How to write an award winning entry - top ten points from judges and past winners
A panel discussion was held in Auckland on 8 Feb to gear-up to the 2012 PRINZ Awards.
The panellists included Judges Anna Radford (2012 chief judge), Tim Marshall, Jane Dodd and Gordon Chesterman, winners Mary-Louise Dare (2011 Young Practitioner), Julien Leys, JML (2011 Not-for-Profit winner) and Gez Johns, NZTA (2011 Special Event/Project winner).
Here are the top ten points from the session:
1. Category: There are 11 categories, so make sure you choose wisely. If you are not sure, please click here or email info@prinz.org.nz. Enter in more than one category if required.
2. Compliance: Read the judging criteria carefully. Pay special attention to the marks allocated to every component of the entry and answer accordingly. Stick to the word count! Read the FAQs for any queries.
3. Cohesive: Your entry must be strategically aligned. Write SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, timely) objectives. Copy and paste your objectives in the ‘evaluation and follow-up’ section to ensure that your measurement links back to your objectives. Don’t undermine the ‘preliminary research’ section. You may refer to surveys, interviews, focus groups, desk research, word of mouth, literature review et al.
4. Compelling: Entering the awards is about telling a story that excites the judges. Think of it as client or new business pitch. Convey what was unique about your project and how it reflects passion and creativity.
5. Clarity: Always remember, you are not writing a PR programme, you are writing an award entry. Be succinct and make sure the entry flows smoothly. Get someone to proofread it.
6. Contribution: Be transparent about your contribution to the project, what you did and to what extent you drove it. Clearly outline the ‘PR component’ of an integrated campaign with advertising and marketing.
7. Capture attention: Choose a catchy title that entices the judges. The 100 word synopsis should make your entry stand out from the crowd.
8. Challenging: The scale of your project does not matter. If you had a challenging situation that you overcame to produce favourable outcomes, we want to hear from you, big or small.
9. Case Studies: Look at PR Case Studies and learn from past award winners.
10. Character: What we do in PR touches the hearts and lives of real people. Infuse passion and personality into your entry.
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