I have been judging PR awards since 2006. These are some ideas on how to approach your PR award entry.
If a category has more than 8-10 entries the judges will be looking for ways to relegate or discount entries. Get your entries proofread by at least 2 people. Help the readability by using a tool like the Hemmingway app. Avoid spin, jargon or writing in a chatty manner.
Pick your campaign with care. While it might be out of your hands, the organisational outcome has relevance, not just the PR elements. Choose a campaign where you can illustrate your PR effort has made a difference.
Think back to your objectives at the start of the campaign. Resist the temptation to fashioning them to meet the outcomes. You usually have about 1000 to 1500 words to explain what happened. This is long enough to explain away discrepancies. The judges will appreciate your candour if it resulted in a good outcome.
The judges like to hear about what you have learnt. Winners are examples of best PR practice. Highlight your use of contemporary tools like those featured in the PR Stack.
Get the correct perspective. The judges are not marking how good you are at preparing a PR award entry. It is an element of the mix which needs the support of hard facts. Exceptional entries will illustrate they used techniques like SMART objectives.
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[…] I recently judged 30 AMEC and CIPR Excellence award entries. Over the last 10 years I have looked at over 250 entries for various PR awards. After doing some judging last year I wrote on my blog about my experiences. […]