Topics

The Public Relations Society of Japan (PRSJ) held its PR Award Grand Prix 2019 and selected as this year’s Grand Prix winner a campaign to that supported future prospects for an aging housing complex through co-creation with residents. The Chayamadai Apartment Complex Revitalization Project was created by Osaka Prefectural Housing Corporation and its PR agency OZMA Inc.

 

Gold awards were presented to two campaigns: one to protect disappearing wild lions, which was created by Dentsu Inc. and Dentsu Public Relations Inc. in cooperation with the UK’s Oxford University for Seibu Lions., Ltd., and the other Pantene’s “#HairWeGo My Hair Moves Me Forward” campaign, which encouraged students to think about respecting individuality by questioning school rules regarding hairstyles, created by Material Inc. for The P&G Japan Limited.

 

Four Silver and eight Bronze awards were also presented.

 

The awards program is conducted annually to promote and further develop PR by honoring outstanding PR initiatives. This year, 75 entries were received and a total of 15 awards were presented (see below).

 

The awards ceremony and presentations by awardees will take place at Jiji Press Hall on Tuesday, December 10 from 5:00 p.m.

 

PR Award Grand Prix 2019 Award Winners (15 total)

 

Grand Prix (1)

■Changing the future of a declining housing complex through co-creation with residents: Chayamadai Apartment Complex Revitalization Project
Entry companies: Osaka Prefectural Housing Corporation and OZMA Inc.
Project entity: Osaka Prefectural Housing Corporation
Category: Corporate Communications

 

Gold (2)

■Save Lions Project
Entry companies: Dentsu Inc. and Dentsu Public Relations Inc.
Project entity: Seibu Lions., Ltd.
Category: Social Good

 

■“#HairWeGo My Hair Moves Me Forward”
Entry company: Material Inc.
Project entity: The P&G Japan Limited
Category: Social Good

 

Silver (4, in order of entry registration)

■SketchCook
Entry company: Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Project entity: Otsuka Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.
Category: Social Good

 

■Adultery, BL (boys love) and social withdrawal… “Too complicated” penguin correlation chart
Entry company: Dentsu Inc.
Project entity: Orix Real Estate Corporation
Entry category: Marketing Communications

 

■Bossy-Talk Detector
Entry companies: Dentsu Inc., Dentsu Public Relations Inc. and Dentsu Digital Inc.
Project entity: Yo-Ho Brewing Company
Category: Corporate Communications

 

■Shiseido AgDEO24: Commoditized antiperspirant market involving “stress odor”!
Entry companies: Dentsu Inc. and Dentsu Public Relations Inc.
Project entity: Shiseido Japan Co., Ltd.
Category: Marketing Communications

 

Bronze (8, in order of entry registration)

■Diversity in Disaster Preparation
Entry company: Dentsu Inc.
Business entity: Yahoo! Japan Corporation
Category: Corporate Communications

 

■20-year Project – Delivering Japanese mother & child health handbooks to the world
Entry company: The Mother and Child Foundation for Health
Project Entity: The Mother and Child Foundation for Health
Category: Social Good

 

■Saving Laundry from Zombie Odors
Entry companies: Dentsu Inc. and Dentsu Public Relations Inc.
Project entity: Lion Corporation
Category: Marketing Communications

 

■B2B Company’s Challenge: Love Rice Project to raise awareness of social issues among youths
Entry companies: Dentsu Inc. and Dentsu Public Relations Inc.
Project entity: Kubota Corporation
Category: Corporate Communications

 

■Content-PR Campaign to pitch mobile carrier to today’s teens: Parallel School Days
Entry company: Hakuhodo Kettle Inc.
Project entity: Softbank Corp.
Category: Corporate Communications

 

■Eat Your Words
Entry company: Dentsu Inc.
Project entity: Froebel-Kan Co., Ltd.
Category: Corporate Communications

 

■Challenge of the Kurasushi: Natural fish project aimed at establishing sustainable fishery system
Entry company: Dentsu Public Relations Inc.
Project entity: Kura Sushi, Inc.
Category: Social Good

 

■The Most Challenging Pingpong Table
Entry Company: TBWA Hakuhodo Inc.
Project entity: Japan Para Table Tennis Association
Category: Social Good

 

Comments by , President of the Judging Committee:

 

This year’s PR Award Grand Prix awards were judged with an eye to the future. I asked the judges to focus on future expansion although current effectiveness was also important. The former are works that incorporate ideas into existing methods while the latter are works that are actively introducing new perspectives. Each project selected for a top spot took a strategic stakeholder approach that produced initiatives never considered before, such as ‘pushing here to move there.’ Our feeling was that the continuation of such efforts is likely to produce even greater results.

 

The Grand Prix winner, Osaka Prefectural Housing Corporation, addressed the theme of how aging housing complexes can survive the challenges of Japan’s declining birthrates and aging population. They created a new mechanism to involve and activate residents in internal activities while also keeping an eye on other stakeholders. The project implemented all-new ideas by removing various housing-complex restrictions. It demonstrated that continuity as well as development potential should involve surrounding area for success. This could serve as a model for similar communities.

 

The essence of these entries provide hints for further expansion of the PR field.

 

■President of Judging Committee　(honorifics omitted)　

INOKUCHI, Tadashi

Executive Officer, Dentsu Public Relations Inc.

 

■Judging Committee (9 members)（honorifics omitted / )

 

AKUTSU, Satoshi	Professor, DBA Program Director, Hitotsubashi ICS
KANEKO, Midori	Public Relations Director at Amazon Japan G.K.
TAKAGI, Keiko	President and CEO, Asahi Agency
TAGAMI, Tomoko	Senior Manager, Company Communications, Public Relations and External Affairs Division, The P&G Japan Limited
NAGAFUCHI, Yuya	Team Leader and PR Director, Integrated Planning Bureau, Hakuhodo Inc.
FURUTA, Daisuke	Journalist and Representative, Medi-collab
HONDA, Tetsuya	CEO, Honda Office and Member, Public Relations Society of Japan (PRSJ) Awards Committee
MATSUMOTO, Rie	Vice President, Sunny Side up Group Inc.
YOKOTA, Kazuaki	Director, Strategic Planning Group, Account Services, Inoue Public Relations