Cicero & Bernay Public Relations (C&B) has been shortlisted for a total of 19 Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) Awards across 10 categories, including a nomination for the coveted ‘Agency of the Year’ award for the second time in two years. The shortlist reflects C&B’s success at the MEPRA Awards 2016, where it became the region’s most awarded agency by winning three Golds for ‘Government Communications & Public Affairs’, ‘Best Use of Sponsorship’ and ‘Employee Engagement’, as well as a Silver for ‘Corporate Reputation & Image’.

This year, C&B has been nominated for categories including ‘Best Integrated Campaign’, ‘Best Use of Influencers’, ‘Best Use of Traditional Media Relations’, ‘Best Use of Digital PR’, ‘Consumer Goods’, ‘Consumer Services’, ‘Government Communications & Public Affairs’ and ‘Social Responsibility & Environmental PR’. C&B team member and Senior Account Executive Riya Vatnani has also been shortlisted for ‘The Dave Robinson Award for Outstanding Young Communicator of the Year’.

Ahmad Itani, COO of C&B, commented: “At C&B, we believe in letting the facts do the talking, and in this spirit we support the transparency, credibility and independence of the MEPRA Awards. They play a vital role in shedding light on the innovation, creativity and talent in the Middle East’s communication industry, while also reinforcing the value that results-driven communication brings to organisations. We are delighted to have been nominated for 19 awards across a wide variety of categories this year, and we are proud to be working with clients who support our promise to continuously raise the bar in our industry with innovative campaigns and new-age PR.”

Building on its proven track record in the automotive sector, C&B’s impressive work for INFINITI has earned it a total of four nominations across the ‘Consumer Goods’, ‘Best Integrated Campaign’ and ‘Best Use of Digital PR’ categories for ground-breaking campaigns including #BornToChallenge for the INFINITI Q30 and #UnleashYourPotential for the INFINITI Q50.

C&B has also strengthened its reputation in the public sector with four nominations in the ‘Government Communications & Public Affairs’ category for its comprehensive and ongoing work with Dubai Land Department and Dubai Culture & Arts Authority.

Tariq Al-Sharabi, Managing Director of C&B, added: “The PR industry is quickly evolving beyond traditional communication, which gives us an opportunity to showcase new levels of creativity, proactivity and goal-oriented tactics. As an independent, regional and growing communication agency, we are proud to have a real and positive impact on our clients’ bottom lines. This reflects the hard work and dedication of our whole team, and underpins our MEPRA nominations this year.”

While scooping nominations for new-age PR in the ‘Best Use of Influencers’ and ‘Best Use of Digital PR’ categories for its Deliveroo campaign with Max of Arabia, C&B is also in line for five ‘Best Use of Traditional Media Relations’ awards for its work with Deliveroo, Dubai Culture & Arts Authority and The Sustainable City. C&B’s final nominations are for the ‘Consumer Services’ category with Deliveroo and the ‘Social Responsibility & Environmental PR’ with The Sustainable City.

Committed to communication excellence, the MEPRA Awards was created to establish a gold standard in the industry and has become the leading public relations awards programme in the Middle East. The MEPRA Awards 2017 winners will be announced on 6^th December at the JW Marriott Marquis Dubai.