Judges

Expert and Impartial

The PRWeek Awards 2010 will be judged by an expert panel of the most influential people in the PR industry, including clients, agency practitioners and senior in-house department executives. All judges are the equivalent of directors, company owners or senior managers.

The panel of judges will be carefully chosen to ensure the Awards are not only impartial, but also recognise those who have achieved excellence in the sphere of PR. PRWeek's editorial team will handpick a selection of the UK's most revered PR experts, those that define the industry.

The result of all this expertise is an unparalleled insight into PR, as well as a set of Awards that truly reflect the dynamic and uncompromising nature of the sector.

The judging of the PRWeek Awards will take place in two stages:

Stage One: online entries and long list
Each judge in the PRweek Awards panel will be sent a link to the online submissions from the categories that have been selected for them to read.

The judges will have access to the written submissions and the supporting material - both mandatory and optional. This is why it is so important that you submit a well-written entry and the correct supporting evidence. The evidence you submit in this phase is the only and final evidence that will accompany your submission throughout the judging process. 

The judges will vote online in this first phase (in secret ballot – no judge is allowed to see other judges’ scores), and the average of the votes will be calculated by the electronic system. The results will produce the long list of entries that will be put forward for the second stage of judging – the plenary session.

All entrants are notified of the results of the first stage, and entrants in the People & Agencies and the Gold Awards will be notified of the time and location of the live presentation (viva) they will be making to the relevant judging panel.

Note: Vivas will take place on 9 July 2010, so please keep this date free if you are planning to enter the People & Agencies and Gold Awards.

Stage Two: plenary session
The aim of the plenary session is to review and vote on all the entries which have been put forward from Stage One.

The PRWeek Awards are the showcase for the industry and judges will look for evidence of “outcome, creativity, relation to objective, and cost effectiveness”. The entries that come out on top will show all of the above along with that special spark of innovation that makes all of the judges sit up and take notice.

In the plenary session judges will discuss the entries and the supporting evidence (or the live presentation) and vote in secret ballot. The average of the new votes will be calculated by the electronic system, and the results will produce the PRWeek Awards shortlist that will be competing for the Awards.