Annual PRAU Excellence Awards set for November

The awards, open to business enterprises, associations, private institutions and government bodies, PR Agencies, PR Consultancies, organisational/in-house PR departments, students pursuing public relations or related courses and individual practitioners, aims to recognise and showcase the best personnel and companies in the public relations industry in Uganda.

In an interview, Josephine Aguma, the director PR at the Public Relations Association of Uganda (PRAU) said that this year's awards are aimed at a bigger and better excellence event in terms of quality and audience.

"By this, we are involving other professional societies to attend therefore it will allow interwoven networking among professionals," Aguma said on Thursday 6 October 2011. The association has invited a consultant from the Public Relations Society of Kenya (PRSK) to sit on the judging panel which will be led by John Mramba, a renowned PR professional in East Africa.

However, only 13 awards are lined up for individuals and companies that excelled in their PR work and campaigns in 2010.

Categories:

• Best Media Management Campaign
• Best Event
• Best Crisis Management Campaign
• Best Corporate Social Responsibility Campaign
• Best Internal Communications
• Best Public Sector Campaign
• Best Public Not for Profit Campaign
• Best PR agency

Supplementary categories:

• Best Corporate Publication
• Best Website
• Young Communicator of the Year

Honorary categories:

• PRAU Golden Honors
• PRAU Sheppard Honors

At the 2010 awards, ZK Advertising Uganda, the defunct marketing and media management firm, scooped the overall winner as well as the Media Management award. Media Age PR East Africa won the Best PR Agency Award for the year. Despite winning the overall award, ZK Advertising collapsed early this year, after it lost the Airtel Uganda (formerly Zain Uganda) account, to Moringa Ogilvy, when the telecommunications company was sold to India's Bharti Airtel by the Zain Group in the Middle East.

Submission of entries and nomination for candidates for the awards are open and will close on Friday 14 October 2011.

For more, go to www.prauganda.com