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2016 Communications Awards Program Entry Preparation Webinar

Tips on making your submissions award-worthy

February 23, 2016

American Association of Port Authorities703.684.5700 • www.aapa-ports.org

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Webinar Presenters

• Aaron Ellis, APR, Public Affairs Director, AAPA

• Debra Calhoun, Senior Vice President, Waterways Council Inc.

• Mitch Marovitz, PhD, APR, Chair, PR Program, University of

Maryland University College

• Judy Phair, APR, Fellow PRSA, President and Founder,

PhairAdvantage Communications

• Rich Toth, APR, Fellow PRSA, ABC, Retired Professional Track

Faculty, University of Maryland-College Park

• Robert Udowitz, Principal, RFP Associates

Aaron Ellis, APRRich Toth, APR,

Fellow PRSA, ABCDebra CalhounMitch Marovitz, PhD,

APRRobert Udowitz

Judy Phair, APR,

Fellow PRSA

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Goals for this webinar…

• Describe program, purpose, entry guidelines &

classifications

• Examine write-ups of three recent Award of

Excellence entries (one from each budget category)

• Get useful tips from program judges to help your

submissions win!

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Program Description

• Now in its 50th year, AAPA’s Communications Awards Program offers port

communications professionals opportunities to showcase and receive peer

review of their best work.

• To ensure fairness, each entry is segmented into one of three budget

categories, based on submitting port’s marketing/PR/advertising budget.

• Entries judged by independent panel of senior communications professionals

from Washington, D.C. area.

• Each entry scored on a point-scale basis to be eligible for Excellence,

Distinction and Merit awards.

• New this year: top-scoring entry in each of three budget categories wins an

Overall Excellence trophy.

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Program Purpose

• To recognize excellence in port communications

• To showcase superior communications pieces and programs that produce

quantifiable results, achieves strategic goals of the organization and builds

relationships between ports and their key constituencies

• To receive valuable critique from respected public relations practitioners

and educators

• To win prestigious awards that help validate an entry’s quality and

professionalism

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Entry Guidelines• 15 entry classifications – use proper classification for each submission

• 3 entrant categories – select appropriate category based on your budget

• Fee is $95 per entry

• Each entry must include short summary and answers to all 5 entry questions

• PowerPoint slide from provided template must be emailed for each entry

• Judges score each entry on answers to entry questions; up to 100 points total

• Official entry label must be affixed to front or back of each entry binder and

supplemental materials accompanying the binder

• Complete entry packages, with payment, must be received at AAPA by May 2

• Incomplete entries or those received without payment may be rejected

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Entry Classifications

• Don’t confuse budget Categories with entry Classifications

• The 15 entry classifications cover nearly every conceivable type of PR piece,

program and activity

• Each classification may be used for both print and electronic entries

• Miscellaneous classification is the “catch-all” for unique entries that don’t

seem to fit elsewhere

• If in doubt about a classification “fit,” email Aaron Ellis at AAPA …

aellis@aapa-ports.org.

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Port ofLos Angeles

Lunar New Year Festival

Special Events

v Award of Excellence v

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Notes:• Port of Los Angeles is a large

budget, Category 3 port.

• This entry was in the Special

Events classification.

• Note that the entry information is

all filled in correctly, using a

computer rather than hand-

written, making it easier to read.

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Notes:• Although not required as part

of write-up, images can be

used to illustrate entry & break

up text-heavy pages.

• Brief summary statement gives

judges quick read of project.

Summary may be used to

describe project in AAPA

publications if entry wins.

• Avoid first-person narrative (“I”)

in write-up; may be confusing

to judges.

• Concise explanation of

communications challenge and

opportunities, including internal

and external factors, helps in

understanding the “why” for

this submission.

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Notes:• Subheads help identify which

questions are being answered.

Also helps to number answers.

• Write-up here shows how entry

supports port’s mission, goals

& objectives. Very important.

• Clearly stated goal, as in this

write-up, also very important.

• Identification of primary,

secondary and tertiary

audiences helpful to judges.

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Notes:• Five actionable, measurable

objectives provided here. Helps

set the bar for program results.

• “SMART” objectives are

Specific

Measurable w/measurement

Achievable

Relevant

Time-Oriented

• Explaining the actions taken

and why they were taken helps

judges better understand the

strategic thinking and why

specific tactics were used.

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Notes:• Here, detailed tactics the port

employed helpful to judges.

• Again, use of images in the

write-up helps increase

readability and reduce

eyestrain. Larger versions of

same images may be included

in documentation.

• Notice in this write-up the

sensitivity to key audiences.

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Notes:• Again, images can be used to

break up the text and make it

an easier read for judges.

• Use of bullets helps make

each point more succinct and

readable.

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Notes:• Budget numbers are helpful to

give judges an idea of the

scope of the program. Be sure

to include “internal” costs too,

such as staff time & resources.

• Good idea, as done here, to

list in which media ads were

placed, if any. Using only

earned media doesn’t

guarantee your key messages

will be communicated.

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Notes:• Evaluation of event outcomes

is one of most critical parts of

entry write-up.

• Ideally, outcomes show

quantifiable results, as here.

• A summary statement, such as

the one at the bottom of this

write-up, helps judges realize

the success of the project.

• Judges for this entry cited

“fabulous planning & strategy,”

“creative thinking,” “fun

tactics,” and “measurable

goals” as strengths.

BelledunePort

Authority

Belledune… Unlimited!

Websiteswww.portofbelledune.ca

v Award of Excellence v

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Notes:• Belledune Port Authority, in

New Brunswick, Canada, is a

mid-size budget, Category 2

port.

• This entry was in the Websites

classification.

• Note that all entry information

is filled in correctly, using a

computer for easier readability.

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Notes:

• Brief summary statement

should outline reason for entry.

• Citing the communications

challenges and opportunities

helps detail the “why” of entry

and demonstrates value of

research.

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Notes:

• Goals and objectives shouldn’t

be grouped together, but rather

defined separately.

• Good explanation here of

primary and secondary

audiences.

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Notes:

• Like goals and objectives,

strategies and tactics should

be listed separately.

• For implementation plan,

judges like to see budget

figures, but don’t forget to

include internal costs, such as

cost of staff.

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Notes:

• Impress the judges by paying

close attention to grammar,

spelling, etc.

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Notes:

• A thorough evaluation of the

entry’s success is crucial to

assess effectiveness of the

communications project or

program.

• Judges who reviewed this entry

cited “great job of explaining

project in layman’s terms,”

“good use of evaluation

charts,” and “good strategic

thinking.”

Port ofEverett

HistoricalInterpretive Program

Miscellaneous

v AWARD OF EXCELLENCE v

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Notes:

• Port of Everett, in Washington

State, is a small budget,

Category 1 port.

• This entry was in the “catch-all”

Miscellaneous classification.

• Great use of port branding on

write-up pages.

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Notes:

• Numbering your answers, as in

this entry, helps judges

determine which questions you

are answering.

• Use of port branding in header

and two columns of text, as

with this entry, can be pleasing

to the eye and aid readability.

• Identifying research, as done

here, helps substantiate need

for communications.

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Notes:

• Again, note use of research in

this write-up.

• Also note the easy-to-read,

bulleted program components.

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Notes:

• Program components should

be easy to read, as done here.

• Use of visuals helps break up

text and decrease eyestrain.

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Notes:

• Although visuals may help

illustrate the write-up, they

shouldn’t dominate it.

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Notes:

• Here, visuals dominate write-

up instead of simply enhancing

it. Consider including full size

images and captions in

supplementary material to

reduce length of write-up.

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Notes:

• Same observation as in

previous page regarding use of

images.

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Notes:

• Key illustrations, such as this

with lots of small, hard-to-read

text, should be included in

supplementary material, not in

write-up.

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Notes:

• As done here, actions (outputs)

and results (outcomes) should

be listed separately.

• Good use here of anecdotal

audience feedback as part of

analysis of outcomes.

• Consider obtaining audience

feedback via focus groups and

free survey services, such as

SurveyMonkey.

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Notes:

• Outcomes don’t need to be

from formal research. Here,

entry showcases both

anecdotal feedback and

numbers of views, visitors, etc.

• Entry should end with summary

statement of communication

success and/or planned follow-

up.

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Notes:• Judges for this entry cited,

“extensive, engaging and

comprehensive

communications effort,”

“wonderful, educational and

useful tools to communicate

with the public,” and “well

planned execution.”

• They also cited wanting to see

“the end evaluation of

success,” and a desire to

“know more about how the

program is being promoted via

both traditional and social

media.”

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Final Tips

• Fully answer all five Entry Submission questions; list answers by number.

• Tie organization’s mission or overall communications purpose back to entry.

• Identify goal of the communication entry and measurable objectives.

• Evaluate your communications project/program outcomes. Surveys, audience

feedback, social media visits, re-posts, etc., help assess success.

• Be concise. Include only pertinent documentation in your entry write-up. Too

much information makes it hard to find the most important elements.

• Start now! Quality submissions take time and late submissions may be

disqualified.

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