The Simple Message That Fueled the 2025 Best of Silver Anvil Campaign

In this issue, we celebrate the recipients of the 2025 Anvils, which honor the highest standards of performance in the profession. On May 15, PRSA announced the winners during a gala ceremony held at the Edison Ballroom in Midtown Manhattan.

A highlight of the evening was the Best of Silver Anvil, which PRSA 2025 Chair Ray Day, APR, presented to PRR and the Washington State Department of Ecology for their “Use Food Well” campaign.

On May 28, I spoke with Jade Monroe, food center lead for the Washington State Department of Ecology, and Katherine Diers, senior associate director at PRR, on Strategies & Tactics Live. You can watch that episode here on PRSA’s LinkedIn account.

Rooted in research and proven behavior change practices, the campaign aimed to reduce food waste and its environmental impact by offering Washington residents and businesses simple steps to “Use Food Well.” The team consulted experts and analyzed U.S. and international programs to identify messages that resonated with the public.

Following the live session, the two offered additional insights exclusively for PRSA members as part of S&T Live Plus.Here’s an excerpt:

You mentioned finding a message that resonates with people, and it was attributed to the economic factor. Generally, what is the challenge of moving people from awareness to sustained action? What did you learn about it from this campaign?

Diers: You have to be simple. It can’t be an overwhelming message — just those easy steps, and they can maybe pick one of those things that the campaign’s messages recommended. They don’t have to feel like they have to do all those things. 

Maybe they learn, “I’m going to store my avocados this way,” and that’s one change that that person made, and now their avocados are lasting longer. Or getting them to make a shopping list and to look at their cupboard. Just making it seem like the campaign’s advice was digestible, because people have such limited time and mental resources to deal with things. Having that extra bonus, “Plus, it’s going to save you money,” was also in the back of their minds. But it had to be simple. I think that was the key.

Monroe: Simple is the way it needs to go. It’s so easy to get pedantic and into the weeds on all this stuff. The simpler, the better. And also, not saying “You need to be perfect.” Starting small, and one recipe at a time. 

What element of this campaign are you most proud of?

Monroe: Honestly, I think the fact that it exists, I am super-duper proud of. And it exists in the best way it could — and to create something and have it stand alone [and] becoming a leading message in the nation, adopted by businesses and organizations. 

We had this as a gleam in our eye when we were planning the “Use Food Well,” knowing that you couldn’t do systemic change… for food-waste reduction without a cultural conversation. 

It’s been amazing. I’m also proud of our relationship with PRR. We set off to answer a lot of interesting questions together, and we researched so much together. We’ve hit wall after wall, and we’ve broken through everything. 

Visit the PRSA website at this link for the complete S&T Live Plus collection.