Best of Northern Ireland’s advertising industry celebrated at 2017 PANI Awards

The Publicity Association of Northern Ireland (PANI) Awards took place last night [Thursday, September 19] at the Culloden Hotel.

The biggest names in the advertising industry in Northern Ireland came together with media-owners alike to celebrate the remarkable successes in the development and implementation of creative, innovative and impactful advertising campaigns over the past 3 years.

Hosted by well-known Irish comedian and star of BBC’s The Blame Game, Neil Delamere, it was a night to remember for local Belfast-based agency Genesis who picked up a total of twenty-two awards, including five gold and the evening’s top prize – the PANI Awards 2017 Grand Prix for the Health and Safety Executive for Northern Ireland’s (HSENI) Farm Safety campaign.

Marketing and creative advertising agency RLA scooped an equally impressive five gold, spanning the press, magazines and outdoor sections of the awards ceremony for its work with Belfast International Airport and Recruit NI.

ICAN’s work with West Coast Cooler proved impressive among the judging panel, picking up gold in both Best Outdoor Innovation and Best Mixed Media Campaign categories.

Shopper marketing agency mxb took home the top prize in the Best Magazine Campaign category, while brand engagement agency Mammoth won gold for Best Use of Digital Advertising and Social Media.

For its work with radio, ASG & Partners took home gold in both the Best Use of Radio and Best Radio Campaign categories, while Holywood-based advertising agency Ardmore Advertising won gold for the Most Outstanding Use of Radio as a Sound Medium.

Recognising the crucial role of media-owners, PANI Chair Siobhan Lavery presented two category awards for Media Owner Initiative. Mirror Media Northern Ireland won gold for ‘Belfast Loves’ by Belfast Live, as did Q Radio for ‘Proud to be Local’.

PANI Awards Chair, Nuala Meenehan said:

“When we launched the 2017 PANI Awards in May this year, I had contended that there are already numerous local campaigns to rival those on the international stage and the standard of entries and award-winning campaigns by our local agencies and media owners has certainly proved this.

“Congratulations to all of this year’s winners – gold, silver and bronze. The level of creativity and impactful campaign execution showcased at the awards gala was astonishing. A massive well done to Genesis, who are the recipients of this year’s Grand Prix – their work with HSENI proves that a simple idea that is well executed with a creative team can achieve astonishing results and have great impact.”

Chair of the 2017 PANI Awards judging panel Billy Mawhinney, Creative Director WJPM, London, said:

“The panel had the arduous task of judging each entry and we can safely say that the standard of work and creativity within the industry in Northern Ireland has risen over the past few years. So much so that some of the work that took home this year’s top prizes in their respective categories could compete at advertising industry awards ceremonies globally.

“We would like to explicitly commend Genesis for their work and impressive award entries. Their farm safety spot created for HSENI, which received the PANI Awards 2017 Grand Prix, was outstanding – a simple yet powerful idea that was brilliantly executed,” he added.

For more information and to see the full list of winners, visit paniawards.com.

Gold winners from the 2017 PANI Awards

PRESS

Best Creative Use of the Medium – RLA

Best Full-Colour Display Advert – RLA

Best Public Sector Campaign – No gold awarded

MAGAZINES

Best Magazine Advertisement – RLA

Best Magazine Campaign – mxb

DIGITAL

Best Digital Campaign – Genesis

Best Use of Social Media – Mammoth

RADIO

Best Use of Radio – ASG & Partners

Best Radio Campaign – ASG & Partners

Most Outstanding Use of Radio as a Sound Medium – Ardmore Advertising

OUTDOOR

Best Use of Outdoor – RLA

Best Outdoor Innovation – ICAN

Best Multi-Format Campaign – RLA

TV

Best Advert Under £25k – Genesis

Best Advert Between £25k-75k – Genesis

Best Advert Over £75k – Genesis

MEDIA OWNER

Media Owner Initiative (Category One) – Mirror Media Northern Ireland

Media Owner Initiative (Category Two) – Q Radio

INTERNATIONAL

Outdoor, TV and Press – Genesis

Radio, Digital and Magazine – HNH Digital Ltd

Best Mixed Media Campaign – ICAN

Grand Prix – Genesis