Excellence Awards 2023 categories
Click here to read the Rules of entry
This year the categories are divided into ‘Campaign Categories’ and ‘Individual and Team Awards’.
If you are entering the Individual and Team Awards please click here
Individual and Team Awards
CAMPAIGN CATEGORIES
Entries must relate to work carried out between January 2022 and February 2023 – judging will be focused on this timeframe.
Entries must consist of no more than 1,000 words and must cover the following criteria:
- Brief, objectives and budget
- The idea, research and planning
- Strategy, creativity and innovation
- Delivery/implementation of tactics
- Measurement, evaluation and impact
Note: The inclusion of AVEs will result in a score of zero for this section of criteria.
What to Include
- Corporate and Business Communications Campaign
PR should be strategic. Judges are looking for PR campaigns which have clearly delivered on an organisation’s business objectives.
- Internal Communications or Employee Engagement Campaign
Engaging people is a critical part of communications. We’re looking for stand-out strategic campaigns which have successfully engaged your internal stakeholders, whatever your sector. To make it to the shortlist, the activity needs to have clearly linked to organisational objectives and show the flair we know is possible with internal communications and employee engagement.
- Consumer Relations Campaign
We’re looking for the stars of consumer PR with this category. Our finalists will have run a successful campaign to promote a product or service to consumers, with impressive results.
- Public Sector Campaign
Public sector communications is a total art form. Whether you’re an in-house team or an agency working with the public sector, we’re looking for the most impactful campaigns for or by a public sector organisation.
- Social Purpose Campaign
Doing things in an ethically and socially-responsible way should be the only way. Until it is, this category will recognise campaigns about any topic or for any industry which have been delivered in a way which is demonstrably ethically and socially-responsible. Tell us about the choices you made to deliver the campaign the right way, and how that contributed to your success. We want to hear about the impact not just of the campaign, but of the choices you made about how to deliver it.
- Public Affairs Campaign
Public affairs can genuinely change the world. If you’ve delivered a campaign, including lobbying activity, which has driven meaningful change at a government level, tell us about your successes in this category.
- Not-for-Profit Campaign
The world needs charity more than ever. If you’ve delivered a successful campaign for a not-for-profit organisation, whether as part of the in-house team or as an agency working for them, we want to hear how you’ve made a difference.
- Healthcare and/or Wellbeing Campaign
You can submit all things healthcare and/or wellbeing into this category. Judges are looking for PR campaigns which support a physical, mental, or wellbeing healthcare issue, produce, service or initiative. We include animal healthcare in this category too.
Note: Lobbying campaigns should be entered into the Public Affairs Campaign category.
- Integrated Campaign
If you got more bang for your buck through integrating a range of tactics within your campaign, here’s your chance to show off your results. We’re looking for successful campaigns creatively delivered through a range of channels and tactics, such as elements of the Paid, Earned, Shared and Owned (PESO) media model, to achieve their objectives.
- Lifestyle and Luxury Campaign - NEW
If you’ve delivered a campaign for a zoo, theme park, day out or other organisation in the lifestyle sector, this is the category for you. We’ve also included luxury – which could be high-end fashion, beauty, travel or pretty much anything else with a luxury tag! Judges are expecting to be impressed by your creative campaigns delivering on their objectives.
- Environmental Campaign – NEW
With the very real peril our planet faces, environmental campaigns play a critical role in raising awareness and prompting action. The campaign that wins this award will have made a real difference by:
• positively supporting protecting the environment,
• fighting climate change, and/or,
• promoting sustainability.
Judges will expect to see evidence of the campaign’s impact on its target audience(s).
- Low Budget Campaign
If you’ve delivered incredible results on a shoe-string, tell us all about how much bang for the client’s buck you delivered in your entry for this category. Judges are looking for successful campaigns with a budget of less than £15,000 including agency fees and staff time.
- STEM Campaign
You can enter all things STEM into this category. Whether your campaign is for a company in the science, technology, engineering or mathematic sectors, or is promoting a STEM service, product or initiative in any sector, here’s your chance to wow the judges with your results.
- Sport or Entertainment Campaign
We all need a way to spend our downtime. If your campaign is for companies in the sport or entertainment sectors, this is the category for you. You can also enter campaigns promoting sport or entertainment initiatives or products in any sector.
- Travel, Transport or Tourism Campaign
Travel, transport, and tourism have come back with a bang. Impress the judges with your campaign for any company operating in the travel, leisure, or tourism sectors, as well as campaigns which promote travel, leisure, or tourism services, products, or initiatives in any sector.
- Education Campaign
Educate us about your campaign successes in this critical sector. Whether for a company in that sector, or for an education service, product or initiative in any sector, the judges want to hear about your impressive achievements.
- Best use of SEO – NEW
With PR extending beyond traditional media coverage and into the online world, search engine optimisation (SEO) needs to be part of the mix. How has your campaign used SEO to promote its message? How have you harnessed the power of content and search to achieve results? What creative tactics have you used to amplify your message online?
- Best Use of Media Relations
Have you used media relations to capture the public’s imagination? How has harnessing the media delivered on organisational and/or campaign objectives? Whether you're in an in-house team or agency, judges are looking for examples of creative and successful use of media relations.
- Best Channel Delivery – NEW
However you chose to deliver your campaign, judges want to be impressed by the channel choice and its contribution to successfully delivering on your objectives. Whether you’ve exclusively used social media, created a new website or podcast, or research told you that digital channels were the only way to go, this category will reward those making informed and impressive channel choices to deliver their campaigns.
- Best Long-term Campaign – NEW
We know that PR is most successful when it’s sustained and consistent. This new award recognises the extensive effort that goes into maintaining messages over at least three years. Judges are looking for consistency and creativity with measurable results.
- Best Use of Content
We’re looking for original and effective content in a successful PR campaign or project. Whether you’ve created video, images, graphics, GIFs, blogs, podcasts, publications, articles or more, if content has anchored your results, we want to know about it.
- Best Event
Whether live, virtual or hybrid, if you’ve organised an event which delivered against your public relations objectives or as part of a wider PR campaign, tell us all about it in your Best Event entry. Impress us with details of how the event helped achieve what you set out to.
- Best long-term Client Care - NEW
Not all great PR work is about the jazz-hands, big-bang moments. Sometimes it’s about quietly and regularly providing advice, insight, and support. If you’re the trusted source of strategic communications guidance which helps a client feel confident talking to their board. If you provide regular over-flow resource to enable your client to get the day job done. If you’re the dependable people your clients turn to, now’s your chance to win an award for that often-overlooked service.
We want to hear:
• How you support your clients day-to-day and strategically
• What makes your approach successful in forming long-term relationships
• The size and scale of your retainers
- Issues, Crisis or Reputation Management
How have you effectively managed an issue, crisis or threat to your or your client’s reputation? Judges are looking for impressive strategies and details of how you successfully managed the situation.
- Best Publication
If there’s a knock-out publication as part of your project or engagement campaign, showcase it here. Whether for internal or external audiences, printed or digital, if the publication meets your PR objectives, judges want to see it.
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