Call to enter PRISA PRISM Awards 2009

“In today's turbulent economic climate (plunging stock markets, load shedding, rising fuel and inflation costs, and a rapidly-changing political landscape etc), public relations (PR) professionals need to be even more creative in their thinking, as clients won't readily embrace ideas that negatively affect their bottom line,” says Jane Weaver, chairperson of the Public Relations Consultants Chapter (PRCC) of PRISA.

In its 12th year

Now in its 12th year, the PRISA PRISM Awards celebrate the successes and achievements of the PR and communication industries. The Gold Award winner of the PRISM Awards will receive the PRISM floating trophy, recognition among peers, a published case study in FinWeek and other media as well as automatic entry into the IPRA Golden World Awards.

The award serves as an opportunity for PR professionals to work together with their colleagues, communication departments and clients, all the while showcasing creative campaigns that have worked. “But most of all, you receive recognition from your PR peers - truly the highest accolade,” says Weaver.

“PR has taken up its rightful place in the communication platform. It should not be underestimated but rather seen as a strategic tool, used to impart knowledge, a company's brand and associated footprint. During these uncertain times - the need for innovative, ongoing and strategic communication is greater now, more than ever before!

“Awards are presented in over 20 categories recognising PR campaigns tackling corporate social responsibility, e-Public relations and crisis management to product launches. Innovative PR campaigns that achieve great returns are the winners. The success of campaigns is not measured by judges but rather by the measurable results they produce. Ultimately, they require you to put on your creative thinking cap,” she continues.

Individual awards

Awards recognising individuals in PR made their debut at this year's PRISA PRISM Awards. Because of the response from industry, these awards will feature again in 2009. These include:

• Best PR Educator
  
• Best Up-and-Coming PR Professional
  
• Best Creative PR Professional
  
• Best Strategist PR Professional
  
• Best PR Professional in Media Liaison
  
• Best Small PR Consultancy

Entrants do not have to be PRISA members to participate. Business enterprises, associations, private institutions and government bodies are eligible to enter. Similarly, PR firms and consultancies may enter on behalf of clients and share honours with them. All entry forms can be obtained from www.prisa.co.za.

This year's event sponsors include About Entertainment; Changing Spaces; Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA); Ingwenya Glass; Monitoring SA; Oasys; Star FX; and Tony Koenderman's AdReview.