The PRmoment Awards shortlists 2026

Welcome to this special podcast to celebrate the shortlists for the PRmoment Awards.

In this show we're going to be talking in detail about the shortlist for the PRmoment Awards in London and we'll be talking about the shortlist for the North next week.

On the show today we're going to be discussing the shortlist, talking about which firms were shortlisted the most and revealing some new data highlighting some of the extraordinarily high cumulative average category score for this year's PRmoment Awards.

Don't miss out on your charts to attend the PRmoment Awards in either Manchester or London or even both if you fancy. 

Will and I were the chairs for two of the five streams for the PRmoment Awards judging day,  so we get a great insight into the work that's happening in UK PR and we're hopefully in a decent position to offer a behind the scenes view on that judging day and what we saw and how competitive it was in many of the categories.

Important to note that host Ben Smith or Will Hart get a vote in the PRmoment Awards judging process. Who wins is entirely down to our wonderful judges.

London Awards Ceremony , Park Plaza Westminster - Thursday 16 April
Manchester Awards Ceremony, Manchester Hall - Thursday 30 April

Most Shortlisted Agencies
Analysis of the London event shortlists showed W Communications, Hope&Glory, and The Romans topping the list, indicating breadth of high-standard work across these agencies. Being shortlisted is considered a significant achievement given the intense competition and high judging standards for all campaigns submitted.

Judging Process Review
The judging process involves individual prescoring, followed by group discussion across 5 streams, which determines the final winners. Criteria are weighted across 6 areas, including objectives, strategy, creativity, implementation, results, and evaluation, ensuring a consistent and transparent evaluation.

Emerging Award Categories
New categories introduced this year include Generative Engine Optimization Campaign of the Year and Pro Bono Campaign of the Year, reflecting the evolving PR sector and acknowledging previously unacknowledged work. 

Transcript

• Introduction and Awards Overview: The podcast celebrates the shortlist for the PRmoment Awards 2026 in London and will discuss the North shortlist next week. 
• Will Hart, dean of the PRmoment Leaders subscription training programme, joined Ben Smith to offer an insider's view on the judging process, having both chaired two of the five streams. Neither Will nor Ben have a vote in the judging process, as winners are entirely determined by the juries.
• Award Ceremony Logistics: The PRmoment Award London ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, April 16th, at the Park Plaza in Westminster. The Manchester award ceremony will be held at Manchester Hall on Thursday, April 30th. Both events are held on a Thursday to ensure attendees can enjoy the night out!
• Most Shortlisted Firms (London Event): Data was presented showing the agencies with the most shortlists for the London event, which indicates a breadth of high-standard work within those agencies. W Communications topped the list with 25 shortlists, followed by Hope and Glory with 23, and The Romans with 22. MHP Group (including Mischief) had 21 shortlists, while Taylor Herring secured 15, Golin 14, and Tim Man 10.
• Shortlisting as an Achievement: Being shortlisted is considered a significant achievement, particularly given the intense competition. The judges emphasise that the high standards mean it is an honor to be shortlisted, and many other high-profile campaigns from the listed firms were not selected. Agencies should be proud of their shortlisting numbers.
• The Robust Judging Process: The judging process is described as "really robust," with Ben and Will having no influence on the jury’s final decision. The process starts with judges individually prescoring entries before their scores are uploaded and used to determine the shortlists (the top eight entries). The final stage involves a group discussion across five streams, where a winner is decided, although the highest-scoring entry does not always win due to the definitive discussion that takes place.
• Judge Feedback and Collaboration: Judges noted that the judging platform allowed them to compare entries side-by-side. Some judges mentioned adjusting their initial scoring—starting either too tough or too lenient—as they progressed, highlighting the personal nature of the evaluation. These panel discussions are intense but constructive, often leading the group to collectively agree to change the ranking order if warranted by the discussion.
• Tight Scoring and Diverse Perspectives: The scoring among the top entries is often very tight, with sometimes only 0.5 to 1 point separating the top two or three candidates. The jury includes a mix of senior agency-side and senior in-house professionals, whose contrasting views often lead to interesting discussions. Senior in-house judges tended to prioritize measurement and results linked to business objectives, while senior agency judges were often most impressed by creativity and groundbreaking ideas.
• Campaign Judging Criteria: Campaign entries are judged across six weighted criteria, each worth 10 points: campaign objectives, strategy, creativity, implementation, results and evaluation, and finally, "why your entry should win". The process is described as very transparent, although writing a compelling entry is considered an art form. The criteria exist to ensure consistency, as judges can have differing initial reactions to the written quality of an entry.
• Initial Campaign Shortlists (Automotive, B2B, Best Content): The Automotive and Transport Marketing Communications Campaign of the Year category had a high average shortlist score of 46, while the B2B Campaign of the Year category score was 45.4. The Best Content category scored even higher at 48.4, reflecting the high quality and importance of earned-first storytelling. The B2B category, which often lacks the high-profile experiential elements of consumer PR, requires entrants to truly earn their success.
• Creativity, Influencer, and Strategy Shortlists: Shortlists for Best Creativity (B2B and Consumer), Best Influencer Partnership (average score 46.8), and Best Planning, Strategy, and Evaluation (average score 38.4) were reviewed. The planning and evaluation category's high score demonstrates how data is central to contemporary PR campaigns. Best Use of Celebrity had the highest average score yet at 49.1, indicating its increasing importance in the future of public relations.
• Agency and Campaign Size Independence: The awards are considered a meritocracy, with very little correlation observed between the size of an agency and its likelihood of winning. Smaller agencies have frequently achieved significant wins over the years.
• Under and Over £50K Consumer PR Shortlists: The consumer PR campaign categories were split into under £50,000 and over £50,000 budgets. Judges often find the under £50K campaigns particularly impressive because they demonstrate hard work and resourcefulness with smaller budgets. Community Engagement Campaign of the Year, with a 47.9 average score, was highlighted as vital for modern PR agencies.
• Sustainability, Technology, and Financial Services Categories: The financial services category demonstrated significant creativity in a traditionally less creative space. The Sustainability Purpose Campaign of the Year highlights great work in a contested area. The technology PR campaign of the year is noted as a hotly contested category.
• New and Emerging Categories: New categories this year include Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) Campaign of the Year and Pro Bono Campaign of the Year. The GEO category reflects the evolving sector, while the Pro Bono category acknowledges the significant, previously unacknowledged work PR firms are doing in that space.
• Team and Agency Awards Shortlists: Shortlists for various agency awards, including B2B, Boutique, Consumer PR, Independent, Integrated, Large, Micro, and Newcomer agencies of the year, were announced. These categories consider factors such as financial growth/comeback, business operations, employee care, and evidence of great work. The Young Professional of the Year category, recognizing five individuals, was praised for shining a necessary spotlight on the industry's fantastic young talent.
• Sponsorship and Award Involvement: Will Hart noted the cool involvement of people sponsoring the various categories of the PRmoment Awards. Ben Smith confirmed that the awards are well-supported and thanked the sponsors, emphasizing that their support makes a huge difference in being able to put on the PRmoment Awards. Ben Smith also mentioned that Will Hart might be dishing out a few awards on the night in their role as dean of the school of PR moment leaders.
• Award Ceremony Dates and Ticket Reminders: Ben Smith reminded listeners that tickets can be booked from the awards microsite. The London ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, April 16th, and the Manchester Awards is on Thursday, April 30th. Ben Smith promised that they would discuss the North next week..
• Sponsor Recognition: Ben Smith read out a list of sponsors, noting that it would be remiss not to thank them before wrapping up. The headline sponsor is Opinion Research, and the category sponsors include Censuswide, Sapio Research, PA Media Assignments, Markettiers, Unicepta, Media HQ, People Like Us, Loaded Dice Media, Creative Access and The Black Comms Network.