Toronto communications professionals celebrated for excellence in their industry amidst the global pandemic
IABC/Toronto announces 2021 OVATION Award winners
TORONTO, April 29, 2021 /CNW/ - The Toronto chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators (IABC/Toronto) is pleased to announce the recipients of the prestigious 2021 OVATION Awards of Excellence and Awards of Merit.
For more than 35 years, the IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards has celebrated excellence in communications in the Greater Toronto Area.
The year 2020 was challenging and changed everything. There were world-changing developments at every turn, political shifts, waves of social change and a global pandemic. Communicators rose to the challenge. They played an integral role in keeping people informed, safe and connected as we navigated challenging and unprecedented times together, while physically apart.
With more than 200 entries submitted from IABC members and non-members across various industries, we are proud to celebrate the award winners whose work has been evaluated against the global standard of the communications profession using IABC's Global Seven-Point Scale of Excellence.
Awards of Excellence
Division 1: Communication Management
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
- The Canadian Payroll Association: National Payroll Week 2020
EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
- Astellas Pharma Canada, Inc.: Astellas Celebrates Movember
- Astellas Pharma Canada, Inc.: Employee Drive-In Event
MARKETING, ADVERTISING & BRAND COMMUNICATION
- Veritas and Labatt Breweries of Canada: Bud Light: Underplayed
- Unilever and Edelman Canada: AXE Project Wild
- Nathalie Noël, Strategy & Brand Coach and Cathy Ledden, Ledden Design iT: Shepherd Village Rebrand
- Strategic Objectives and Thermacell Repellents: #TurnItOnMosquitoesGone with Thermacell Repellents
- Principles: Tastes from Home: Lead Generation Campaign
MEDIA RELATIONS (BUDGET UP TO $50,000)
- Argyle and Earth Rangers: Earth Rangers App Launch: Empowering kids today, for a better environment tomorrow
MEDIA RELATIONS (BUDGET MORE THAN $100,000)
- CO-OP: WeRPN Nursing Week
GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION PROGRAMS
- Ontario Energy Board: Power is Personal
- City of Markham: Protect Your Pipes! F.O.G. Clogs
- Argyle and Government of Canada: Federal Indian Day School Class Action
COVID-19 RESPONSE & RECOVERY MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION
- Argyle and National Association of Friendship Centres: #TakeCareInCOVID – COVID-19 Communications for Urban Indigenous Peoples
- GoodLife Fitness & Edelman Canada: GoodLife @ Home & The GoodLife Standard
- Weber Shandwick and McDonald's Canada: Reimagining the future of McDonald's Canada
- Weber Shandwick and McDonald's Canada: Community Connections
- Sheridan College: Sheridan's Pandemic Response
- Ontario Chiropractic Association (OCA): COVID-19 Response: From Clinic Shutdown to Return to Practice
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
- Strategic Objectives and Maple Leaf Foods: Maple Leaf Foods Sustainability Program
- Strategic Objectives and Kruger Products L.P.: Kruger Products #RollingItForward
NON-PROFIT CAMPAIGNS
- Argyle and Lighthouse for Grieving Children: Kitchen Memories Project
- Lung Health Foundation and Edelman Canada: The Toker 2.0
- Jake's House and Edelman Canada: ASD: Rockin' the Spectrum
- Argyle and Labour Market Information Council: How much do they make? Report Launch
- The Canadian Payroll Association: National Payroll Week 2020
- Etobicoke Humane Society: Hope for the Holidays
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION – LGBTQ2
- Unilever and Edelman Canada: Dove Hair presents: The D Cut
DIVERSITY & INCLUSION – ACCESSIBILITY
- Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital: Dear Everybody anti-stigma campaign
MARKETING COMMUNICATION
- Weber Shandwick Canada: RMHC Giving Tuesday Campaign
- McDonald's Canada and Weber Shandwick: Fries for Good
SOCIAL MEDIA PROGRAMS
- McDonald's Canada and Weber Shandwick: Fries for Good
Division 4: Communication Skills
SPECIAL & EXPERIENTIAL EVENTS
- Weber Shandwick Canada: OREO What's Your Stuf?: The Stuf Shoppe
- Canadian Tire Corporation: Canadian Tire Christmas Trail
- The Peter Gilgan Centre for Women's Cancers at Women's College Hospital and The Canadian Cancer Society: Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day
- Sheridan College: The 2020 Virtual Welcome Back Event
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION & COMMUNICATION FOR THE WEB
- Engineering Strategic Communications and University of Toronto: Back to Skule 2020
- CAA Club Group: myCCG: where the wild west was won
AUDIO/VISUAL
- City of Markham and Advantis Communications: Markham facilities reopen during COVID-19
SOCIAL MEDIA
- Paradigm and Playtex Baby: Playtex Baby Virtual Baby Shower
- Strategic Objectives and Groupe Marcelle Inc.: Lise Watier Holiday 2020 Campaign
Awards of Merit
Division 1: Communication Management
INTERNAL COMMUNICATION
- Sheridan College: Keeping connected while physically dispersed: Sheridan's pandemic response
- BMO Financial Group: Activating Ambition 2025
MARKETING, ADVERTISING & BRAND COMMUNICATION
- Sheridan College: Learning, Uncompromised: Sheridan's Fall Promise
- The Canadian Payroll Association: National Payroll Week 2020
- Unilever and Edelman Canada: Dove Hair presents: The D Cut
MEDIA RELATIONS (BUDGET UP TO $50,000)
- Argyle and Labour Market Information Council: How much do they make? Report Launch
- Weber Shandwick Canada: Shoppable Girls
- IKEA Canada: IKEA Canada Black Friday Campaign
- No Fixed Address Inc.: Heinz by Nature: Lockdown Lovebaby Collection
MEDIA RELATIONS (BUDGET MORE THAN $50,000 & UP TO $100,000)
- McCormick Canada: Club House Uncovers Twists on Traditional Thanksgiving Menus
- Zeno Group Canada: Think Turkey
- Agnostic: Truss Portfolio Launch
- Weber Shandwick Canada: Caramilk Unlock the Secret Contest
- Swerve Public Relations Inc., Rubik's and Kroeger Inc.: Rubik's 40th Anniversary
MEDIA RELATIONS (BUDGET MORE THAN $100,000)
- CO-OP: autoTRADER.ca COVID-19 PR Pivot
- Craft Public Relations: Champion the Truth: National Newspaper Week 2020
- Weber Shandwick Canada: Holiday Art Boxes
GOVERNMENT COMMUNICATION PROGRAMS
- Argyle and Ontario Association of Optometrists: Save Eye Care
COVID-19 RESPONSE & RECOVERY MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION
- McDonald's Canada and Weber Shandwick: COVID-19 Recovery Response
- Broad Reach Communications: Helping Canadian Business Leaders Communicate During COVID-19
- IKEA Canada: Caring for People: Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic
- Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority: WDBA: COVID-19 Response
CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
- IKEA Canada: COVID-19 Community Relief Program
NON-PROFIT CAMPAIGNS
- Weber Shandwick Canada: Shoppable Girls
- CIFAR: Turning lemons into lemonade: attracting global scholar candidates during a pandemic
- Ontario College of Pharmacists: Ontario College of Pharmacists Public & Patient Content Strategy
- Argyle and National Association of Friendship Centres: #TakeCareInCOVID - COVID-19 Communications for Urban Indigenous Peoples
MARKETING COMMUNICATION
- McDonald's Canada and Weber Shandwick Canada: McDelivery Moments
- Sheridan College: Learning, Uncompromised: Sheridan's Fall Promise
- Veritas Communications: Dexcom National Diabetes Awareness Month
SOCIAL MEDIA PROGRAMS
- Argyle: Talk over RA
- The Canadian Payroll Association: National Payroll Week 2020
Division 2: Communication Research
- RTOERO: 2020 Renaissance Readership Survey
Division 3: Communication Training & Education
- RTOERO: Create and Communicate
Division 4: Communication Skills
SPECIAL AND EXPERIENTIAL EVENTS
- Strategic Objectives and Kruger Products L.P.: The 2020 Cashmere Collection
- Pomp & Circumstance PR: Mercedes-Benz #GLAmping (#MBGLAmping)
DIGITAL COMMUNICATION/COMMUNICATION FOR THE WEB
- Insurance Bureau of Canada, Paradigm, True Media and VMG: Alberta Auto Insurance Reform
- The Canadian Payroll Association: National Payroll Week 2020
AUDIO/VISUAL
- Engineering Strategic Communications and University of Toronto: The Twelve Days of Skule
- McDonald's Canada and Weber Shandwick Canada: Back to 100% Canadian Beef
- University of Toronto: Arts & Science Breadth Requirements Video
- Sheridan College: Art against all odds: Alumna blends talent and determination to pursue her passion
- City of Markham: Protect Your Pipes! F.O.G. Clogs Campaign Videos
SOCIAL MEDIA
- University of Toronto: University of Toronto's Faculty of Arts & Science Virtual Convocation Celebration
- Strategic Objectives and Groupe Marcelle Inc.: Lise Watier Revamped Portfolio Professional Correctors Launch
- Strategic Objectives and Kia Canada: Kia Canada Ambassador Program
PUBLICATIONS
- IKEA Canada: IKEA Canada Annual Summary Report for Fiscal Year 2020
WRITING
- Sheridan College: Pioneers of Pedagogy and Practice
Award winners will be recognized at the virtual IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards celebration on May 26, 2021 at 6 PM, live-to-air from Arcadian Court, in the heart of downtown Toronto.
The recipients of the Awards of Distinction and the coveted Best of the Best Judges' Choice Award will also be announced at the virtual event.
Buy tickets to the 2021 IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards at toronto.iabc.to and get a front-row seat to Toronto's top talent!
Be a part of the conversation and celebration at #OVATION21!
Quotes
- "On behalf of IABC/Toronto – the largest chapter in an international network of business communicators – I want to extend a sincere and heartfelt thanks to communicators across the Greater Toronto Area for their hard work, resiliency and endless dedication during these challenging and unprecedented times.
Entries for the 2021 IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards demonstrated communicators' collective commitment to communications excellency in a year of non-stop change. Never before have we seen so much high-calibre, well-crafted and beautifully executed work, and we can't wait to bring the best of the best in our industry together to celebrate. "
– Russell Baker (He/Him), President, IABC/Toronto - "In a year like no other, communicators rose to the challenge. This is their time to shine and for everyone to celebrate award-winning work in the communications industry that kept people informed, connected and safe.
We know that everyone is tired of Zoom-ing, so we're taking the 36th annual OVATION Awards online in a new and exciting way! Enjoy the big night from the comfort and safety of your home. Network with colleagues, make new contacts and catch up with old friends in a dynamic self-guided networking lounge. Plus, enjoy performances by Toronto's premiere drag queen, Baby Bel Bel. You won't want to miss out. This is definitely an event worth getting ready for!"
– Michael Blackburn (He/Him), Vice-President, OVATION Awards, IABC/Toronto
Sponsors
- Cision
- Fusion Design Group
- Arc and Crown Media
- McMaster-Syracuse MCM Program
- Lloyd Rang Communications
- Canmark Communications
Related links
- 2020 OVATION Award winners.
- Exclusive IABC membership benefits
- 2021 Communicator of the Year Award
- Mentor of the Year Award
- Student Awards
- Certification & Accreditation
Cision is the exclusive distribution partner of IABC/Toronto
Stay Connected
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About IABC/Toronto
IABC/Toronto is the largest chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators. The chapter supports its community of business communication professionals with innovative thinking, shared best practices, in-depth learning and career guidance.
SOURCE IABC/Toronto
Media Contacts : Diane Bellissimo, Vice-President, Data Analytics & Brand Management, IABC/Toronto, [email protected]
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