At a special briefing Friday, 6 December PRCA and PRII members heard from Neasa Kane Fine, Chair of the Judging Panel and PRII and PRCA CEO Dr Martina Byrne on how to best prepare an entry for the Awards for Excellence in PR 2020 (see presentation below).

At the briefing, which took place in the Helen Roe Theatre at the Royal Society of Antiquaries Ireland on Merrion Square, Neasa had the following advice for entrants:-

  • Don’t assume anything – always provide context
  • Be explicit in telling the judges what you did to achieve success
  • Show how PR campaign objectives were linked to delivering on Business or Organisational objectives
  • Show you know your audience
  • Demonstrate the impact of impact
  • Remember that outcomes, not outputs, equal results

Dr Byrne took the opportunity to remind attendees that AVEs are a discredited metric that will not be accepted by the judges as evidence of delivery for clients or employers and that the Barcelona Principles, established almost a decade ago, are key criteria used in judging the Awards for Excellence in PR.  A PR Measurement & Evaluation: Barcelona Principles workshop will take place on 11 February; you can register for it here.

Dr Byrne told attendees that all of the 2019 categories would be open again in 2020 and that two exciting new categories will be added:-

  • In-house Team of the Year
  • PRCA Agency of the Year

The closing date for entries for the Awards for Excellence in PR 2020 is Tuesday 3 March; the shortlist will be announced on Friday 8 May.

Each year the Awards for Excellence in PR showcase the best in class PR campaigns, events and communications initiatives of the previous year. Award winners set the benchmark for work within our sector and showcase the best our profession has to offer.

Presentation PR Excellence Awards Judging Advisory Session 6 December 2019 FINAL