GTA Communicators Celebrate Big Wins at IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards

TORONTO, May 28, 2015 /CNW/ - The IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards Ceremony, the premier event in the Greater Toronto Area communications calendar, celebrated excellence in communications last night with almost 300 attending the 'street party' style event at the Design Exchange.

The big winners of the night were Strategic Objectives with seven awards including Mid-Size Agency of the Year for the second year in a row, and Sun Life Financial, which won two Awards of Excellence and the People's Choice Award for "It's your move! The Rogers Communications Wealth Accumulation Plans transition--video podcasts."

"Each year we raise the bar in term of quality of campaigns submitted to the OVATION Awards and attendance at the annual event," said Stephanie Engel, ABC, president of IABC/Toronto. "Our theme was Paint the Town Blue and communicators embraced the concept with their creativity, resourcefulness and innovation, making the job of selecting this year's recipients more challenging."

This year, IABC/Toronto recognized 81 winning campaigns. In total, 33 Awards of Excellence, 48 Awards of Merit and six Awards of Distinction were recognized along with presentations for the People's Choice Awards, Student of the Year and the Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award. New in 2015, IABC/Toronto awarded the Not-for-Profit Communications Department of the Year Award of Distinction. The awards ceremony was hosted by CityLine's Tracy Moore.

Now in its 30th year, the IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards Program offers the communications profession an opportunity to present its best work. Entries are judged by a panel of senior communications professionals. Two separate judges carefully review each entry independently and then jointly review the submissions and results. The judging criteria for the submissions include clear objectives, originality and demonstrated results.

IABC/Toronto announced the following Awards of Distinction winners:

Sun Life Financial
2015 Corporate Communications Department of the Year

Ontario Shores Centre for Mental Health Sciences
2015 Not-for-Profit Communications Department of the Year

ruckus digital
2015 Boutique Agency of the Year

DDB Public Relations
2015 Small Agency of the Year

Strategic Objectives
2015 Mid-Size Agency of the Year

Environics Communications
2015 Large Agency of the Year

A full list of winners can be found at: http://bit.ly/1J2bdqL

The 2015 IABC/Toronto Student of the Year was Jessica Chong, a Centennial College student. This award recognizes a student from an accredited institution who demonstrates excellence in communications and the greatest potential to be the best all-round future professional.

The Bobbie Resnick Philanthropy Award, which recognizes outstanding leadership, contribution to the communications profession and service to the community, was awarded to Jan Graves of the IABC Golden Horseshoe Chapter for Gift of Communication. Started in Southern Ontario, the program is now international and connects non-profits with volunteer communication professionals who provide advice and counsel to help organizations address their most pressing communication challenges.

The 2015 IABC/Toronto OVATION Awards were sponsored by Arkadin Collaboration Services, Fifth Story, Fusion Design Group, Nestlé SMARTIES, Speaker's Spotlight and The Printing House (TPH).

About IABC/Toronto
IABC was founded in 1970 and currently operates in more than 80 countries, with more than 100 chapters worldwide. IABC/Toronto is recognized as the association's largest chapter in the world with more than 1,500 members. The organization is focused on providing members with professional resources and a network of more than 13,000 communicators, internationally. For more information visit, http://toronto.iabc.com

SOURCE IABC/Toronto

Media Contact: Brent Artemchuk, VP, Marketing and Sponsorship, IABC/Toronto, [email protected]; Awards Contact: Maliha Aqeel, VP, Awards, IABC/Toronto, [email protected]