THE SHORTLIST – The UnAwards 2025
1. Best crisis comms
Shortlist
Oxfordshire County Council
Staffordshire County Council
Bedfordshire Local Resilience Forum Communication Cell (Bedfordshire Fire, Bedfordshire Police and Bedford Borough Council
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
Surrey County Council
2. Best creative comms
Shortlist
Bedfordshire Police - Lost Boys
Bite Back 2030 - Commercial Break
Stockport Council's – Stockport Rocky
Danielle Taylor, Staffordshire County Council - Little Heroes round 2
Manchester City Council, Strategic Communications Team - MCR Live ’25: A City United Through Music
Sandwell Council & Thread & Fable - Sandwell Story: Making It Sandwell
Georgia Turner Communications – Keep the Forest whole
City of London Police – Blue Plaque Phone Theft
3. Best use of ethics and diversity in communications
Shortlist
West Yorkshire Violence Reduction Parnership
Havering Council
Nottingham Fire and Rescue Service
South Yorks Fire and Rescue Service
Leeds City Council
4. Best young communicator
Shortlist
Sophie Da Silva, Wandsworth Council
Lauren Tye, Telford & Wrekin Council
James Bird, Ealing Council
Lucy Murray, Lewisham Council
Molly Meyer, Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service
5. Best use of email
Shortlist
Ealing Council – ‘Around Ealing’ team
Citizen Housing
Companies House
Central Bedfordshire Council
Nottinghamshire Fire & Rescue Service
6. Best use of evaluation/research
Shortlist
Islington Council
Barnet Council
Norfolk County Council, SEND local offer
Lancashire County Council
National Crime Agency
7. Best low cost/free comms
Shortlist
NHS England – Embedding digital inclusion
South Gloucestershire Council and Age UK South Gloucestershire – Good Neighbours
London Borough of Havering – Big Tickets
Ministry of Justice – Recruitment for magistrates and prisons
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service – Wholetime firefighter recruitment
8. Best use of video
Shortlist
Stockport Council's Comms Team
Staffordshire County Council - NEET campaign
The Nottinghamshire Police comms team
Magda Ibrahim - Wandsworth Council: Wandsworth in the Second World War - VE Day 80 commemoration
Oxford City Council
9. Best social media account
Shortlist
Colchester City Council
Manchester City Council
Lewisham Council
Hackney Council
Norfolk County Council, SEND local offer
10. Best comms/digital professional
Shortlist
Clare Abbotts
Merita Taylor
Caroline Gill
James Sharp
11. Best small team
Shortlist
Priory Group
West Mercia Police
Transport for Wales
Southwark Content and Channel Team
NottAlone – A Partnership between Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottingham City Council and Nottingham & Nottinghamshire Integrated Care Board
12. Best internal comms
Shortlist
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service - Service Delivery
London Borough of Havering - Count me in
South Staffordshire College
Greater Manchester Police - Operation Challan: Back To Basics
London Borough of Havering - Big Tickets
13. Best work by an agency
Shortlist
Hitch Marketing & Surrey Police
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service & Turn The Page
Cheshire and Merseyside Cancer Alliance & Vivid Everywhere
FREE - Missed campaign
Georgia Turner Communications with Alive with Ideas
14. Best collaboration
Shortlist
Transport for West Midlands
NHS South East London ICB & Local Authority Partners: Royal Borough of Greenwich, Bexley Council, Bromley Council, Lambeth Council, Lewisham Council, Southwark Council
Middlesbrough Council & Redcar and Cleveland Council
London Borough of Havering
Bristol City Council - Your Holiday Hub
15. Best social media campaign
Shortlist:
West Midlands Combined Authority - Goodnight Ozzy
Sunderland City Council - The Women's Rugby World Cup to Sunderland
Bristol City Council - Swap to Stop
Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Service - LGBT History Month 2025
Staffordshire County Council - The NEETs campaign - Stop the brain-drain
Norfolk County Council, SEND local offer
16. Supporting health and wellbeing
Shortlist
Surrey Choices MarComms Team
Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust
South Staffordshire College
Reading Borough Council
17. Best use of data
Shortlist
Surrey Country Council - Multiply
Barnet Council - Barnet's Free Home Energy Fix
Warwickshire County Council - Smoke Free Coventry and Warwickshire
Transport for West Midlands - Winter Travel Incentive: Encouraging Private Vehicle Users Onto Public Transport
South Staffordshire College - Employer Brand Campaign
18. Best Human x AI Collaboration
Shortlist
Worcestershire Acute Hospitals NHS Trust
Alive With Ideas for West Berkshire Council
Surrey County Council
19. Behaviour change
Shortlist
NHS South East London Integrated Care Board - Smoking Cessation Campaign
Barnet Council - Barnet’s Free Home Energy Fix
Staffordshire County Council – NEETs: Stopping the Brain-Drain
National Crime Agency – Sextortion Campaign
Public Health Wales - From Awkward to Action: Talking Bowel Health Online
PUBLIC VOTE CATEGORIES - VOTE FOR YOUR FAVOURITES HERE
20. Guest post of the year 2025 - Public Vote
Shortlist
'Awareness days – have they had their day?'
by Joanne Cochrane
https://comms2point0.co.uk/comms2point0/2025/1/6/awareness-days-have-they-had-their-day
‘Musk vs Oldham’
by Robin Marshall
https://comms2point0.co.uk/comms2point0/2025/2/1/musk-vs-oldham
‘Embracing the contradictions of creativity’
by Lara Iyer and Alan Oram
https://comms2point0.co.uk/comms2point0/2025/3/10/embracing-the-contradictions-of-creativity
‘The battle for trust: A public sector cup final’
by Ross Wigham
https://comms2point0.co.uk/comms2point0/2025/4/9/mvvcd68abajni68461u4xjgi5dto99
‘5 lessons from a year’s worth of fire service communications work’
by Jack Grasby
‘Leaflet drops and the trust equation: Rebuilding public confidence one doorstep at a time’
by Graeme Davidson
‘How to prioritise your comms to focus on the things that are important’
by Lindsay Coulson
'The long, hard road of job search in 2025'
by Neil Hopkins
https://comms2point0.co.uk/comms2point0/2025/7/31/the-long-hard-road-of-job-search-in-2025
'A swollen arm, a theatre seat, and a tray of hot water: Why I’m grateful for the NHS'
by Russell Cartwright
‘We need to talk about 2025’
by Ben Capper
https://comms2point0.co.uk/comms2point0/2025/10/30/pzkxzju6aycmlpz0oafg32vjvwt38o
21. Team of the year - Public Vote
Shortlist
Nottinghamshire Police comms team
West Mercia Police comms team
Public Health Wales Best comms team
Transport for Wales media team
National Crime Agency
Surrey Choices
Oxford City Council comms team
NIHR Research Delivery Network comms team
Derbyshire Constabulary comms and engagement team
Manchester City Council comms team
Sunderland City Council comms team
Burnley Council Burnley Council comms team
London Borough of Wandsworth comms team
Derian House Children's Hospice
Essex County Fire and Rescue Service corporate comms team
Greater Manchester Police media office
Greater Manchester Police corporate comms and engagement team
Derbyshire Healthcare comms team
Colchester City Council comms team
Manchester City Council strategic comms team
Cheshire Constabulary corporate comms team
Housing Plus Group comms team
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service
Stockport Council comms team
Manchester city council health comms team
Surrey County Council comms and engagement team
Telford & Wrekin Council comms team
Staffordshire Police and Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service corporate comms and engagement department
Staffs Legend of the Comms Crusaders and the Quest for the Missing Heritage
Hertfordshire County Council comms team
Ministry of Justice recruitment and retention comms team
22. Lifetime Achievement - Public Vote
Shortlist
Jacqui Booth
Paul Masterman
Eva Duffy
Michelle Flint and Nigel Swift
Mark Marston
You can vote HERE. The Public Vote closes on MONDAY 24 November, at midnight
>> Well done everyone. shortlisted. See you on the big day at the lovely Everyman Cinema in Birmingham’s iconic Mailbox on 5 December.
You can grab up to two tickets max per organisation HERE.
Thanks to everyone who has supported the UnAwards. Darren