Categories
I. Public Relations Programs/Reputation Management
1. Total Public Relations Program: A total or overall public relations program developed and implemented for an organization that includes all components of its communication effort.
a. Budget under $10,000
b. Budget of $10,000 - $25,000
c. Budget of $25,000 or more
2. Special Public Relations Program (Long Term – 90 days or longer): Long-term program developed for a specific or one-time purpose.
a. Budget under $10,000
b. Budget of $10,000 - $25,000
c. Budget of $25,000 or more
3. Special Public Relations Program (Short Term – Less than 90 days): Short-term program developed for a specific or one-time purpose.
a. Budget under $10,000
b. Budget of $10,000 - $25,000
c. Budget of $25,000 or more
4. Community Relations Program: Programs that seek to improve relations with or seek the support of individuals or organizations in communities where the organization has an interest.
a. Long term (90 days or longer)
b. Short term (Less than 90 days)
5. Public Service Program: Programs that seek to advance public understanding of societal issues, problems or concerns – i.e. Risk Communication (ex. childhood obesity abatement, public safety and security)
a. Long term (90 days or longer)
b. Short term (Less than 90 days)
6. Public Affairs Program: Programs designed to influence national, state or local public policy and/or affect legislation, regulations, political activities or candidacies.
a. Long term (90 days or longer)
b. Short term (Less than 90 days)
7. Internal Communication Program: Programs designed specifically for internal audiences.
a. Long term (90 days or longer)
b. Short term (Less than 90 days)
8. Reputation/Brand Management: Organization-wide programs designed to build or enhance the overall reputation, integrity or perceived value of an organization.
a. Issues Management (issue identification, analysis, change strategy, programming, evaluation)
b. Crisis Planning (plans developed in advance of crisis situations)
c. Crisis Communication (organizational activities, plan implementation during crisis situations)
d. Integrated Marketing Communication Programs (developed to support specific organizational products or services and designed to directly influence sales)
e. Reputation Maintenance Programs (ex. corporate philanthropy, boundary-spanning activities, etc.)
f. Other
9. Special Events
a. Budget under $20,000
b. Budget of $20,000 or more
10. Research: This category is specifically for primary research conducted or contracted by the member. Entries should include a sample of the instrument and document the purpose for implementing the research, the methodology used, the results of the research and an outline of the decisions made from and/or program structured around the research results.
a. Qualitative
b. Quantitative
c. Total research program
11. Measurement: This category rewards innovations in measurement. How do you prove the value of your efforts? Ex. media clipping program, attendance, impressions, return on investment (ROI), advertising equivalency (AVE), etc. Entries in this category should explain how the measurement innovation directly related to organizational goals and/or objectives and briefly discuss the methodology for data collection.
II. Public Relations Projects/Tactical Elements
12. Annual Report
a. Budget under $5,000
b. Budget of $5,000 - $10,000
c. Budget of $10,000 or more
13. Publications
Must be published at east semi-annually, with the exception of newsletters, which must be published three or more times annually.
a. Internal magazine
b. External magazine
c. Internal newsletter
d. External newsletter
e. Newspapers/Tabloids
f. Regular electronic publications
g. Other regularly produced publications
14. Special Purpose Publications
Programs, invitations, reports in connection with special events or other single-issue publications.
a. Invitations
b. Programs
c. Other single-issue publications
15. Direct Mail
Single- or multiple-piece projects with either internal or external circulations that include response vehicles. Include printouts for entries in the electronic sub-category.
a. Print
b. Electronic
16. Promotional Brochure or Folder
a. Brochure/folder budget under $5,000
b. Brochure/folder budget of $5,000 - $10,000
c. Brochure/folder budget of $10,000 or more
17. Organizational Identity
a. Logo design
b. Letterhead or business cards
c. Signage
d. Promotional products
e. Institutional/Image advertising
f. Identity Standards Manual
18. Media/Press Kit
a. Print
b. Broadcast
c. Online
19. Writing for Public Relations
Entries in this category must be original work written for public relations functions. If there is no byline in published work written or contracted by the member (ex. news release), please submit both the release and the final story.
a. Opinion/Editorial
b. Feature story
c. Speech
d. News release
e. Public Relations or Marketing plan
f. Proposal/Grant
g. Other
20. Broadcast Production
Audio or video produced and distributed internally, to mass media or through online media; may be a program, video news release (VNR), internal/external audio or video, or public service announcement (PSA). Submit entries on CD or DVD
a. Internal audio
b. External audio
c. Internal video
d. External video
e. PSA audio
f. PSA video
g. Podcast
21. Web Site Development
Submit Web Site address and printed pages from Web Site.
a. Internet
b. Intranet
22. Interactive Media
a. CD or DVD
b. Weblog
c. Online press room
d. Other interactive media
23. Presentations (Slide/PowerPoint)
Submit slide/PowerPoint on CD or DVD. Must also submit printed pages.
24. Images
a. Photography, black and white
b. Photography, color
c. Illustration
25. Potpourri
Any public relations tactic or item not otherwise represented in the above categories.
III. Judging Criteria and Procedures:
The Public Relations Association of Mississippi, in conjunction with its regional organization, Southern Public Relations Federation, established the following criteria and procedures for which its awards programs will be based.
A. Judging Criteria
Each entry:
1. Must follow entry guidelines and meet eligibility criteria precisely.
2. Must not have designs or markings, other than category # and title, on its exterior.
3. Must include, as its first page inside the binder, the Project Profile Sheet generated by the online entry system and covering:
A) Research / Situation Analysis: Summarize the situation and/or provide information gathered through formal or informal research methods.
B) Planning: State the objectives, qualitative and or quantitative, which this program or tool was designed to achieve.
C) Implementation: Outline steps used to achieve the stated objectives.
D) Evaluation: Explain how the success of the program or tool was measured. Report how well it achieved its objective. Include a budget or financial outlay, or if this is a pro bono project, give a value for the hours donated, etc.
4. Will be judged based on its own merit.
5. Will only be compared to other entries when being considered for a Best of Show or Judges’ Award. Entries should not be compared against each other and awarded as first, second and third place in each category.
6. Will receive judges’ feedback
7. Will be judged based on the factual material and documentation presented.
8. Should be included in a three-ring, up-to-two-inch binder and include a reasonable amount of samples/supporting materials that are referred to in the corresponding entry summary. Entries SHOULD NOT include everything (i.e. excessive working documents) associated with the production of the entry.
9. For Web-related categories should include no more than
10 images/pages as support material and the live URL.
11. For other audio or video categories should be submitted on a DVD and edited to no more than five minutes.
12. Must be entered in the appropriate category. The judges or the awards committee may choose to accept and reclassify an entry submitted in an inappropriate category OR they may disqualify the inappropriately classified entry based solely upon the judges’ discretion.
B. Judging Protocol
1. Awards committee members should stay with the judges during the judging process.
2. Judges should be selected from outside the area being judged/should not be members of the organization for whom they are judging.
3. Each judging panel should include at least one APR, if possible. Each judging panel should have no fewer than two members and no more than five. There should be no fewer than two judging panels, approximately one panel per 100 entries.
4. Each judges score sheet totals 100 points. The judges’ scoresheets should be averaged to determine each entry’s overall score 0 to 100.
5. Since each entry is judged on its own merit, it is possible that no entry in a specific category would earn an award. However, it is also possible that more than one entrant in any category could receive the same award (Lantern/Medallion/PRism), Awards of Excellence, etc.
6. Only one Best of Show can be awarded.
7. No more than two Judges’ Awards can be awarded.
8. The Awards Committee will examine each entry to determine if it meets eligibility. Final determinations of eligibility are left up to the judges. Incomplete entries or entries that do not meet eligibility requirements/conform to specifications will be disqualified.
9. Each category’s entry summary/profile and judging criteria should be based on the following elements of professionalism: Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation – PR Programs require more research and evaluation than PR Projects.
10. Entry summaries/profiles and judging criteria are classified in two major divisions: PR
Programs and PR Projects
• Programs Division point allocation:
- Research...............................10 points
- Planning ................................40 points
- Implementation......................25 points
- Evaluation..............................10 points
- Creativity ...............................15 points
• Projects Division point allocation:
- Research...............................5 points
- Planning ................................20 points
- Implementation......................50 points
- Evaluation..............................5 points
- Creativity ...............................20 points
11. Award recipients should be selected in one of two ways:
• Pure point scale (for example)
i. Entries receiving averages of 90 to 100 each earning a
Lantern/Medallion/PRism
ii. Entries receiving averages of 80 to 89 earning an Award of Excellence
iii. Entries receiving averages of 70 to 79 earning a Merit Award
• Bell curve
i. Should the judges prove excessively harsh or excessively easy, the awards committee should have the option of sliding the point scale either up or down as necessary to accommodate the judges’ patterns of awarding points. If this
option is used, no more than 20 percent of the entries overall, should earn the top award.
12. Provide feedback to the entrants. The online awards entry system will generate pre-filled-in judging forms. Each judge will receive a form for his or her scores and comments. The completed judging forms should be returned to the entrant at the awards ceremony in sealed envelopes alphabetized by organization name.
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