Categories for BW EXCEL Awards 2024
A. SPECIALISED AWARDS
1. Agency of the Year (Small / Mid / Large)
This award celebrates agencies for their exceptional market presence, innovation, and measurable impact in the industry. Recognizes PR firms based on their annual turnover:
• Small: Below INR 15 Cr
• Medium: INR 15–35 Cr
• Large: Above INR 35 Cr
2. Communication Personality of the Year (Under 40)
Acknowledges an exceptional professional aged 40 or younger in the Public Relations field, highlighting their significant contributions to organizational success, career excellence, and the advancement of the industry.
3. Communication Personality of the Year (Under 30)
Celebrates outstanding professionals aged 30 or younger in Public Relations who have demonstrated remarkable achievements, leadership, and contributions to the growth of their organizations and the industry.
4. Corporate Person of the Year
Honors a distinguished professional in the Public Relations sector who has made a profound impact on organizational success, demonstrated exceptional leadership, and driven growth within the industry.
5. Communication Team of the Year
Recognizes outstanding PR teams that have fostered efficient, collaborative work environments and made significant contributions to their organizations’ success through innovation and high performance.
6. Emerging Agency of the Year
Awarded to a newly established agency (founded in or after 2020) that has shown exceptional promise, innovation, and measurable impact, positioning itself as a rising star in the industry.
7. Giant PR Agency of the Year
Celebrates agencies with an annual turnover of INR 41–90 Cr, recognizing their strong market presence, exemplary campaigns, and lasting influence in the field of public relations.
8. Superior PR Agency of the Year
Honors organizations with an annual turnover between INR 91–149 Cr, highlighting their exceptional industry performance, innovative solutions, and substantial contributions to the PR landscape.
9. Supreme PR Agency of the Year
Acknowledges leading PR firms with an annual turnover above INR 150 Cr for their outstanding achievements, market leadership, and transformative contributions to the industry.
10. Best Regional PR Agency of the Year
Recognizes exceptional regional PR agencies with an annual turnover exceeding INR 2 Cr, celebrating their excellence in delivering impactful campaigns within local markets
11. Fastest Growing Agency of the Year
Open to agencies that demonstrate rapid growth, supported by a strong trajectory of performance, an expanding client portfolio, and outstanding achievements.
12. CEO of the Year
Awards exemplary leadership by a CEO in Public Affairs, recognizing their pivotal role in driving organizational success, fostering innovation, and elevating the industry’s professional standards.
B. INDUSTRIAL AWARDS
1. Use of Content
Recognise an idea presented across channels with effective content in the shape of a video / blog / photograph / short film, for example.
2. Use of Media
Honour a public relations campaign that effectively communicates the campaign message across media such as TV, radio, print, outdoor, OTT, or internet platforms.
3. Use of Digital/Social Media
Honour a public relations campaign that has successfully used social media or digital platforms to promote the client’s goals and has had a substantial impact.
4. Use of Influencers
Honour a public relations effort that employed social media or digital channels to promote the client’s aims and made a significant impact.
5. Use of Event
Honour a public relations effort that used both on-site and virtual events to achieve quantifiable results. Product launches, conferences, seminars, award ceremonies, concerts, press conferences, gaming events, and so on are all examples of events.
6. Campaign in Not-For-Profit
Recognising a public relations campaign with a social purpose or awareness message that was carried out by NGOs, government or public organisations, trusts, and so on.
7. Campaign in Corporate Social Responsibility
Honour a public relations campaign with a message for a social cause or to raise societal awareness that was carried out by private organizations, MNCs, or others.
8. Surrogate Communication of the Year
Honour a public relations campaign that uses a surrogate strategy to transmit the campaign message indirectly through the promotion of a different product or service.
9. Regional Communication Campaign
Honour a public relations campaign that was carried out at the local or regional level with the goal of communicating in a specified geographic area and demonstrating successful and quantitative effects.
10. Internal Communication Campaign
Honour a public relations campaign carried out within an enterprise for internal stakeholders in order to support business objectives, demonstrating greater employee engagement and/or behaviour change, and so on.
11. Reputation/Crisis Management Campaign
Honour a public relations effort that managed and assisted a brand in navigating out of a sticky/complicated/negative circumstance.
12. Integrated PR Marketing Campaign
Honour a public relations campaign that was conducted across many channels and mediums, such as TV, radio, print, out-of-home, digital, and so on, and that demonstrated measurable effect.
13. Small Budget Campaign
Recognise a public relations campaign that demonstrated quantitative effect while operating on a minimal budget of up to INR 6 lacs.
14. Tech Enabled
Honours PR initiatives that are innovative in their use of technology such as AI/ML/AR/VR/Robotics & Automation, etc.
15. Persistent Long Running Campaign
Honour PR initiatives that have been ongoing for at least three years and how inventive the campaign has become year after year. Entries in this category will only be considered for campaigns that were started in 2019 and are still running on various media platform.
16. Automobile
Honour public relations campaigns carried out by organisations of two-wheelers, three-wheelers and four-wheelers ranging from mini, hatchback to utility vehicles, light / medium / heavy commercial vehicles, auto spare parts manufacturers across various vehicle categories, tyre manufacturers and heavy industrial vehicles such as earth movers.
17. BFSI
Honour public relations initiatives carried out by banking businesses, financial institutions and services verticals, insurance corporations, and lenders.
18. Consumer/Personal Tech
Honour public relations activities carried out by consumer applications such as online taxi aggregators, food-tech, fin-tech, online vehicle selling / comparing platforms, and so on.
19. Consumer Durables & Electronics
This category includes electrical home appliances, huge electronic gadgets, cellphones, and so on.
20. Education
Honour public relations activities carried out by educational institutions or online education portals / websites / mobile applications, etc.
21. Energy (Power / Oil & Gas / Renewables etc.)
Honour public relations initiatives carried out by energy/power businesses, oil and gas companies, and renewable energy companies.
22. Enterprise Tech (B2B)
Honour public relations initiatives carried out by software service and software vendors, technology enablers, and IT support companies.
23. FMCG – Personal Care
Honour Personal care product companies run public relations efforts for soaps, shampoos, hand sanitizers, hair oils, skincare and haircare products, toothbrushes, toothpaste, detergent soaps and powders, and so on.
24. FMCG – Foods & Beverages
Honour public relations campaigns carried out by organisations in the confectionery, health food & organic food, fresh food, packaged food, dairy goods, snacks & drinks industries. It excludes raw food production, which is part of the closely connected agriculture business.
25. Healthcare (Online Medical Pharmacies/ Doctors)
Honour public relations initiatives carried out by consumer healthcare companies, healthcare providers, medical technology firms, healthcare equipment manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, online medication suppliers / apps, online doctor appointment booking apps / websites, and so on.
26. Professional Services
This category includes law companies, marketing services businesses, management consultants, and so on.
27. Media & Entertainment
Honour public relations activities carried out by film production companies, web series creators, OTT platforms, broadcasters, record labels, musicians, celebrities, and so on.
28. Real Estate & Construction
Honour public relations initiatives carried out by real estate and construction firms.
29. Retail & E-commerce
Honour public relations initiatives carried out by consumer outlets, supermarkets, department shops, stand-alone retail outlets, online retail platforms offering consumer items, fashion and beauty products, luxury fashion outlets/online platforms, and so on.
30. Sports & Leisure
Honour public relations initiatives carried out by sports equipment makers, athletic and gym apparel manufacturers, and fitness centres.
31. Travel, Tourism & Leisure
Honour public relations initiatives carried out by hotels, restaurant businesses, airlines, and tourism boards.
32. Mobile handset & Accessories
Honour public relations activities by mobile phone and accessory makers. This covers mobile phones, earphones, headphones, buds, smartwatches, and other similar devices.
33. Best Integrated Digital Campaign of the Year
Honors a campaign that demonstrates exceptional integration across multiple digital platforms and channels, creating a cohesive and impactful experience for the target audience.
34. Best SEO Campaign of the Year
A search engine optimization campaign that achieves exceptional performance through innovative strategies, technical proficiency, and measurable impact.
35. Best Organic Content Campaign of the Year
A campaign that achieves exceptional reach, engagement, and impact solely through non-paid, organic content.
36. Best Digital Crisis Management of the Year
This award honors a campaign or response strategy that exemplifies outstanding handling of a crisis through digital channels.
37. Best Digital New Product Launch of the Year
Award honors a campaign that excels in introducing a new product to market through innovative and strategic digital efforts. This award recognizes campaigns that leverage digital channels—such as social media, email, influencer partnerships, and content marketing—to build excitement, drive brand awareness, and engage audiences effectively.
38. Campaign of the Year
Award is an accolade given to a public relations or marketing campaign that exemplifies outstanding achievement across creativity, strategic execution, audience engagement, and measurable impact.
