HONG KONG—Pelham Bell Pottinger took home the Platinum SABRE Award for the best public relations program in the Asia-Pacific region this year, winning for its work on the “From Conflict to Collaboration” campaign, which saw Golden-Agri Resources—the world’s second largest producer of palm oil—enhance its reputation and achieve measurable business results by engaging with critics within the NGO community.

The public affairs campaign beat out four other finalists for the Platinum awards, including a clean energy initiative in Australia for GE, managed by local agency n2n Communications; a conference organized by Fleishman-Hillard Japan for the Citizens of Fukushima in the wake of last year’s tsunami and nuclear disaster; a social media initiative for Royal Philips Initiative, The ‘+’ Project, managed by Omnicom’s OneVoice; and “Mr. Bao: A Virtual Sales Champion for IBM China,” a marketing effort spearheaded by Ogilvy Public Relations/Beijing.

The awards were presented at the second annual Asia-Pacific SABRE Awards dinner, organized by The Holmes Group in Hong Kong last week and attended by 220 of the region’s leading public relations professionals.

There were multiple Gold awards for several firms, including Burson-Marsteller, Fleishman-Hillard and Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide (five); Weber Shandwick (four); and Waggener Edstrom Worldwide (three).

A complete list of Gold winners is below. In addition, the event celebrated The Holmes Report’s previously announced Consultancies of the Year, winners of the Sliver SABRE Awards for excellence in content creation, and four Outstanding Individual Achievement award winners: Roma Balwani of India’s Majindra; Scott Kronick of Ogilvy China; Simon Sproule of Japanese automaker Nissan; and Richard Tsang, founder of regional powerhouse Strategic Public Relations Group.

GEOGRAPHIC CATEGORIES
AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND
Driving Australia's Transition to a Clean Energy Future – GE Australia with n2n communications

GREATER CHINA
Micro-Philanthropy – Lenovo China with BlueFocus PR Consulting

INDIAN SUB-CONTINENT
Ford EcoSport Global Reveal – Ford Motor Company, Asia Pacific and Africa with WPP, Imagination

JAPAN
The Fukushima Conference: After an Unspeakable Toll, Japan Finds its Voice – Citizens of Fukushima with Fleishman-Hillard Japan

KOREA
Helping Hands Program -- Sanofi Pasteur Korea with MSL Korea

SOUTH-EAST ASIA
Social Media Week Singapore – Social Media Week with AKA Asia

MULTI-COUNTRY
The '+' Project – Royal Philips Electronics with OneVoice

REGIONAL
Transforming Fried Cooking in Southeast Asia: Launching the Philips AirFryer – Philips with OneVoice Singapore (Fleishman-Hillard)

GLOBAL
From Conflict to Collaboration – Golden-Agri Resources with Pelham Bell Pottinger Asia

PRACTICE AREA CATEGORIES

MARKETING-TO-CONSUMERS (EXISTING PRODUCTS)
LOWcate Low Rate – Virgin Money with Burson Marsteller Australia

MARKETING-TO-CONSUMERS (NEW PRODUCTS)
Sonata 8: The Rise of the Dark Horse – Beijing Hyundai with MSLGroup, Genedigi

BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS MARKETING
Mr. Bao: A Virtual Sales Champion for IBM China – IBM China with Ogilvy Public Relations/Beijing

CORPORATE IMAGE
Mr. Bao: A Virtual Sales Champion for IBM China – IBM China with Ogilvy Public Relations/Beijing

CRISIS/ISSUES MANAGEMENT
Calm in a Crisis: The Japanese Prime Minister's Office – Omnicom Group (Kreab Gavin Anderson, Fleishman-Hillard and Interbrand Japan)

PUBLIC AFFAIRS/GOVERNMENT RELATIONS
Achieving Social, Environmental and Economic Progress in an Island Community: Sand Mining and Its Benefits on NSI -- Sibelco Australia with Rowland

PUBLIC EDUCATION
Health Promotion Board's iQuit Campaign – HPB with Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

FINANCIAL COMMUNICATIONS
National Savings and Debt Barometer 2011 Campaign – RaboDirect with BlueChip Communication

EMPLOYEE COMMUNICATIONS
DAMCO Employee Engagement Campaign – Damco North Asia with Edelman

CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY
From Conflict to Collaboration – Golden-Agri Resources with Pelham Bell Pottinger Asia

CORPORATE MEDIA RELATIONS
Ford Australia Goes Speed Dating – Ford Australia with Pulse Communications, an Ogilvy Public Relations company

PRODUCT MEDIA RELATIONS
Ramen Emporium: IPPUDO Hong Kong – IPPUDO with Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

DIGITAL CAMPAIGN
Foot Locker Art Prize – Foot Locker Australia and New Zealand with DEC Communications

SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN
Restaurant Safety – Air New Zealand with Hill+Knowlton Strategies Australia

MARKETING TO MEN
Gillette Salute the Soldier Campaign – P&G Gillette with Corporate Voice Weber Shandwick

MARKETING TO WOMEN
Kleenex Cottenelle Pin to Make a Difference – Kleenex Cottonelle with Ogilvy Public Relations (Pulse Communications and Social@Ogilvy), Australia

MARKETING TO YOUTH
adidas Calls for 1 Million Real fans to Go 925 – adidas with Burson-Marsteller

SPECIAL EVENT
Groupon and CTgoodjobs.hk: Bringing Real Jobs to Youngsters! – Groupon Hong Kong, Career Times with Fleishman-Hillard Hong Kong and Chung & Tang Communications Consultants


INDUSTRY SECTOR CATEGORIES
AUTOMOTIVE
Ford Global Ranger Challenge – Ford with WPP X Team, APA

FOOD AND BEVERAGE
Doublemint Brings People Face-to-Face – Doublemint with Burson-Marsteller

FASHION AND BEAUTY
Ray-Ban Striking a Chord with China – Lexottica with Ketchum

TRAVEL AND LEISURE
ZUJI StarZ Campaign – ZUJI with Waggener Edstrom Worldwide

ENTERTAINMENT
Lady Gaga Debacle: Big Daddy Entertainment with Burson-Marsteller

RETAILERS
eBay Online Business Index – eBay with Edelman

CONSUMER PRODUCTS/SERVICES
Gillette Salute the Soldier Campaign – P&G Gillette with Corporate Voice Weber Shandwick

CONSUMER HEALTH
Allegra: The Hay Fever Solution -- Sanofi-Aventis with Weber Shandwick

PHARMACEUTICAL
Know Your Own Skin: The Sun Burn Fades But the Skin Damage Remains – LEO Pharma with Hill+Knowlton Strategies

INDUSTRIAL/MANUFACTURING
From Conflict to Collaboration— Golden-Agri Resources with Pelham Bell Pottinger Asia

TECHNOLOGY (CONSUMER)
Keep Groovin' – Sennheiser with Genesis Burson-Marsteller

TECHNOLOGY (B2B)
Driving Australia's Transition to a Clean Energy Future – GE Australia with n2n communications

TELECOMMUNICATIONS
"I Can" Campaign (Bahasa: "Aku Bisa" Campaign) – PT. Tower Bersama Infrastructure Group with Qyvision PR, Indonesia

FINANCIAL AND PROFESSIONAL SERVICES
Project Inspire: 5 Minutes to Change the World -- MasterCard Asia/Pacific, Middle East Africa with Weber Shandwick

ASSOCIATIONS
Reclaim the Lawn: Turf Australia – Turf Australia with Impact Communications

PUBLIC SECTOR/GOVERNMENT
Taiwan, Rice Up! – Taiwan Council of Agriculture with Ogilvy Public Relations Taiwan

NOT-FOR-PROFIT
I'm FINished – Shark Savers Singapore with Grayling