2018 Call For Entries

Celebrating its 60th year, the COlorado Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has grown into the nation's fifth largest chapter. In 1966, the Chapter created the Gold Pick Awards to honor the region's best work in public relations and has grown to be the state's most prestigious awards recognition program for PR practitioners.

Please save the date Thursday, May 10, 2018, for the 2018 PRSA Colorado Gold Pick Awards ceremony at Kevin Taylor's at the Opera House. Join your colleagues for a night of networking and celebrating as we recognize PR practitioners who shine like diamonds and set the gold standard in public relations work in Colorado.

Entry Details and Forms

The entry form link, payment link/form, judging criteria and awards are available online at www.prsacolorado.org.

Entry Deadlines and Fees: No extensions beyond these deadlines will be granted. Entrants can submit unlimited entries. The below fees are incurred for each entry submitted.

Early: Entry and payment received online by 4 p.m. Friday, Mar. 2, 2018. Entry files must be uploaded to assigned Dropbox folder by Tuesday, Mar. 6, 2018.

PRSA Colorado Chapter members: $80 per entry
Nonmembers: $115 per entry

Late: Entry form received online by 4 p.m. Friday, Mar. 9, 2018. Entry files must be uploaded to assigned Dropbox folder by Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018.

PRSA Colorado Chapter members: $165 per entry
Nonmembers: $200 per entry

Late-Late: Entry form received online by 4 p.m. Friday, Mar. 16, 2018. Entry files must be uploaded to assigned Dropbox folder by Tuesday, Mar. 20, 2018.

PRSA Colorado Chapter members: $215 per entry
Nonmembers: $250 per entry

Who Can Enter

Awards categories are open to all public relations practitioners who work in Colorado or who have completed assignments for Colorado-based clients. An individual or organization does not have to be a member of PRSA Colorado to enter. Entries must pertain to work completed in 2017.

How to Enter:

All entries must be completed online at the PRSA Colorado website by 4 p.m.  Friday, March 16. To receive discounted entry fees, submit before the corresponding deadlines listed above.

Payment may be made via credit card online or via check (payable to PRSA Colorado). All entry fees are nonrefundable. If paying by check, you will be directed to use a printable form. Checks must be received by PRSA Colorado office by entry deadlines.

Entrants must select a single category per entry; however, entrants may choose to enter their program in more than one category, provided that it applies to the specific criteria stated within that category. Judges will not move entries into other categories.

Step 1: Prepare your entry              

Each entry must include:

• Summary page: The summary should address each of the judging criteria: research, planning, execution and evaluation.
• Please note: Typeface must be a minimum 10 pt font and margins must be a minimum of one inch. (Save file as Word doc or PDF and clearly label.)
• Maximum length for campaign submissions: two pages
• Maximum length for tactic submissions: one page
• Supplemental materials: Examples include: public relations planning document, research reports, surveys, news releases, pictures, clippings, and samples of tactical materials.
• Please note the following:
• If you are an award recipient, these materials may be shared publicly at the Gold Pick Awards Event. Please be sure to have approvals before submitting any award entries.
• Entry folders must not exceed 3GB. For entries that include video assets, please include a link to where the video is hosted OR upload a .mov, .wmv, .wav, or .mpg file.
• Please clearly label each document and any supplemental materials.

 

Tips for Preparing Your PRSA Colorado Gold Pick Entry Summaries

The summary is the single most important component of the entry. Judges evaluate the program on the merit of the four criteria — research, planning, execution and evaluation. Your entry should begin with a brief situation analysis for your program.

Visit www.prsa.org/Awards/Search to view examples of national award-winning case studies. Please note that your entry summary should be strong enough on its own for judges to get a complete picture of your submittal, without having to review supplemental materials.

Use the following questions to help you prepare a strong entry summary:

Research

• How did you determine the necessary research? (Primary, secondary or both)
• Was the research in response to a situation or further opportunities?
• How was the research relevant in shaping the planning process?
• Did the research help define or refine audiences of the situation?

 

Planning

• What were your measurable objectives?
• Were the objectives appropriate based on the situation or identified opportunities?
• Were objectives specific, measurable, and include a timeframe and identify the audience?
• How did the plan correlate with your research findings?
• What was your budget? (if applicable)
• Who was the target audience? (Primary and secondary)

 

Execution

• What were your tactics?
• How were your tactics implemented?
• How appropriate were the tactics to achieving objectives, executing strategy?
• How did you integrate the tools with one another?
• How did your supplemental materials reflect the objectives?

 

Evaluation

• What were your results? How did you track and measure your results?
• How did the results compare to the measurable objectives identified in the planning section?
• How do the results reflect original strategy and planning?
• What did you learn through evaluation? How would you refine the program?

 

Step-by-Step Submission Directions

Step 2: Complete online or printable entry form and upload completed entries onto Dropbox:

• Visit the PRSA Colorado website to complete online entry form or print out an entry form if paying by check and mail form and payment by the respective deadline. If you would like to receive an early entry discount, please follow the early entry deadlines listed above.
• An entry form is required for each individual entry and category.
• Within the entry form, fill in all required spaces.
• Upon completing the entry form and submitting payment for each entry, PRSA Colorado will be notified and will send the organization a link to a Dropbox folder within 72 hours with the following format: 
  [Gold Pick Entry]_[Campaign or Component]_[Category #]_Project-Title]_[Entrant Name]
  
  
• Example: Gold Pick Entry_Campaign_9C_ Avoiding Crisis_Joe Smith PR
  
  
• Place all files relevant for your entry into appropriate subfolders of the main folder, including: manifest folder materials, entry summary and supporting documents.
• Required file formats are PDF for the entry form and background documents. Supporting materials may contain PDF, JPEG or GIF image files or for entries that include video assets, please include a link to where the video is hosted OR upload a .mov, .wmv, .wav, or .mpg file.
• Entrants may submit an unlimited number of entries. Entries may be submitted in multiple categories, as appropriate; each additional category/component must include separate forms and entry fees and will be assigned individual Dropbox folders. An organization can access their folder anytime through 5 p.m. on the day of their entry deadline (see below).
• IMPORTANT DEADLINES: Based upon whether an early or final entry has been submitted, entrants must be mindful of differing deadlines. Please follow the deadlines listed below.
• o    Early: Entry files must be uploaded to assigned Dropbox folder by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Mar. 6, 2018.
• o    Late: Entry files must be uploaded to assigned Dropbox folder by 5 p.m. Tuesday, Mar. 13, 2018.
• o    Late-Late: Entry files must be uploaded to assigned Dropbox folder by 5 p.m. Tuesday,Mar. 20, 2018.
  
• Once you have uploaded your files to your assigned Dropbox folder, please send an email to [email protected] to notify that you have submitted files. We will reply with a confirmation.
• In the event that a judge has trouble opening your files in the designated formats, you will be contacted and asked to submit in a different format. You will have three (3) business days from the time you receive the request to submit the new file via email.
• Entries not submitted as described above may be disqualified. Additional information about the entry preparation process can be found below and online at www.prsacolorado.org, www.prsa.org/Awards/BronzeAnvil or www.prsa.org/Awards/SilverAnvil.

 

Step 3: Each organization must include a Manifest Folder for each entry containing the following:

• Entry Summary
• Organization’s color logo (.eps or .png format preferred)
• Name of individual(s) and organization to be on the award for entry (no more than two lines, 32 characters per line)
• A 100-word description and photos of entry. This will be used to describe and display your entry if it receives an award. Please clearly label each summary and photos with the entry category and title.
• A 140-character description of the entry.
• Entry contact name, phone number and email address

 

*Example of folders/files within Dropbox:

Dropbox Folder: (Link sent to individual organizations from PRSA Colorado)

• XYZ PR Company_Campaign_9C_Avoiding Crisis

Within this folder:

• Manifest Folder
• Campaign_9C_Avoiding Crisis_Joe Smith PR
• Avoiding Crisis Summary
• Avoiding Crisis Supplemental Materials
•  X
•  X
•  X

 

Entry Folder:

Within Entry Folder:

Within Entry “Campaign_9C_Avoiding Crisis_Joe Smith PR” sub folder:

Please note that entries will become the property of PRSA Colorado and may be displayed at the Gold Pick Awards event or online at www.prsacolorado.org. PRSA Colorado reserves the right to use entries or a reproduction of entries in part or in full to promote future PRSA Colorado Gold Pick Awards and/or to provide a resource of successful programs for educational purposes.

Judging

PRSA Colorado demands the highest standards for Gold Pick judging. For 2017 entries – submitted for the 2018 program – third-party judging will be conducted by the PRSA Oklahoma City Chapter Judges will be seasoned public relations and marketing professionals, with four years or more of practice and/or their APR. Three judges, at least one with 10 years or more of practice or APR, will judge each entry. Professionals with a wealth of experience in specific category topics will judge entries in that category. Conversely, judges who have little experience in an entry’s category topic will instead seek out submissions that reflect their area of expertise.

Judges closely follow the guidelines outlined in the Call for Entries as well as the judging criteria for campaign and component entries. Please note that some categories may not receive awards if the judges determine the entries do not merit recognition. Judges’ decisions are final. Complete details on judging criteria are available online at www.prsacolorado.org.

Additional Awards

Grand Gold Pick Award

The annual Grand Gold Pick Award goes to the “best in show” campaign entry that receives the highest overall score of the year.

Small Practice Award

Sole practitioners, small practices and freelancers may compete for the Small Practice Award, recognizing the efforts of practitioners whose entire practice bills less than $200,000 annually. The entry must be for a campaign rather than a component. The highest score overall among small practice Gold Pick winners will receive this honor.

Nonprofit Award

This award is designed to recognize the public relations efforts of staff and executives working within a nonprofit organization. To qualify, an organization must submit documentation of 501(c)(3) status. Work by a company or agency on behalf of a nonprofit is ineligible. The entry must be for a program rather than a component. The highest score overall among nonprofit Gold Pick winners will receive this honor.

Call for Entries Questions

Contact: Dustin Moody at [email protected] or James Cullen at [email protected].

Campaign Award Categories

Campaign awards recognize complete programs incorporating sound research, planning, execution and evaluation. They must meet the highest standards of performance in the profession. Please note that a campaign entry is restricted to a two-page summary with one-inch margins and 10 point typeface

1. Community Relations

1A. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
1B. Business Products
1C. Business Services

Includes programs that aim to improve relations with, or seek to win the support or cooperation of, people or organizations in communities in which the sponsoring organization has an interest, need or opportunity. "Community" in this category refers to a specific geographic location or locations.

2. Content Marketing

2A. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
2B. Business Products
2C. Business Services
2D. Consumer Products
2E. Consumer Services

Programs that effectively demonstrate a strategic program that includes creating and distributing valuable content to attract, acquire, and engage target audience(s). Include examples and metrics.

3. Crisis Communications
Includes programs undertaken to deal with an unplanned event that required an immediate response.

4. Events and Observances

4A. More Than Seven Days

4AA. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
4AB. Business - Products
4AC. Business - Services

4B. Seven Or Fewer Days

4BA. Business to Business
4BB. Consumer Products
4BC. Consumer Services
4BD. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations

Includes programs or events, such as commemorations, observances, openings, yearlong anniversaries, celebrations or other special activities. Events that took place for longer than a one-week period should be entered in"4A. More Than Seven Days" and events occurring within a time span of one week should be entered in"4B. Seven Or Fewer Days."

5. Financial Communications
Includes programs directed to shareowners, other investors and the investment community.

6. Global Communications
Includes any type of program, such as Reputation/Brand Management, Marketing or Events and Observances, that demonstrates effective global communications implemented in more than one country.

7. Influencer Marketing to Expand Awareness
Program that focuses on using paid spokespoeple and key leaders to increase awareness and drive your brand's message to the larger market.

8. Integrated Communications

8A. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
8B. Business to Business
8C. Consumer Products

8CA. Food & Beverage
8CB. Non-Packaged Goods
8CC. Packaged Goods
8CD. Retail Stores and Restaurants

8D. Consumer Services

Includes any program that demonstrates leadership of public relations strategies and tactics in a creative and effective integrated campaign, along with other marketing or communications. The program must demonstrate the clear leadership of public relations, along with its integration with other disciplines.

9. Internal Communications

9A. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
9B. Business

9BA. Fewer Than 1,000 Employees
9BB. 1,000 to 10,000 Employees
9BC. More Than 10,000 Employees

Includes programs targeted specifically to special publics directly allied with an organization, such as employees, members, affiliated dealers and franchisees.

10. Issues Management
For programs undertaken to deal with issues that could extraordinarily affect ongoing business strategy.

11. Marketing

11A. Business to Business

11AA. Products
11AB. Professional and/or Financial Services

11B. Consumer Products

11BA. Food and Beverages
11BB. Health Care
11BC. Non-packed Goods
11BD. Packaged Goods
11BE. Retail Stores and Restaurants
11BF. Technology

11C. Consumer Services

11CA. Financial Services
11CB. Health Care Services
11CC. Technology
11CD. Travel and Tourism/Hospitality

Includes programs designed to introduce new products/services, or promote existing products/services to a particular audience.

12. Most Effective Campaign on a $5,000 to $10,000 Budget

12A. Associations
12B. Government
12C. Nonprofit Organizations
12D. Business

13. Most Effective Campaign on a Shoe String Budget ($5,000 or less)

13A. Associations
13B. Government
13C. Nonprofit Organizations
13D. Business

Successful campaign despite constraints of a small budget. This does not include staff time and overhead.

14. Most effective Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign
Program that enhances a corporate reputation and demonstrates a business approach to initiatives that positively impact society. Campaigns to highlight the positive impact that they have had delivering economic, social and environmental benefits to stakeholders.

15. Multicultural Public Relations
For any type of program, such as institutional, marketing and community relations, specifically targeted to a cultural group.

16. Public Affairs

16A. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
16B. Business

Includes programs specifically designed to influence public policy and/or affect legislation, regulations, political activities or candidates - at the local, state or federal government levels - so that the entity funding the program benefits.

17. Public Service

17A. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
17B. Business
17C. Partnerships (Funded jointly by businesses and other organizations, including nonprofit and government)

Includes programs that advance public understanding of societal issues, problems or concerns.

18. Reputation/Brand Management

18A. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
18B. Business

18BA. Companies With Sales Up to $50 Million
18BB. Companies With Sales of More Than $50 Million to $500 Million
18BC. Companies With Sales of More Than $500 Million to $10 Billion
18BD. Companies With Sales Over $10 Billion

Programs designed to enhance, promote or improve the reputation of an organization with its publics or key elements of its publics, either proactively or in response to an issue, event or market occurrence.

Component Award Categories

Component awards recognize outstanding public relations tactics, the individual items or components of programs and campaigns. Please note that a component entry is restricted to a one-page summary with one-inch margins and 10-point typeface.

PAID:

1. BEST SPONSORSHIP ACTIVATION
Sponsorships represent the alignment of shared values and goals, and can be profitable marketing opportunities for building harmonious partnerships. Activation requires a deep understanding of brand synergy to support how affiliations are formed and promoted to vetted demographics. Show how the activation leveraged investment.

2. MOST EFFECTIVE INFLUENCER PROMOTION
Influencer marketing focuses on an individual the audience sees as a trusted source of information and which can be differentiated far better than through advertising or content marketing. How did you ensure maximization of your ROI with these highly targeted consumers? 

3. BEST SEO
Were you able to improve your brands SEO with paid results on major search platforms? If your team or agency had a successful paid search campaign across one or more search-based advertising platforms which demonstrated improvement and a positive return on investment share your metrics and results.

EARNED:

4. MEDIA RELATIONS

4A. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organizations
4B. Business-To-Business
4C. Consumer Products

4CA. Food & Beverage
4CB. Health Care
4CC. Non-Packaged Goods
4CD. Packaged Goods
4CE. Technology

4D. Consumer Services

Tactics, programs and events driven entirely by media relations. Submit press releases, media advisories, pitch letters, requests for coverage, etc., along with the one-page summary that includes measurable objectives and results, such as evidence of the resulting media coverage. Upload or provide YouTube/Vimeo links to any television or radio coverage. The Packaged Goods subcategory refers to traditional consumer products sold in packages, such as food products, pet products, household goods, toiletries, cosmetics, etc. The Non-Packaged Goods subcategory refers to consumer products, such as clothing, appliances, furniture, etc.

5. FEATURE STORIES*
Feature articles that have been written by a practitioner, and submitted and published through his/her efforts. Submit text of feature article, as well as documentation of publication and placement. The onepage summary should include target audience, measurable objectives and any documented results.

6. BLOGGER CAMPAIGNS
A proactive outreach to the blogger community on behalf of a product, service or organization. The onepage summary should include rationale for blogger outreach strategy, statistics or other means of quantifiable measurement to support stated objectives, as well as a copy of (a) the outgoing messages and (b) the resulting blog entries either as uploads and/or the actual site URLs.

7. EXECUTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
Positioning of an executive at any level across earned, owned, and share platforms. The one-page summary should include information about the executive and stated objectives, quantification of results as well as copies of significant placements, social media, posts or memos.

SHARED:

8. BEST USE OF SOCIAL STORIES
Did you take social storytelling to another level? How did you use YouTube, Facebook, Instagram or Snapchat to tell your brand's story? Share screenshots or links to your story and provide the results.

9. TWITTER ENGAGEMENT
How did you interact with your audience in real time? Show your most interactive Twitter accounts with measurements like Retweets, likes, impressions and clicks. What impression did they leave on your audience?

10. FACEBOOK ENGAGEMENT
How did you use Facebook to share your message and engage your audience? How did it enhance your overall marketing plan? Did it lead to increased activity and viral reach?

11. YOUTUBE ENGAGEMENT
Did you make a popular YouTube video that persuaded your audience not only to watch but also comment and share the video? Share the videos that you created that combine storytelling and great production. In addition to the video please provide measurable objectives, such as the number of comments, shares and social reach of your video.

12. INSTAGRAM COMMUNICATIONS
How did you use this visual platform to connect and engage with your audience? Was it used to sell products or share insights? Provide details of the results you have seen.

13. LINKEDIN
Show how you used this social media gateway to optimize the company’s business stature through announcements, engaging articles or other creative ways.

14. PINTEREST
How did you engage followers and increase brand awareness and sales through use of beautiful graphics? Show links to your Pinterest boards along with metrics.

OWNED:

15. NEW DIGITAL PLATFORM
Did you launch a new website, newsroom, App or other digital platform? How was it launched and how much risk was involved in your marketing plan? What platforms were used? What value did the end user receive and how did it match goals? This entry can be completed by a vendor or the customer.

16. MOBILE APP
Use of mobile applications as part of a public relations program. Include copy and any images of key pages to support your one-page summary. Additionally, include brief instructions on how to download the application.

17. BEST USE OF DATA/ANALYTICS
How did it uncover hidden patterns, correlations or other insights to help make quicker and more efficient business decisions to gain a competitive edge?

18. WEBSITES
Use of a website as part of a communications or content marketing program. Include screen grabs or copies of key pages to support your one-page summary. Additionally, include the website URL for external sites.

19. WORD-OF-MOUTH (VIRAL, BUZZ, TALK TRIGGERS)
Tactics that get key audiences talking or provide an avenue for conversation using different techniques, such as viral marketing, sampling programs, loyalty programs, etc.

20. CREATIVE TACTICS
Innovative, unconventional, creative tactics or approaches used as part of a public relations program. Documentation of how the tactic specifically contributed to the measurable results of the campaign should be included in the one-page summary. (Photographic and/or video representation of any physical objects should be uploaded.)

21. ANNUAL REPORTS
Publications that report on an organization’s annual performance. Upload a sample of one copy of the publication, along with a one-page summary.

22. BLOGS
Web-based journals, or blogs, that communicated to a target audience. The one-page summary should include rationale for blogging strategy, target audiences and statistics, or other means of quantifiable measurement to support stated objectives. Screen downloads of the blog being entered, as well as the actual site URL, must be submitted as part of the story.

23. DIGITAL NEWSLETTERS
Publications designed, written and published periodically to provide brief and timely information to target audiences while supporting an organization’s overall objectives. Upload samples of three consecutive issues, along with a one-page summary.

24. DIGITAL PUBLICATIONS (Single Issue Newsletters/Booklets/Calendars)
Single-issue publications designed for a special purpose. Books and other publications not eligible for consideration in other categories should be entered here. Upload a sample of one copy of the publication along with the one-page summary.

25. ONLINE VIDEOS
Pre-produced videos distributed online to inform target audiences of an event, product, service, issue or organization. Entries may consist of an edited video and one of any sound bites. The one-page summary should include usage statistics or other means of quantified measurement to support stated objectives.

26. ONLINE NEWSROOM
Also known as a pressroom, media room, press center or media center is a website, web page or site section that contains distributable information about a corporation or organization.

27. RESEARCH/ EVALUATION
Research that provides a meaningful contribution or input to a public relations program, or an evaluation documenting the value or benefit of a public relations program or tactic. Sample of the methodology and findings of any research should be uploaded, along with a one-page summary. One-page summaries for evaluations should detail how and why this method is unique and valuable.

28. BEST USE OF BRANDED CONTENT

28A. Consumer
28B. Business to Business
28C. Professional Services
28D. Financial Services
28E. Healthcare
28F. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organization
28G. Hospitality Industry
28H. Arts, Sports and Entertainment
28I. Other Use of content generation to promote a particular brand which funds the content's production.

29. WEBCASTS

29A. Business to Business
29B. Associations/Government/Nonprofit Organization

Media files distributed over the Internet using streaming media technology. May be live or recorded. Submit the one-page summary and upload or provide YouTube/Vimeo links of the webcast, as well as the actual site URL.

30. INNOVATION IN CUSTOMER SERVICE
Customers are wielding more power and demanding more from customer service. How did you demonstrate transformative innovation by introducing something new which revolved around the customer’s needs and had a big impact on the company’s service performance? Provide metrics.

31. PODCASTS
How did you tell your story – was the purpose to teach or share? Was it intended for internal or external audiences and was there engagement on multiple platforms? Provide listener feedback.

32. MAGAZINES
Publications designed to provide in-depth information about an organization or topic on a regular basis. Magazines typically differentiate from newsletters by the number of pages and length of articles. Upload samples of three consecutive issues along with the one-page summary.

* Entries in category 5 – Feature Stories must be written in their entirety or substantively by the entrant, and not merely “pitched.”

Call for Entries Questions

Contact: Dustin Moody at [email protected], James Cullen at [email protected] or [email protected].