Wright Communications was named 2020 PR Consultancy of the Year by the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand (PRINZ) at its annual awards event held online in June.

Wright Communications also picked up one of only four Gold Awards announced on the night for its work helping NZ Kiwifruit Growers Inc. recruit a seasonal workforce.

Managing Director Nikki Wright says the Consultancy of the Year award capped off an amazing year of new projects, new clients and extraordinary challenges.

Nikki thanked PRINZ for the honour of being named top Medium to Large PR consultancy in New Zealand and acknowledged the important communications work carried out by other agencies and PR practitioners during the COVID-19 crisis.

“It was a rollercoaster year with some amazing highs and one or two lows. We were successful in attracting new clients and challenging projects. We partnered with NZX to publish a study on sustainability reporting, we continued our partnership with Colmar Brunton on its Corporate Reputation Index and we launched a crisis communications app,” she says.

The award is also a recognition of the special place that Wright Communications has carved out for itself in the realm of sustainability story-telling, consulting and reporting.

Despite the recent impact of COVID-19 on her business and clients, Nikki says sustainability and environmental issues have not gone away.

“If anything, the growing evidence of looming damage to the planet through climate change has heightened the sensitivity around those issues. But we’re also seeing much more awareness, concern about and interest in social issues: diversity and inclusion, Māori welfare and rights, domestic violence, and mental health.”

Wright Communications sets itself apart from other PR consultancies by having a strong set of values, and recruiting people who align with those values.

“I started the agency 14 years ago with a clear view of how I wanted to run a purpose-led business. We have been motivated less about growth for growth’s sake and more about receiving and activating evermore challenging briefs that align with our determination to help our clients do the right thing.”

Toyota is the agency’s largest client and draws on every part of the PR toolkit including ethics, marketing communications, media relations, investor relations, employee engagement, crisis and issues management and community relations.

“Our ideal is to work with informed clients who can brief us in a way that gets the best out of us, and who are prepared to resource the work to enable it to succeed. Our partnership with Toyota has enabled us to succeed as a small business; for that we are eternally grateful and their number one supporter,” says Nikki.

COVID-19 and other potential threats to organisations, such as cyber attacks, have also raised interest in crisis communications. Wright Communications has been working with clients on how to streamline their preparedness for predictable (and some unpredictable) emergencies that might threaten financial or operational viability. Its app, In Case of Crisis, helps large organisations manage their way through crises and issues.