{"id":108944,"date":"2017-10-23T09:46:42","date_gmt":"2017-10-23T09:46:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/?p=108944"},"modified":"2017-10-23T09:46:42","modified_gmt":"2017-10-23T09:46:42","slug":"3-ways-to-win-a-pr-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.vuelio.com\/uk\/blog\/3-ways-to-win-a-pr-award\/","title":{"rendered":"3 ways to win a PR award"},"content":{"rendered":"

The PRWeek Awards last week celebrated 33 winners<\/a>, including 22 awards for amazing campaigns. From the judges\u2019 comments praising the victors, we can see what it takes to win such a prestigious prize.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Vuelio was delighted to partner the PRWeek Awards 2017, which took place on 18 October. Check out our Canvas<\/a> to see the best content before, during and after the night, from social media and the news.<\/p>\n

With hundreds of finalists, each winner had to be exemplary to claim their prize. From the judge\u2019s comments published by PRWeek, we present 3 golden rules to win a PRWeek campaign award:<\/p>\n

1. Be brave<\/strong><\/span>
\nBrave is a word used multiple times by the judges across a number of categories, but what does it actually mean? W Enterprise won<\/a> the Healthcare: Ethical & OTC Consumer award for it\u2019s the Future of Social Care campaign for Cera. Wanting to be the ‘solution’ the the NHS and social care’s major issues of bed blocking and delayed discharges, W Enterprise’s research found every major stakeholder was sceptical change could be made without huge sums of investment. With just a limited budget, W Enterprise managed to battle against this\u00a0perception using personal pitches to journalists and collaborations with charity and NHS leaders.<\/p>\n

Weber Shandwick were described as \u2018Brave, clever, disruptive\u2019, for its award-winning Kevin the Carrot Christmas<\/a> campaign for Aldi. Seen to be taking on the giants of Christmas advertising, John Lewis, the campaign used a similar model to its rival, which had proved successful in the past.<\/p>\n

A brave campaign is one that isn\u2019t afraid to take on existing ideas and accepted norms. Winners use what they have in clever ways to challenge perceptions of market-leaders and \u2018unchangeable\u2019 circumstances. <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.\u00a0KISS<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Keep It Simple, Stupid! The word simple is used by judges more than any other \u2013 PR professionals are story tellers and the simpler you can get your message across, the better. Taylor Herring\u2019s The Real Mr Darcy<\/a> campaign for UKTV\u2019s Jane Austen season was described as a \u2018Simple idea, but brilliantly executed\u2019. It created a portrait of what an academic study considered Mr Darcy would have looked like in real life. This simple idea appealed to most national newspapers, leading to significant coverage.<\/p>\n

Weber Shandwick\u2019s #BrutalCut<\/a> campaign for ActionAid UK \u2018cut\u2019 videos of Kenyan girls facing female genital mutilation into videos from vloggers, digital publishers, celebrity posts, cinema ads, fesitval screens and outdoor ads. This digital \u2018brutal cut\u2019 smashed ActionAid\u2019s targets, and was described by the judges as \u2018Brilliantly creative, yet simple\u2019.<\/p>\n

Ogilvy PR\u2019s white rhino campaign<\/a> for Kenya\u2019s Ol Pejeta Conservancy put Sudan \u2013 the only male of his species and most eligible bachelor in the world (with more than 7,000 female southern white rhinos to choose from) on Tinder. While Sudan can\u2019t mate due to old age, the campaign raised huge funds for the Conservancy\u2019s programmes.<\/p>\n

Being simple is making it clear what your message is about from the very beginning. While it may not fit your campaign targets, being simple is the best way to tell a story because it\u2019s likely to resonate with the most people. <\/strong><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3. Know your channels<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Knowing where a campaign can be most successful \u2013 in line with a client\u2019s brief \u2013 is vital for it to be triumphant. Vodafone\u2019s winning ReConnect<\/a> campaign showed, according to the judges, \u2018how media relations can have a big impact\u2019. Commissioning research and analysis from KPMG, Vodafone created complete news stories about the benefits of women going back to work after a career break – which led to wide-reaching coverage across multiple publications.\u00a0It is a basic of good PR, but we sometimes forget that press releases are more likely to be published if its already a news story, rather than a sales pitch.<\/p>\n

Unity\u2019s Yours, Mrs Claus<\/a> blog for ActionAid won the Most Innovative Use of Digital & Social Media award. The blog was designed to highlight women’s stories, as well as the women and girls ActionAid helps around the world. It was penned by \u2018Mrs Claus\u2019, and according to the agency \u2018accessible to all, but delivered in such a way that only women would really see it\u2019. Celebrities also contributed to the blog, driving up its traction with the target audience. The judges said: \u2018A campaign that demonstrated a thorough understanding of the mechanics of the internet and the way different media channels play out across it\u2019.<\/p>\n

One Green Bean\u2019s Best Use of Technology award<\/a> for the relaunch of Nokia Snake on Facebook Messenger praised\u00a0a retro game reaching a new, younger audience. While nostalgia seemed to play a huge part in its success, the game has now been played over 74 million times.<\/p>\n

Working with clients to identify target channels, as well as knowing what will work for your campaign, is a must for modern PR professionals in the face of so many choices. And if you\u2019re struggling, Vuelio can help you<\/a> reach all of the right influencers, no matter what channel they\u2019re on. <\/strong><\/p>\n

What do you think it takes to make a great PR campaign? Let us know in the comments below.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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