Intesa Communications Group was the top winner with seven awards at the recent Edward L. Bernays Mark of Excellence Awards event hosted by the Public Relations Society of America San Diego-Imperial Counties Chapter (PRSA-SDIC).
It was Intesa’s second consecutive Bernays program as the top award winner.
Other top winners at the awards ceremony included J. Walcher Communications and UC San Diego Health, each receiving six awards; the UCSD Health media relations team was also named Public Relations Team of the Year. Nuffer Smith Tucker won five awards and the San Diego Tourism Authority won four awards.
Entrants with two awards apiece included Scatena Media Group, Moore Communications Group and the City of Carlsbad. Single-award winners included PRM Consulting Inc., Mixte Communications, the County of San Diego and the overall UCSD media relations team.
Special awards recipients included: Jean Walcher of J. Walcher Communications with the Otto Boss Hall of Fame award; Margie Newman Tsay of Intesa Communications Group with the Eva Irving Community Service Award; Hailey “HaiJay” White of Intesa Communications Group with the New Professional of the Year award.
Two Best of Show awards were presented: J. Walcher Communications for San Diego Communications Hub with the Silver Bernays Mark of Excellence Best of Show; and Nuffer, Smith, Tucker Public Relations for its “WD-40 Brand x ‘King of the Hill'” campaign with the Bronze Bernays Mark of Excellence Best in Show.
In a statement, PRSA-SDIC said the event celebrated the region’s outstanding public relations, communications and marketing professionals for their campaigns managed from July 2025 to July 2026. Recognized work included campaigns and tactics that incorporated research, planning, creativity, technical excellence and evaluation.
“Entries for the Bernays Awards must meet the highest performance standards, and winning entries demonstrate creative vision and capture the best of our profession,” a PRSA statement said.
Elena Gomez, PRSA-SDIC 2026 board president, said in a statement, “The Edward L. Bernays Awards is an opportunity to celebrate each other as public relations professionals and honor our incredible campaigns managed over the last year. I’m so proud of all of our winners and honorees tonight who showcase excellence in their work and exemplify the vital role that public relations plays in our communities.”
Jeanna Vazquez, PRSA-SDIC 2027 incoming board president, said in a statement, “We are so thankful for all who attended and supported our Bernays awards ceremony, which serves as the chapter’s biggest event of the year. It was so special to visit with colleagues and celebrate their incredible campaigns over the last year. Now, more than ever, we need community, peer support and learning opportunities within our industry.”
The chapter said 44 awards were presented Oct. 22 at the KPBS Conrad Prebys Media Complex at Copley Center. About 100 people attended the event. A complete list of winners is available at www.prsasdic.org.
The award entries were judged by PR practitioners from PRSA chapters in North Carolina, Iowa, Chicago, Colorado and Tennessee. Submissions also were judged by the PRSA Western District, the nation’s largest professional public relations association with more than 30,000 members and 10 regions nationwide.
The San Diego/Imperial Counties PRSA chapter is one of 100 chapters across the United States. It was founded in San Diego in 1959 and later expanded to include Imperial County. In 1995, the chapter merged with the Public Relations Club of San Diego.
The awards are named after Edward L. Bernays, who launched the field of public relations in the 1920s. Often called the “father of public relations,” Bernays’ history-making campaigns explain why people eat bacon with eggs, women smoke cigarettes and bank managers join civic groups. He is regarded as one of the most influential figures of the 20th Century. Bernays died in 1995 at age 103.
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San Diego Press Club apologizes over journalism awards
The San Diego Press Club (SDPC) has issued an apology following its recent Excellence in Journalism awards program.
In its apology, SDPC said that in its Podcast category, only one of the two Best of Show award recipients was announced, and identified with the wrong podcast. The club went on to clarify that both Phil Farrar of News Radio 600 KOGO’s “North Park: Historic to Hip,” and Katie Hyson’s “One Of Their Own” podcast for KPBS had won the award.
“To be absolutely clear, both journalists earned Best of Show honors,” the club said in its statement. “Neither award was given in error. The mistake was entirely in how the results were interpreted, announced and presented. Both entries were independently recognized for their excellence and both journalists deserve the full acknowledgment and celebration that comes with this distinction.
“As an organization dedicated to recognizing excellence in journalism, we understand that accuracy matters, particularly when celebrating the work and achievements of our colleagues. We fell short of that standard and we take full responsibility.”
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Zara tops list for most recommended brand in the U.S.
Zara, one of the world’s largest clothing retailers by sales, was named the most recommended brand in the U.S., according to a recent survey conducted by research data and analytics group YouGov.
Zara sells women’s, men’s and children’s clothing, plus shoes, accessories and home goods. It’s the flagship brand of Inditex, which also owns Massimo Dutti, Pull&Bear, Bershka and Stradivarius.
As reported by O’Dwyer’s, a public relations and marketing communications news site, Zara topped the list followed by Lush and Savage X Fenty, also in the fashion-beauty sector.
The survey’s top 10 included video game “PUBG: Battlegrounds” (#4); running and athletic footwear brand Hoka (#5); Rolex (#6); Bloomberg (#7); Toyota (#8); Super Mario Bros. (#9); and the “Call of Duty” video game series placed 10th.
Toyota was No. 1 in the automotive sector while Samuel Adams beer led in the alcoholic beverage category; and Kerrygold, an Irish dairy brand known for its butter that’s sold in a gold foil wrapper, topped its competitors in the consumer-packaged goods sector.
The U.S. is far from the top for how many people in a country share their experiences with brands. The United Arab Emirates landed in first place, with 95% of respondents saying that they had provided feedback about a brand in the past three months. Hong Kong (89%) and Mexico (87%) following while the U.S. was in 13th place, with 63% of a brand’s customers voicing their opinions of the brand.
In America, 49% of respondents said they were more likely to share positive brand experiences, with only 21% opting for negative comments about those experiences.
Also, women are slightly more prone than men to report negative experiences (23% vs. 19%), but they were also more likely to report positive experiences (51% vs. 46%).
“Recommendation is one of the strongest signals a brand can earn because it reflects a customer’s willingness to put their own experience behind an endorsement,” said Ryan Gross, YouGov’s SVP data products, client services, told O’Dwyer’s. “This year’s leaders show there is no single path to customer advocacy. Brands across categories are earning strong recommendations by creating experiences customers believe are worth sharing. And with Americans considerably more likely to share positive brand experiences than negative ones, consistently delivering for customers can create a powerful advantage.”
Rick Griffin is a San Diego-based public relations and marketing consultant. His MarketInk column appears weekly in Times of San Diego.
