AAPA Touts 2019 Communications Competition Winners

Thirty-one ports earned accolades and three received an Overall Award of Communications Excellence trophy for submitting top-scoring entries in AAPA’s 53rd annual Communications Awards Program.

The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has notified 31 of its 130-member seaports throughout the Western Hemisphere that they’ve earned one or more awards for exemplary communications projects and programs as part of the trade association’s 53rd annual Communications Awards Program, which closed for entries on May 1.

The recipients of the 2019 Overall Award of Communications Excellence trophies – the top awards in AAPA’s Communications Awards Program – are: Port of San Diego (Category 3), Port of New Orleans (Category 2) and Port Milwaukee (Category 1). Each of the three Overall winners represents a different category of port, based on the size of its public relations, advertising and marketing budget.

“The Communications Awards Program judges told us that this year’s entries set a new, higher standard of excellence than ever before,” said Kurt Nagle, AAPA’s president and CEO.

“This competition helps our member ports by rewarding strategic communications through peer-reviewed analyses of their programs and projects, and by showcasing best practices and lessons learned.”

He added: “When port authorities communicate strategically with their many audiences, including their communities, business leaders and policymakers, they’re better able to show their tremendous value as drivers of economic development, environmental enhancement and job creation.”

The 2019 AAPA Communications Awards Program utilized 32 professional public relations practitioners from the Washington, D.C. area who cumulatively spent 128 hours over two weeks judging the 15 classifications of entries, ranging from advertisements, periodicals, videos and websites, to social media and overall campaigns.

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