PRism Student Award Categories

Entry guidelines

Students with majors in communications, public relations, marketing, journalism and broadcasting, advertising and English are encouraged to apply. Coursework, internship, co-op, student employee and extracurricular work will be accepted. Work completed individually and within a team is accepted (but point out the what work you completed within the team). PR Apprentice campaigns cannot be entered. Get permission from your employer if submitting a project that was completed for an internship, co-op, student employee or extracurricular work.

Students can now submit work from the two years leading up to the current awards season. Please see the PRisms homepage for the exact date window. With this broader window, students cannot enter the same work more than once (i.e. a submission entered one year cannot be submitted as an identical submission the following year). 

Judging

Entries will be judged by a group of local PR practitioners from the PRSA Rochester Chapter.

The highest scoring entry in a category will receive a PRism Award. The second highest scoring entry in a category will receive an Award of Excellence.

Please refer to the program scoring grid for entry criteria.

Program Award Categories

All program entries will be judged in four areas: Insights and Analysis, Planning, Execution, and Evaluation. These are consistent with the industry standard for effective professional practices, the PRSA Silver Anvil Awards, and the Universal Accreditation Board criteria.

Individual components from any program may be submitted as separate element entries (be sure to include separate entry form, summary, and fees). Programs often have better chances of winning when they are near completion and evaluation against initial objectives can be better determined.

In addition to the work you submit, a two-page summary is required. The two-page summary is the single most important part about your entry. It is highly-suggested you use the program scoring grid to create your entry because that is what the judges use to evaluate.

The two-page summary should have no smaller than a 10-point typeface and one-inch margins.

Student Program 1. Integrated Communications
Includes any program that demonstrates leadership of public relations strategies and tactics in a creative and effective integrated campaign, along with other marketing or communications. The program must demonstrate the clear leadership of public relations, along with its integration with other disciplines (e.g., integrated marketing communications, social media, community relations, crisis communications, events and observances or internal communications).

Student Program 2. Branding/Marketing
Includes programs designed to introduce new products/services or promote existing products/services to a particular audience (e.g., personal branding/portfolio).

Student Program 3. Events & observances
Includes programs or events (e.g., commemorations, observances, openings, yearlong anniversaries, celebrations or other special activities).

Element Award Categories

All individual entries will be judged in four areas, based on the PRSA Bronze Anvil Awards criteria: Planning/Content, Creativity/Quality, Technical Excellence, and Results. The greatest emphasis is on execution—the areas of Creativity/Quality and Technical Excellence. Judges will also evaluate how the element fits into a broader public relations strategy. No individual submission can be entered in more than one element category.

In addition to the work you submit, a one-page summary is required. The one-page summary is the single most important part about your entry. It is highly-suggested you use the element scoring grid to create your entry because that is what the judges use to evaluate.

The one-page summary should have no smaller than a 10-point typeface and one-inch margins. Each category has suggested examples of work to include with the one-page summary.

Student Element 1. News/Feature Writing
Entries should include pieces written with the intent of promoting a product or service or educating a target audience. These pieces should be published or broadcast to an audience and may be any length (e.g., news releases, newsletter articles, newspaper articles, class project articles or brochures).

Student Element 2. Digital and Social Media
Digital and social media entries should include online communication elements. (e.g., social media, podcasts, video, creative tactics, website or blogs/series of blog posts).

Student Element 3. Insights and Analysis
Includes methods and strategies used to arrive at your analysis/insights (e.g., primary and/or secondary research. Primary research involves original researching, including focus groups, interviews, data and analytics software and surveys. Secondary research involves searching existing resources for information or data related to a particular need, strategy or goal (e.g., online computer database searches, web-based research, library searches, industry reports and internal market analyses)).

Student Element 4. Planning
Includes strategies, tactics and target audiences used to accomplish a specific, measurable objective (e.g., public relations, marketing, business or social media plan).

Student Element 5. Execution
Includes deliverables and/or activities executed to achieve specific, measurable outcome (e.g., press materials, events and observances, social media posts, community relations or internal communications).

Student Element 6. Evaluation 
Includes evidence of achieving defined specific, measurable objectives (e.g., measurement, analytics, media reports, digital audit, surveys, focus groups, qualitative or quantitative analysis primary and/or secondary research. Primary research involves original researching, including focus groups, interviews, data and analytics software and surveys. Secondary research involves searching existing resources for information or data related to a particular need, strategy or goal secondary research, qualitative or quantitative analysis)).