Moving into the 21st Century

Bridget von Holdt

Bridget von Holdt, Convenor: PRISM Awards says it is all very exciting. "The system has taken us into the 21st Century and moved us into the future."

She explains that the system also forces entrants to submit the correct information as well as all of the required information. "The system will not allow you to enter if you do not have the information or documents required. This means judges will not have entries with missing information or no supporting documentation, so we foresee a much smoother judging process as well."

Also for the first time, the judges will be able to do their first round of judging online.

New categories have been introduced and existing categories streamlined. This year there is no Media Relations for a New Product or Existing Product. The category is purely Media Relations with no sub-categories. "This has not reduced the scope to participate; it has only streamlined the categories, making it easier for companies to enter," says von Holdt. The 15 sector categories remain as they are.

The two big areas of change are in the Student category and the Lifetime Achiever Award.

In the Student category all the universities, as previously, have been invited to participate, but now students can also participate in their own right. "Many students work in the industry in their second year and we are encouraging them to submit projects they have worked on," says von Holdt. She adds that entry is free of charge and the lecturers are onboard to assist the students and are encouraging them to enter.

Interns are also included in this category. "Including students in the awards is part of our encouragement to the students to enter the profession and gives us another channel to engage with them. This is also an opportunity for them to see how their work compares."

From this year the Lifetime Achiever Award, one of the most prestigious awards of the PRISM Awards, will have a new nomination process. "PR professionals will be invited to submit nominations as in previous years, but this year our judges and organisers will also identify and submit nominations. We believe this process will elevate the Award even more."

While there have been category changes, Marilyn Watson, founding partner: Cinnamon Communication says the guidelines for the Awards are still very much the same. "It is still important to have measureable objectives. PR companies need to reflect back on what the objectives of the campaign were and how successfully these were met."

The Awards continue to grow in magnitude says von Holdt. "The target this year is to get 300 entries. Last year the Awards attracted 430 people and we hope it will be even bigger this year. The people who attended our briefing sessions are also no longer just PR practitioners, but a cross section of people from a diverse number of sectors from government, to corporates and consultants. This makes me believe this is going to be the Prism Awards best year ever."

Watson adds to this saying that while they constantly strive to increase the number of entries, what is also important is the quality of the entries, and that they show an improvement in quality year on year. "It is disappointing when entries are standard, but it is hard to predict what campaigns we are going to get; and they vary from category to category. It often depends what happened in the country over the period being judged."