Cumbrian firm shortlisted for prestigious award

A Cumbrian firm is celebrating after being shortlisted for a prestigious public relations award for the second year running. Osprey Communications has been shortlisted for the Outstanding Small Consultancy at the Chartered Institute of Public Relations (CIPR) North West PRide Awards.

The firm has been recognised for its work with clients in a number of different sectors including tourism, health and forestry.

Osprey has also led the communications work for the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership which has carried out a major communications and engagement programme over the last three years.  The Partnership has been shortlisted in three categories in the awards - the best Community Relations campaign, the best Integrated Communications campaign and the best External Publication.

Paul Gardner, the Managing Director of Osprey Communications, was previously a political journalist at the BBC in London and a special adviser to Kenneth Clarke at the Treasury.  He says: “We are really pleased to have been shortlisted for the outstanding small PR agency in this year’s PRide Awards. This is the fourth time that we have been shortlisted in this category in the last six years and we won in 2007.

“It is recognition of all the hard work that the team at Osprey has put in over the last few years.

“I think a key factor in being shortlisted again is the fact that for a small firm we do a very wide range of communications work.  We have achieved extensive and varied coverage in the media for clients like Lakes Alive and the Forestry Commission.

“Our work for the West Cumbria Managing Radioactive Waste Safely Partnership has also included media relations, newsletters, video and social media, as well as organising exhibition stands, advertising and a live webcast.”

The awards ceremony will take place on November 29 in Manchester.

CIPR CEO, Jane Wilson MCIPR, commented: “The CIPR PRide Awards celebrate the best PR and communications campaigns and teams from the profession across the UK. To be shortlisted for a CIPR PRide Award demonstrates exemplary achievement, impact and value – immediately putting your work in the spotlight.”

The judging process for the PRide Awards is rigorous with a national panel of industry experts assessing the shortlisted entries and choosing the winners. The 2012 Chairs of Judges, Gill Dandy FCIPR, Senior Consultant at The Centre for Strategy and Communication, and Chris Genasi FCIPR, Senior Consultant at APCO Worldwide, assisted in ensuring a fair and consistent judging process.

Gill Dandy, commented: “I would like to congratulate all of the individuals and teams that have been shortlisted across the twelve regions and nations in the UK. The standard of entries continues to improve year on year which demonstrates an increasingly vibrant public relations profession.”