PRSA Announces 2026 Anvil Award Winners

Best of Silver Anvil Award Presented to the American Academy of Pediatrics for its Vaccine Confidence

NEW YORK, May 15, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) announced the winners of the 2026 Anvil Awards during a ceremony held Thursday evening at the Edison Ballroom in New York City.

The Silver Anvil Awards honor the year’s most outstanding strategic public relations campaigns and organizational excellence, while the Bronze Anvil Awards recognize exceptional tactics that contribute to the success of broader communications programs and initiatives.

This year’s entries showcased the wide-ranging influence of strategic communications, with campaigns spanning public health, sustainability, transportation, education, corporate citizenship, community advocacy and cultural storytelling.

The 2026 Best of Silver Anvils Award, the profession’s highest honor for public relations programming, was presented to the American Academy of Pediatrics for its Vaccine Confidence campaign. The award recognizes campaigns that demonstrate exceptional strategic execution, measurable results and meaningful societal impact.

The AAP’s Vaccine Confidence campaign was developed in response to declining childhood immunization rates and the growing spread of vaccine misinformation. The initiative combined evidence-based messaging, social listening, targeted media outreach and rapid-response communications efforts to help strengthen public trust and support informed decision-making among families and communities.

Research partnerships helped shape message framing, audience segmentation and Spanish-language outreach strategies. Supported by a $2 million budget and a fully integrated national communications plan, the campaign focused on amplifying trusted pediatric voices, expanding message reach, strengthening vaccine messenger networks and supporting state-level outreach efforts.

During its first phase, the campaign exceeded all major benchmarks, earning more than 60,000 media placements, generating more than 216 million impressions, training more than 3,000 advocates and supporting chapter-led outreach initiatives in priority states nationwide.

“We are proud to recognize this year’s Anvil Award winners for the extraordinary creativity, strategy and purpose-driven work they represent,” said PRSA Chair Heide Harrell, MA, APR. “From advancing public health and strengthening communities to responding during moments of crisis, these campaigns demonstrate the critical role communications professionals play in shaping understanding, building trust and driving meaningful impact. The Anvil Awards continue to showcase the very best of our profession and the power of strategic communications to make a difference.”

In total, PRSA presented 42 Silver Anvil Awards, 21 Bronze Anvil Awards, 60 Silver Anvil Awards of Excellence and 21 Bronze Anvil Awards of Commendation during the ceremony. View the full list of winners here.

About PRSA

PRSA is the leading professional organization serving the communications community through a network of more than 400 professional and student chapters in the U.S., Argentina, Colombia, Mexico, Peru and Puerto Rico. Guided by its Code of Ethics, PRSA empowers its members to succeed at every stage of their careers through a wide breadth of premium professional development programs, exclusive networking events and leadership opportunities. Signature events include the Anvil Awards and ICON, the premier annual gathering for communications professionals and students. For more information, visit www.prsa.org.

Media Contact:
Linda Beltran
linda.beltran@prsa.org

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