Quick Take: A 2025 PRNEWS Platinum Awards judge, Barbara Rozgonyi, reveals how top campaigns earn recognition and results. Learn six secrets behind award-winning PR campaigns that build trust, drive measurable impact, and stand out through authentic storytelling and flawless execution.
How judging the PRNEWS Platinum Awards 2025 revealed what separates good campaigns from truly exceptional ones—and how those insights can help shape your PR strategy. Thanks to PRNews for the honor and privilege of reviewing and ranking the campaigns. Here’s how to build an award-winning PR campaign.
Why Judging Digital and Traditional PR Campaigns Matters
When I agreed to judge the Platinum Awards, it wasn’t for another line on my bio. After more than 30 years in the PR and marketing world, I’ve had the privilege of creating, leading, and evaluating countless campaigns. What judging forces you to do is sharpen your sense of what actually works, and why some stories stay with us long after the campaign ends.
This year, I evaluated 17 campaigns in two Digital & Social Media categories: podcasts and video series. And what I saw paints a clear picture of where modern communications is heading: real connection, measurable impact, and storytelling with heart.
More than 400 communications professionals gathered at Pier Sixty in New York City for the Platinum Awards gala, a night that celebrates excellence across our industry. I wasn’t there in person, but I was in the judges’ room—figuratively and literally—helping determine which campaigns rose above the noise.
How PR Platinum Award Judges Evaluate Campaigns: The 6-Point Framework
Understanding how judges think can transform the way you build your own campaigns. Every entry was evaluated across six key dimensions:
1. Idea
Is the concept original and purposeful? The strongest campaigns felt both fresh and inevitable.
2. Results
Metrics matter. The winning work didn’t just say it succeeded—it proved it with numbers that showed real impact.
3. Background & Insight
Strong foundations signal strategic depth. Top campaigns demonstrated deep understanding of their audience and environment before launching.
4. Accomplishments
Clear alignment between objectives and outcomes separated vanity metrics from lasting value.
5. Execution
Ideas are easy. Bringing them to life with precision, creativity, and smart resource allocation is what earns recognition.
6. X-Factor
That indefinable spark. The creative risk, the human moment, the element that makes judges lean in and say, “This one.”
Why Digital Storytelling Is Winning PR Big
My assignments focused on podcasts and video series because they reflect where PR is heading. Audio and video aren’t just distribution channels. They build intimacy at scale, create shared emotional experiences, and shift conversations in ways static content simply can’t.
Podcast PR Campaigns: The Power of Audio Intimacy
Audio is a uniquely personal format. It invites brands into daily life: in the car, on walks, over coffee. The strongest podcast campaigns:
- Centered real human voices and authentic experiences.
- Built communities through empathy, not hype.
- Elevated complex topics through approachable storytelling.
Campaigns like Hold the Moment by Dementia Australia and Words of the Woods by Lake County Forest Preserve District captured emotion, education, and engagement in a single, powerful format. Meanwhile, All Business. No Boundaries. by DHL Supply Chain proved that B2B storytelling can be both strategic and compelling.
PR Video Series: Visual Stories that Drive Action
Video delivers something audio can’t: human expression in full view. The best campaigns understood this and used it strategically to build trust and urgency.
One of the most powerful examples was Made Possible by Your Children’s Hospital by Children’s Hospital Association, which centered real families and authentic storytelling to drive awareness and donations. Other campaigns addressed sensitive topics with care, crafted cinematic narratives that elevated their messages, and built emotional resonance that translated directly into action.
Patterns That Set Award-Winning PR Campaigns Apart
After reviewing these campaigns, several themes emerged. If your team is looking to create truly award-worthy work, these are the principles to watch:
1. Authenticity and Craft Win PR Visibility Together
Genuine stories resonate. But pairing authenticity with strong creative and technical execution takes campaigns from memorable to unforgettable.
2. Budget Doesn’t Define PR Impact
Many standout campaigns achieved extraordinary results with limited resources. Judges notice when resourcefulness amplifies results.
3. Measurement Is Non-Negotiable
Winning campaigns brought proof, not promises. Clear data on awareness, engagement, and business outcomes was essential.
4. The PR X-Factor Is Real
This isn’t something you can manufacture. It often shows up in unexpected places—a moment of honesty, a bold creative pivot, or a perfectly timed message.
5. Digital PR Formats Demand a Different Playbook
Podcasts and video series aren’t extensions of traditional PR. They require strategies built on audience intimacy, sustained storytelling arcs, and a clear emotional throughline.
Why This Work Still Inspires Me
When I launched WiredPRWorks in 2006, it was a space to explore how technology was reshaping communications. Almost 20 years and 1,200+ articles later, the tools have changed, but the core truth remains: stories move people, and people move industries.
From founding Social Media Club Chicago in 2008 to pioneering early digital content strategies, I’ve seen platforms come and go. What doesn’t change is the power of an authentic story, delivered with purpose and strategy.
Judging the Platinum Awards reminded me why I believe so deeply in this field. PR isn’t just about coverage. It’s about changing conversations, building trust, and creating lasting impact.
FAQs: Building Award-Worthy PR Campaigns
Q: What makes a PR campaign truly stand out to judges?
A: A combination of original ideas, measurable results, strategic foundations, strong execution, and that hard-to-define spark that makes people care.
Q: How much does a PR budget really matter?
A: Far less than you think. Judges reward impact, not dollar signs. A small but mighty campaign can outshine a big-budget one if the results are compelling.
Q: Should marketing communications and PR teams focus more on podcasts and video series?
A: Absolutely—if it fits your strategy. These formats create intimate, long-form connections and unlock storytelling potential traditional tactics can’t match.
Q: What’s the most common mistake marketing communications and PR teams make in award submissions?
A: Claiming success without proving it. Judges look for data, not just declarations.
Q: How can smaller marketing and PR teams compete with large marketing and PR agencies?
A: By leaning into authenticity, clarity, and creativity. Constraints often spark the most original solutions.
Q: What trends are shaping the next wave of PR?
A: Measurable outcomes, digital storytelling, authentic community building, smart use of AI, and campaigns that deliver both business value and social impact.
About the Author
Barbara Rozgonyi is an AI marketing PR keynote speaker, fractional CMO, and founder of CoryWest Media. Named one of the Top 100 Speakers to Watch in 2025, she’s invested more than 30 years guiding B2B leaders, startups, and nonprofits through digital transformation with PR-led marketing strategies.
Since 2006, Barbara has published WiredPRWorks, a top marketing and PR blog with more than 1,200 articles. A digital communications pioneer, she produced Chicago’s first sold-out “Writing for the Web” conference in 2002 and founded Social Media Club Chicago in 2008. Her client portfolio includes Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies, nonprofits, and small businesses.
Connect with Barbara at barbararozgonyi.com and wiredprworks.com.
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