Ogilvy Public Relations Sri Lanka succeeded in finishing ahead of 1,200 entries from across the Asia Pacific region at the SABRE APAC Awards in Hong Kong recently.
The agency’s ‘Uncover the Truth’ campaign for Sri Lanka’s Right to Information Act won two Certificates of Excellence, a Gold Award in the ‘Charities and Not-For-Profit’ category and the ‘Best-in-Show’ campaign at the SABRE APAC Awards 2017.
Ogilvy Public Relations Sri Lanka claims they are the first PR Agency in the country to win the Platinum ‘Best-in-Show’ Award, earning it the crown of the best PR campaign in the Asia Pacific awards show, which saw entries from Australia, Japan, India, China, Singapore, Hong Kong, Indonesia, and many others in the region.
The SABRE Awards Show is the world’s largest and most sought after public relations awards competition, which recognises superior achievement in Branding and Reputation Management in North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), South Asia and the Asia-Pacific regions. The SABRE Awards is hosted by The Holmes Report, the authoritative voice of the global public relations industry, dedicated to proving and improving the value of public relations by providing insights, knowledge and recognition to public relations professionals.
This campaign for Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) focused on educating the Sri Lankan public on the Right to Information (RTI) Act, which came into effect on 4th February, 2017, after nearly two decades awaiting parliamentary sign-off. The PR campaign titled ‘Uncover the Truth’, was executed in partnership with the Neth FM radio station and its online channels, to promote the Act’s usage among the public.
“The ‘Uncover the Truth’ campaign beat out four other Platinum-nominated campaigns for ‘Best in Show’. Last week was a proud moment for all of us in Ogilvy Asia Pacific. Thank you, team Sri Lanka for making us so proud,” said, Scott Kronick, Ogilvy Public Relation’s President and CEO for Asia Pacific.
Irvin Weerackody, Chairman, Ogilvy Group Sri Lanka, said: “Once considered a stepchild in the marketing world, Public Relations is now a potent tool in marketing and of course in championing public service initiatives. “The campaign for the Right to Information Act is such an example, and a landmark campaign,” he said.
“It is excellent to see the creativity of Ogilvy Public Relations, combined with TISL’s cutting edge work on RTI recognised through this regional award,” said Asoka Obeyesekere, Executive Director of Transparency International Sri Lanka.