L-R: Lucy Balona; Daniel Munslow, Heather Robinson; Peter van der Schyff; Ingrid Lotze

Public Sector, NGO, Travel and Tourism and Crisis Communication

Chief Judge: Lucy Balona

Overall, the submissions were better written than the previous year - entrants are following the format given, which makes it much easier. However, there are still a couple of entries (possibly new ones) where they are not following the format and this means they did not get the accolades. We were wonderfully inspired by the winning entry in one of our categories that showed innovation, creativity and also met all the business objectives.

Technology, Campaign best informed by analytics and big data, Internal Communications, Social Media for Mobile, Media for PR

Chief Judge: Daniel Munslow

The entries were a mixture of world-class excellence that push the boundaries of what we consider good PR. In both the internal communications and social media categories, the judges spent hours debating the winners, and at times struggled to find a forerunner due to the excellent quality of the competition. Internal communication arguably saw the most improvement year on year, while social media drew the most innovation.

Healthcare, Environment, Corporate Responsibility, Media Relations

Chief Judge: Heather Robinson

No particular sector stood out, however, we were encouraged by the entries that demonstrated quick turnaround time and an ability to strategise, implement, reach out to and leverage existing media relationships, and ensure sound follow up for optimal PR delivery, in extremely short spaces of time. Furthermore, we noted that some of the very successful campaigns utilised key social media influencers (such as bloggers) and social media networks to reach wider audiences. Consumer PR for an existing product, service category, launch of a new service product/category, resources.

Consumer PR for an existing product, service category, Launch of a new service product/category, Resources, PR on a shoestring

Chief Judge: Peter van der Schyff

By far, most entries really impressed us. They reflected the work of a highly professional industry that takes huge pride in what it does, and rightfully so. A few submitted entries that were really not much more than what we are paid to deliver in the first place, i.e. simple, straightforward PR campaigns, well-executed and decently measured, but nothing exceptional. Some of the entries really came up with creations that smacked of sheer creative brilliance.

Financial, Business to Business, Sponsorship, Corporate Communications, Publications, Best use of an event to build/change reputation

Chief Judge: Ingrid Lotze

The standard of entries ranged from standard best practice submissions to scintillating work. We saw many solid, text book entries and in general this gives the distinct impression that PR practitioners in South Africa are on par with international standards. Some categories, like Sponsorship, were rich with innovation, creativity, fresh thinking and best practice whilst other categories, like the Financial Services and Investor Relations category had many submissions with the same scores. The business-to-business category has a lot of growth potential.

The PRISM AWARDS boasts 37 categories, 219 entries, 42 judges, 33 sponsors and six media partners.