 4 CORPORATE CAMPAIGNS
CAMPAIGN CLIENT AGENCY SCORE*
1 A Lifetime Commitment to Safety Goodyear Ogilvy PR 11
2 Vac from the Sea Electrolux Prime PR 10
3 Bomb Threat Response American Airlines Weber Shandwick 9
4 Flight Plan for the Future JetBlue MWW Group 8
*Based on the Holmes Report’s Creative Index Methodology
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7. AGENCY INDEX TOP 15 OVERALL AGENCIES
Among agencies, Weber Shandwick tops the Holmes Report’s first Creative In-
dex, thanks to a well-balanced haul from major shows across several regions AGENCY SCORE
and markets, led by its American Airlies ‘Bomb Threat Response’ effort in the US,
and Save the Children programme in India. 1 Weber Shandwick 120
Despite just two campaigns in the top 15, Weber took top spot because of
numerous wins across various countries and industry sectors, including work for 2 Ogilvy PR 106
Pepsico, Pfizer, McDonald’s, General Motors and MasterCard.
In second spot came Ogilvy PR, spurred by a Goodyear China CSR initiative 3 Edelman 100
4 Ketchum * 74.5
5 Burson-Marsteller ** 46
6 Hill & Knowlton ** 36
7 Leo Burnett 35
8 Prime 31
9 MSLGroup 30
10 Fleishman Hillard * 26.5
11 GolinHarris 26
Pepsico’s Pepsi Refresh Campaign 12 (=) Grayling 24
that won plenty of metal. Other highlights for the firm were its work for the Mexico
Tourism Board, Kazakhstan’s BTA Bank and Bayer Healthcare in the US. 12 (=) Porter Novelli 24
Ogilvy narrowly edged Edelman into third spot. The independent agency posted
three campaigns within the top 15, for Trojan and Starbucks in North America, 13 (=) APCO Worldwide 15
and RIM in Asia-Pacific.
Rounding out the top quartet was Ketchum, which dominated the top of the 13 (=) The Practice 15
campaign ranking thanks to its IBM at 100 and Philips Parallel Lines campaigns, *Points for OneVoice campaigns for Philips have been split between
the latter as part of Omnicom’s OneVoice multi-agency team. Fleishman-Hillard and Ketchum **Team WPP points for Ford have been split between
Burson-Marsteller and Hill + Knowlton Strategies.
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8. AGENCY INDEX
TOP 14 CONSUMER AGENCIES
AGENCY SCORE
1 Weber Shandwick 43
2 Ogilvy PR 38
3 Edelman 37
4 Leo Burnett 35
5 Prime 29
Philips - Parallel Lines programme 6 Ketchum 28
7 Burson-Marsteller 15.5
TOP 5 TECH AGENCIES 7 MSL 15
8 Porter Novelli 14
AGENCY SCORE* 9 Grayling 13
1 Ketchum 21.5 10 Shine Communications 12
2 Edelman 20 11 (=) Citizen Paine 11
3 (=) Ogilvy PR 14 11 (=) GolinHarris 11
3 (=) Text 100 14 12 (=) Hill & Knowlton 10.5
4 Fleishman-Hillard 11.5
* Technology campaigns (including consumer tech and telecommunications)
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9. AGENCY INDEX
TOP 5 CORPORATE AGENCIES
AGENCY SCORE*
1 Weber Shandwick 30
2 Ogilvy PR 25
3 Burson-Marsteller 18.5
4 Hill & Knowlton 17 Weber Shandwick - Save the Children
TOP 5 HEALTHCARE AGENCIES
5 Edelman 14
*Corporate campaigns (including internal comms and issues & crisis management)
AGENCY SCORE*
1 Weber Shandwick 15
2 Ogilvy PR 12
3 Edelman 9
4 (=) Hill & Knowlton 8
4 (=) Ketchum Pleon 8
*Healthcare campaigns Including consumer healthcare
Weber Shandwick - American Airlies ‘Bomb Threat Response’
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10. AGENCY INDEX NETWORK INDEX
WPP’s award winning Ford work
WPP dominated the holding company ranking, perhaps unsur-
prising given its ownership of the largest set of PR operations in
the world. The company scored almost twice as many points as
the next nearest holding group, Omnicom, powered by Ogilvy PR,
Burson-Marsteller, Hill + Knowlton Strategies and Cohn & Wolfe.
RIM - BlackBerry Customers - Loving what they do online
TOP 5 NETWORKS
TOP 3 DIGITAL AGENCIES NETWORK TOTAL TOTAL
AWARDS POINTS
AGENCY SCORE*
1 WPP 93 270
1 Edelman 18
2 Omnicom 48 154
2 Weber Shandwick 12
3 Interpublic 49 153
3 Citizen Paine 6
4 Edelman 28 96
*Digital Awards (Including Social Media & Blogger Outreach)
5 Publicis Groupe 25 91
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