Winners 2025

PR and communications 2025

Emily Giddings wins the PR category for her exceptional work at The Little Car Company/Hedley Studios, which creates scaled-down EVs for luxury brands at its base within Bicester Heritage. After roles at BMW/Mini and NetJets, she joined the firm as a client services executive before rapidly advancing to marketing director with special oversight of the company’s media strategy. Working within stringent OEM constraints and minimal budgets, Giddings has achieved remarkable results, including a Bentley Blower Junior launch that garnered impressions rivalling major OEM campaigns on an outlay of less than £10,000. Her strategic relationship building led to a collaboration with a Hollywood A-lister for an upcoming TV show. "She's had to make every penny go as far as possible – begging, borrowing and stealing wherever she could. I am extremely proud of what she's achieved," said CEO Ben Hedley.

PR and communications 2025 nominees

Melissa Lodge, Genesis

Following roles at Performance Communications and Kia Motors, Melissa Lodge joined Genesis in July 2024, where she quickly earned recognition as Young PR of the Year from the Guild of Motoring Writers. Her standout achievement was creating ‘Genesis X Dog’. This luxury dog accessory showcased the brand's vehicle-to-load power capability, generated 202 coverage pieces across five countries and increased dealership footfall by more 100%. With a first-class degree in English literature from Newcastle University, Lodge has organised several creative media events, including a Genesis Camp in Exmoor powered entirely by the cars. "Mel has a flair for creativity and has single-handedly delivered several key projects," said Simon Branney, head of PR.

Poppy McKenzie-Smith, Ford of Britain

Poppy McKenzie-Smith joined Ford in 2019 after roles at GTO Events and Bonhams, rising to her current senior position to help guide the strategic voice of the company the UK and beyond. With an MA in French from Oxford, she has leveraged her multilingual skills to help launch BlueCruise hands-free driving technology across 17 countries, doubling awareness and subscriptions. Her achievements include spearheading the Ford ZEV mandate lobbying efforts that influenced government policy, managing media strategy during corporate restructuring and leading the Halewood Job 1 Project to celebrate the start of production of Ford's electric power unit.

Krystyna Perry, Stellantis

As her portfolio swells with the addition of more Stellantis premium brands, Krystyna Perry’s PR role has steadily grown. Starting at BMW before roles at Skoda and Dyson, Perry joined Stellantis in 2016 and progressively took on responsibility for Alfa Romeo, DS Automobiles and Jeep. Her standout achievement to date came with Jeep, where she doubled reach and increased share of voice through innovative campaigns such as the partnership with Ordnance Survey that identified the UK's top 100 'off the beaten track' locations, which generated 1.4 billion views in reach and £2.3 million in advertising equivalent value. With a 2:1 degree in public relations, Perry excels at blending earned and paid communications while developing strong lifestyle media relationships. "Krystyna manages seamlessly between PR, agency and marketing teams to bring 360deg campaigns to life. She is highly professional, positive and creative," according to Stellantis head of communications Jeremy Townsend.

Lauren Prema-Dale, Hyundai Motor UK

Lauren Prema-Dale gained experience across multiple automotive brands including BMW, the Renault Group and FCA before joining Hyundai in July 2024, where she quickly made her mark. Prema-Dale oversees the brand's PR strategy, manages CSR programmes such as the Great British School Trip and builds relationships with automotive, lifestyle and corporate media. She has taken the initiative to enhance media monitoring processes beyond her official responsibilities, conducting in-depth analysis to extract more valuable insights. "Her experience and expertise has been very clear from the start. She has settled into the role quickly and has forged strong relationships across the UK as well as global business," said head of PR Natasha Waddington, who also praised her vibrant attitude and exceptional ambassadorship.

Tenika Reid, JLR

Our judges were impressed by Tenika Reid’s work in transforming internal culture at JLR. With a BA in media and cultural studies and more than a decade of strategic communications experience, she’s currently tasked with driving engagement around JLR's purpose-led organisational shift. She has impressed seniors by connecting colleagues globally through initiatives such as the Purpose Podcast with Luther Soul, Purpose Photography 2.0 and JLR Challenge 2.0. Colleagues praise her vision, noting how she "presses on with projects she innately believes are the right things to do for our culture". As REACH Network Ambassador of the Year, she's recognised for bringing diverse perspectives to life. Looking ahead, Reid aims to progress into senior leadership while continuing to champion JLR values.