How To Enter | PRWeek Awards 2011

The entry system for 2012 will be open early March. Please use the information provided on these pages to begin preparing your submissions today. 

IMPORTANT: PRWeek no longer accepts the use of AVEs (advertising value equivalents) as a way of evaluating the success of any campaign, because we believe such a measurement is outdated and insufficient. We also suggest that you put more emphasis on measuring the tangible business outcomes of a campaign (i.e. an uplift in sales, proven change in audience behaviour, post-campaign attitudinal research). 

Who can enter

The awards are open to PR consultancies and in-house departments and the individuals who work within them. Outside contractors and non-PR professionals may also enter certain categories where indicated.

All work entered into the categories must be either carried out in the UK or where involving work overseas, initiated, co-ordinated and evaluated by a UK office or UK based staff (except for work entered into the International Consultancy of the Year).

Where both an in-house department and their consultancy enter the same project for a category, the two entries will be treated as a joint entry for the purposes of judging. As both entries will have to be processed before a decision about joint entry can be made, however, any duplicated entry fee will be forfeited.

Companies or individuals may submit entries on behalf of themselves or others and may enter any number of categories.

International work by UK consultancies or in-house departments can be included in any relevant category. 

Eligibility, publication and confidentiality

Except where indicated, submissions should relate to the period 23/05/11– 22/05/12.

Please note that entries which have been submitted for the 2011 PRWeek Awards cannot be submitted in 2012 unless it can be proved that substantial developments / improvements have taken place.

The organisers reserve the right to retain entries for subsequent publication. Descriptions of submissions from winners and runners-up will be published in connection with the Awards.

Entrants may mark certain sensitive parts of their entry 'not for publication' (such as exact budget figures etc.), provided such restrictions are not used unreasonably. 

General entry and information

IMPORTANT: the evidence you submit in this phase is the only and final evidence that will accompany your submission throughout the judging process. This includes the additional 500 words for judging purposes required by the system at the time of submission.

Links to information on categories and criteria, entry fees and useful tips on entering the PRWeek Awards can be found at the top of the left hand column on this and other pages of the website.

Your written entry paper must be no more than two single sheets of A4 when printed (10 point type size, single line spacing), which you will need to upload from your desktop.

You may illustrate your submission PDF with thumbnail images, but these must be no larger than 50mm x 50mm at 72 dpi.

The judges find such thumbnails useful in understanding your project or campaign. Please note, though, that these are NOT a replacement for the high quality images that you must also supply as part of your entry.

All entries should follow the template sections listed below. Entries exceeding two sides will automatically receive lower votes from the Judges. To enter the categories, please adhere to these requirements, along with any other criteria shown below.

The additional 500 words for judging purposes are a further chance to explain to the judges what are the strong points of your work and why your entry should win a PRWeek Award.

Template for your two-page written paper 

Your written entry is the basis on which you will be judged and shortlisted. The two pages should show how you meet all of the criteria in your chosen category. At the beginning of your two pages the following information must be stated:

Sub-headings

Within your two pages please use the following as sub-headings under which you clearly enter your information.

• Budgets: with disclosure of costs or budgets, actual figures may be given or one of the bands selected below. Any element over £100,000 (e.g. sponsorship) should be indicated to the nearest £50,000. Where fees, turnover and/or profit figures are required, they must be audited or signed off by an accountant                                      
                 - Below £10,000 
                 - £10,000 - £25,000 
                 - £25,001 - £50,000 
                 - £50,001 - £75,000 
                 - £75,001 - £100,000 
                 - Over £100,000
• Objective / brief from client
• Strategy
• Method deployed
• Outcome, including formal evaluation of results. IMPORTANT: starting from this edition of the Awards, PRWeek will not be accepting the use of AVEs (advertising value equivalents) as a way of evaluating the success of any campaign, because we believe such a measurement is outdated and insufficient. We also suggest that you put more emphasis on measuring the tangible business outcomes of a campaign (i.e. an uplift in sales, proven change in audience behaviour, post-campaign attitudinal research).  
• Relation to objectives and cost-effectiveness
• Creativity / originality
• Indication of outside contractors where used
• Category specific criteria (see the Categories & Criteria page)
• People: include names of team members involved in the actual work

The headings you elect to use will vary, project to project, but failure to include relevant or necessary information under the appropriate subheadings above will result in your project receiving lower votes from the expert judging teams.

Note: if you are submitting an entry in the People and Agencies / Gold Awards categories, you may find it hard to include all subheadings. Each person’s, agency’s and department's story is unique and can be hardly contained in labels. Please refer to the specific criteria for the People & Agencies / Gold Awards category you wish to enter, but keep the subheadings in mind as a ‘remote’ guide to write your submission.

Images (mandatory)

As part of your entry you must upload three key images as jpeg files.

IMPORTANT: your key images are mandatory parts of your entry.

Please note that failure to submit the 3 key images or to respect the indications below will result in your entry not being submitted to the judging panel for evaluation.

Your images must comply with the following:

• Colour jpeg files

• No scanned images – your three high-quality key images must illustrate your entry and can include related, relevant images of your campaign for your client’s product, area of business, or the field in which they operate. If it is only possible to supply scanned images they must be scanned to the highest possible resolution - a minimum of 300 dpi.

• For the People & Agencies and the Gold Awards Categories, pictures must be of people and teams. We recommend a professional photographer for best results

• No press cuttings

• No logos

• The resolution must be 300 dpi and the size no less than 200mm x 200mm, to allow for landscape, portrait or square images

• Should your reach the shortlist stage, these may be used for publication in PRWeek and will be used on-screen during the awards night presentation

IMPORTANT: your key images are mandatory parts of your entry.

Videos (optional)

In addition to the mandatory three still images, you may also submit video material to illustrate your entry during the awards presentation. Approximately 30 seconds will be required for presentation purposes, and the video is generally shown ‘mute’, i.e. WITHOUT audio.

Material must include related, relevant footage of your campaign for your client’s product, area of business, or the field in which they operate. Broadcast monitoring ‘off-air’ material is not suitable for presentation!

The recommended specifications for Quicktime (.mov) movie files are:

Type: Quicktime .mov files only
File size: 20MB max
Duration: no longer than 30 seconds
Size: 1024 x 576 for 16:9 format

These specifications must be adhered to, otherwise your movie files will be inadequate for projection on to the screens at the PRWeek Awards. Please copy and paste this information and send it to your production agency. 

Additional supporting evidence (optional)

One .pdf or jpg. document (max 15MB)

One .mp3 audio file (max 5 MB)