PR showing off... just a little bit

The industry as a whole has shown that the Awards are important with the most entries ever - 219, and with this, the industry is demonstrating the important part it plays in South Africa - and on the continent - in the marketing and communications mix. The number of entries prompted Marilyn Watson, Chief Judge of the PRISM Awards to comment, "Each year the competition just gets tougher!"

This year, the Awards continue with the Campaign of the Year Award, which was introduced for the first time at the 2014 awards and won by Atmosphere Communications for their Burger King South Africa campaign.

Last year, the agency walked off with another new award - Best Mid-sized Agency of the Year. Megann Outram, Regional Director of Atmosphere, says a winning PRISM entry goes beyond showcasing a campaign's outputs. "Rather, it illustrates how these outputs direct outcomes and ultimately true business results for clients. If you get this right, putting together a winning entry is not as daunting as it seems."

Follow the rules, and work in a bit of magic
It is about following the rules as laid out in the call for entries and then massaging some magic into the submission document, she says. "The trick is to translate the same spark you had in the roll out of the campaign into the text, as succinctly as possible."

And by winning a PRISM, you position your company as a consultancy that delivers strong results, thereby putting yourself firmly at the top of pitch lists going forward, Outram adds.

Ogilvy PR is another agency that has been the recipient of many PRISM Awards over the years, and Joanna Oosthuizen, National Managing Director of Ogilvy PR, says it is important to win at the PRISM Awards.

"This is because these awards honour great and effective work for our clients. It has always been important to us at Ogilvy Public Relations that we are doing the right work and the PRISM's acknowledges our work and people. This is increasingly important as public relations delivers measurable business results for our clients and their brands."

Positive thinking pays off

The agency awards, which also included Best Small Sized Agency and Best Large Agency, were also introduced to the Awards last year.

Winner of the Best Small Agency, Positive Dialogue's MD Tracy Jones says there is no doubt that winning "Best Small PR Agency of the Year" uplifted the profile of our agency.

"It also built valuable credibility for new potential clients, whilst... attracting the best new talent. Being an award-winning agency allowed us to position ourselves as leaders in our wonderfully competitive industry. For example, shortly after winning two gold PRISM Awards in 2014, we were awarded three new business pitches; the Discovery World Triathlon Series, The Westin Cape Town and Media24's Efinity campaign."

Impressive quality
Kevin Welman, FleishmanHillard South Africa MD, the agency that won Best Large Agency last year, says winning a PRISM is the icing on the cake. "There are so many good entries and a PRISM is validation that you did outstanding work."

"Entering a PRISM Award, for me, is an indication that the agency is extremely proud of the work they have done, and that they believe they are delivering unmatched work," he adds. "To win, you need to show that the work done is not only strategic but creative as well and that business objectives have been clearly met."

Adding to the competition is a brand new category; Pan African Campaign of the Year. This is in recognition of the work PR agencies are doing across the continent. Chief Judge of the Award, Jerry Mpufane, Group Managing Director, M&C Saatchi Abel, said that the judges were impressed with the quality of the entries, despite some entries not adhering to the format required by the Awards.

"The content of the entries were very compelling and there was evidence of real clients, real briefs, real collaboration by the agency network offices and tangible campaign elements."

He added that this being a new category meant that work needs to be done to encourage any pan-African agency to participate in the awards.

The much-anticipated event takes place this Sunday at the Maslow Hotel in Sandton, Gauteng. Look out for all the winners as well as their comments on Monday morning on Bizcommunity.