2026 CommsCon Awards shortlist revealed

The 2026 Mumbrella CommsCon Awards shortlist has been revealed.

The CommsCon Awards shine a spotlight on the industry’s best, offering entrants the opportunity to showcase their achievements across campaign, people and business categories.

Hello tops this year’s nominations with 13 nods across Best Social Media or Digitally-Led Campaign, Best PR-Led Content Creation, Launch or Relaunch Campaign of the Year, Best Media Relations-Led Campaign, and Best Use of Creator Economy.

The agency’s campaigns include “Australia’s Biggest New Brand Launch of 2025: Wingstop”, “Mission Impossible Night Run,” and “Eat Your Heart Out “.

Other agencies performing strongly this year include Different, with seven nominations for campaigns such as “The Life-Changing Loo Roll”, and Keep Left, with multiple nominations including for “How Ya Travelling”, “For a Boundless World” and “Community Grants”.

Herd MSL picked up five nominations. Poem and Ogilvy PR took four while WiredCo, Sefiani and Agent99 appear in three categories each.

The live judging day will take place on February 25 at the University of Technology Sydney’s Aerial Function Centre, before the 2026 Mumbrella CommsCon Awards on March 25 at Crown Sydney.

The awards will follow the 2026 Mumbrella CommsCon Conference, where speakers include Burson’s global chief client and growth officer, Michelle Hutton, Peter Wilkinson of the Wilkinson Group and Hannah Ferguson, the CEO of Cheek Media.

See the full Mumbrella CommsCon Awards 2026 shortlist below:

Best Social Media or Digitally-Led Campaign

• Australia’s Biggest New Brand Launch of 2025: Wingstop – Hello for Wingstop
• McCrispy Converts – Eleven for McDonalds
• Mission Impossible Night Run – Hello for Paramount Pictures
• Scented Love: The World’s First Blind Dating Show Based on Scent – Hello for Lynx
• Snoop Dogg Doppelganger – Bolster Group & Splash for Treasury Wines

Best B2C Campaign

• Australia’s 50 Year Anniversary – IKEA Australia New Zealand with Mango Communications & Edelman Australia
• Cuckoo for Labubu – PassportCard Travel Insurance with SCPR
• Holiday Inn Express Breakfast Alarm Clock – Enthral with D+I for IHG Hotels & Resorts Holiday Inn Express
• Life-Changing Loo Roll – Different for Kleenex
• Nonna Never Lies for Connoisseur Gelato Range – WiredCo with Connoisseur for Peters Ice Cream

Best B2B Campaign

• LMI Lets Me In/Invest – Helia Insurance
• Nestlé Golden Chefs Hat Award – The IMPACT Agency for Nestlé Professional
• TCS Sydney Marathon 2025 – With You for the Long Run – Burson with Pont 3 for Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
• Tyro’s Big Buyout – Hello for Tyro
• Uncovering the Human Cost of Australia’s Digital Downtime – HAVAS Red for PagerDuty

Best Use of Owned Media

• Acts of Wellness Podcast – Swisse Wellness
• Encore Hours – Edelman for Taco Bell
• How Ya Travelling – Keep Left for Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds
• Meet Me at the Coke Sign – Ogilvy PR for Coca Cola
• Question of the Day – How MoAD Flipped the Narrative on Election Misinformation – Icon Agency for The Museum of Australian Democracy

Best Campaign with a Small Budget 

• A Soak in the Spotlight – Belgravia Leisure for Hepburn Bathhouse & Spa
• Gumtree Greys Speed Dating – Good&Proper for Gumtree Greys
• Machu Picchu Exhibition 2025 – Australian Museum with Original Spin
• The ‘Telstra Ten’ Time Capsule – Telstra with Herd MSL
• The Origin of the ANZAC Biscuit – Weber Shandwick Australia for Ancestry
• The Southern Hemisphere’s Oldest Lift Bar – Example for InterContinental Sydney

Best PR-Led Content Creation

• Australia’s Biggest New Brand Launch of 2025: Wingstop – Hello for Wingstop
• Life360Pets – Once Lost, Now Legendary – History Will Be Kind for Life360
• Pup Yeah! – Example for QT Hotels
• The Moment Club – Different for Fujifilm Australia
• Uber Green ‘It’s Common Sense’ – Poem for Uber

Best Internal Communications or Change Management Campaign

• Be You. Be Bold. Be HBF. – Senti Partners with Limitless Studios for HBF
• Reimagining Employee Communications – Sefiani, part of Clarity Global with The Commonwealth Bank of Australia
• Strategy Launch – St John of God Health Care
• TasWater
• Telstra’s DNA – Telstra
• Your Reason to Stay Safe – Purple for Wesfarmers Chemicals, Energy & Fertilisers

Launch or Relaunch Campaign of the Year

• ASICS Running on a Cloud – Agent99 for ASICS
• Australia’s Biggest New Brand Launch of 2025: Wingstop – Hello for Wingstop
• Baking History: World’s First Frozen Bakery that Drove 124% Sales Uplift – WiredCo. with OMG XP for Peters Ice Cream & Maxibon
• Eat Your Heart Out – Different with DO Agency & Hello Social for Paramount+
• Sunshine Sickie – IVY PR for Visit Sunshine Coast

Best Government or Public Sector Campaign

• 2025 Call healthdirect Campaign – NSW Health Strategic Communications & Engagement
• Free Pads & Tampons. Period. – Department of Families, Fairness & Housing, Victorian State Government
• Grief is 24/7 – GoodPR for Red Nose Australia
• “I Can Do It” – Co-Design to Take Control of Ice Use in Jail – House of Kitch for Justice Health NSW & NSW Health Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs
• The Hardest Share – alt/shift/ for Victorian Transport Accident Commission

Best PR-Led Brand Partnership

• GORPCORE – VaynerMedia for Mountain Dew Australia
• Jack’s Rides – Different with The Zoo Republic for Jack Daniel’s
• Keeping Bondi Hydrated – FleishmanHillard with Live Agency for Liquid I.V. (Unilever)
• Something Saucy – alt/shift/ for Leggo’s

Corporate Social Responsibility or ESG Campaign

• Community Grants – Keep Left for Australia Post
• FrogID Week 2025 – Australian Museum with Original Spin
• The Life-Changing Loo Roll – Different for Kleenex
• Think Again Dementia – News Corp Australia
• Uber x Red Cross Clothing Drive ‘Donation Era’ – Poem with EssenceMediacom, Hello, History Will Be Kind & Acumen for Uber & Red Cross

Pro Bono Campaign of the Year

• Connor’s Run – Arize for Robert Connor Dawes Foundation
• Grooming Hides Behind Harmless – Shannon Behaviour ChangePR for Bravehearts

Best Use of Research, Insights & Strategic Planning

• 2025 Influenza Vaccination Campaign – NSW Heath Strategic Communications & Engagement
• eBay State of Collectibles 2025 – Ogilvy PR ANZ for eBay Australia
• From Global Insight to Local Impact: How Booking.com’s Travel Predictions Delivered Astronomical Success for Aussie Tourism – HAVAS Red for Booking.com
• Heritage Phones – Telstra with Herd MSL & +61
• Hydro Nation – Publicis Collective for Kenvue Neutrogena
• The Life-Changing Loo Roll – Different for Kleenex

Best Media Relations-Led Campaign

• 36 Months – Supermassive with FINCH
• Accelerate Great – Herd MSL for NBN Co
• Australia’s Biggest New Brand Launch of 2025: Wingstop – Hello for Wingstop
• eBay State of Collectibles 2025 – Ogilvy PR ANZ for eBay Australia
• Grief is 24/7 – GoodPR for Red Nose Australia
• Holiday Inn Express Breakfast Alarm Clock – Enthral with D+I for IHG Hotels & Resorts Holiday Inn Express

Best Use of Creator Economy

• Australia’s Biggest New Brand Launch of 2025: Wingstop – Hello for Wingstop
• Australia’s Funnest Fun Run – Hello for Liquid I.V.
• Mission Impossible Night Run – Hello for Paramount Pictures
• Scented Love: The World’s First Blind Dating Show Based on Scent – Hello for Lynx
• ‘What Will You Stand For?’ Gaming Partnership – Queensland Police Service with EssenceMediacom & Livewire

Best Use of Strategic Communications

• Cool Soil Critters – Eleven for Kellanova Australia
• For a Boundless World – Keep Left for Guide Dogs NSW/ACT
• Hold the Moment Podcast – Dementia Australia with Deadset Studios
• This is World Heritage – Orizontas with Rethink Everything for Murjuga Aboriginal Corporation
• Visa Vibe Economy – DEC PR for Visa

Non-Traditional Campaign of the Year

• ChatBot Comedy – alt/shift/ for Buddy Telco
• How Ya Travelling – Keep Left for Healthy Heads in Trucks & Sheds
• “I Can Do It” – Co-Design to Take Control of Ice Use in Jail – House of Kitch for Justice Health NSW & NSW Health Centre for Alcohol and Other Drugs
• KFC Christmas in July – Ogilvy PR with WPP Media & AKQA for KFC
• Netball Festival Celebrating Confidence – Agent99PR for ASICS
• Telstra Touch & Track: From Prototype to Reality – Telstra with Herd MSL

Emerging PR & Communications Talent of the Year

• Amy Fenning – News Corp Australia
• Bella Devencorn – IVY PR
• Jessica Dalgleish – Tide Communications
• Lauren Duncan – Poem Group
• Peggy Wheatley – Edelman Australia

PR Professional of the Year

• Alice Spraggon – Sefiani, part of Clarity Global
• Azadeh Williams – AZK Media
• Celia Harding – LEOPRD
• Eddie Brook – History Will Be Kind
• Patricia Routledge – IKEA Australia & New Zealand

PR Leader of the Year

• Angela Malkin – Weber Shandwick Australia
• Dena Vassallo – SOCIETY
• Rebecca Jarvie-Gibbs – Example
• Simone Gupta – Supermassive
• Vanessa Liell – Orizontas

Best PR Employer

• CampaignLab
• History Will Be Kind
• Pure Public Relations
• Sefiani, part of Clarity Global
• Tide Communications

Best In-House PR Team

• Australian Broadcasting Corporation
• Destination NSW
• Warner Bros. Discovery

Strategic Communications Team of the Year

• IKEA Australia & New Zealand
• MYOB
• TasWater
• Telstra

PR Agency of the Year – Boutique/Small

• Agent99 PR
• House of Kitch Communications
• Orizontas
• SPEAK Communications
• We Scout

PR Agency of the Year – Midsize

• CampaignLab
• Different
• Example
• History Will Be Kind
• Poem

PR Agency of the Year – Large

• alt/shift/
• Eleven
• Herd MSL
• Thrive PR + Communications
• WiredCo.

Fashion Critical confirmed to MC

Confirmed master of ceremonies for the awards is the one and only Fashion Critical, the internet’s sharpest, and funniest, voice on celebrity red carpet style – not to mention formally of the PR world.

Tickets are on sale now for the CommsCon Awards gala dinner where the winners are set to be revealed.