NZRFU masterstroke wins top PR award

The New Zealand Rugby Union's bid to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup has won a the top public relations award.

The Public Relations Institute of New Zealand awards are designed to celebrate the best public relations campaigns in New Zealand and are open to all members of the institute.

The institute's national president and chief judge, Lisa Finucane, said that while the NZRFU entry was technically good, it was the nationwide impact that won it the supreme award.

"If one of the main achievements of a PR campaign is to influence a chosen stakeholder group, then this succeeded above all others. It was a focused stakeholder dialogue with a great outcome that impacts across New Zealand.

"Judges agreed that there were no second chances or opportunity to 'do it better next year', and only one outcome was acceptable. The development of, and adherence to, a sound communications strategy to achieve that outcome in the face of a doubting New Zealand and international media was the masterstroke."

- NZPA