A webinar I created for the Canadian Public Relations Society, Toronto to inform PR professionals about what constitutes a successful ACE Award campaign. This presentation reviews the format of the ACE Awards, the RACE acronym, the ACE Awards grading criteria and includes tips from experienced judges. This webinar is posted on CPRS Toronto's website (www.cprstoronto.com).

1. ACE Awards Professional Development A guide to successful ACE submissions

2. Welcome! Welcome to the inaugural CPRS TorontoACE Awards Webinar! Our goal for this presentation is to provide an overview of the ACE Awards and review those qualities that make a successful ACE Award Campaign Submission.

3. We would like to thank marketwireand gowebcasting for making this webinar possible.

4. Introduction of Hosts Reena Dar ACE Awards Chair 2008-2011 Senior Issues Advisor at theMinistry of Transportation, Government of Ontario 10 years of communications work including positions at: Interac Association Region of Peel Deputy Prime Minister’s Office 2010 CPRS Toronto Volunteer of the Year

5. Introduction of Hosts Lawrence Stevenson ACE Awards 2011 Judging Chair Sr. ManagerBusiness Transformation,IT/Source/IT Project Centre atMinistry of Government Services Accreditation from CPRS Past President of CPRS Toronto Diploma in Public Relations fromRyerson University

6. Introduction of Hosts Leslie Wood ACE Award 2011 Judging Chair 30 years in PR agency work including Senior Management positions at: Fleishman-Hillard Lexicomm Communications Kerbel Communications B.A. in Politics from Queen’s University

7. Today’s Program Welcome & Overview of ACE Awards (5 min) Specifics of Submission Requirements and Categories (5 min) Review of PR Basics (5 min) Judging Rubric Breakdown (15 min) *-Including examples from 2010 Ace Award PR Campaign of the Year Winner: Argyle Communications for “Peanuts in Crisis” Questions & Answer Period (15 min) *Only included in live webinar presentation – be sure to join us for next year’s webinar for complete access to all webinar information and to hear commentary from ACE judges

8. ACE Awards Overview

9. ACE AwardsAchieving Communication Excellence The ACE Awards is an annual event recognizing creativity and excellence in public relations for Toronto and surrounding areas.

10. ACE AwardsAchieving Communication Excellence Each application is carefully judged by a panel of respected senior public relations professionals and professors from the corporate, agency, not-for-profit and government sectors.

11. SubmissionRequirements and Categories

12. Eligibility All CPRS Toronto members and associates and full-time PR and marketing professionals in the GTA Campaigns must be planned, produced and completed within two years of entry deadline

13. Campaign Entry Categories Brand Development New Product/Service Launch Employee Communications Community Relations Public Affairs Investor/Financial Relations Crisis or Issues Management Digital Communications Best use of Communication Tools Best use of Media Relations Best use of Special Events Student PR Campaign of the Year

14. Submission RequirementsCampaigns Executive Summary Two page maximum (10 pt font) Rationale Completed Entry Form Payment (credit card)

15. Student EntriesSubmission Requirements Resume One-page endorsement from a nominator (faculty, fellow student or mentor) Executive Summary Two page maximum (10 pt font) Should demonstrate understanding of RACE Demonstrate how each part of the program influenced the other Rational Less than 250 wds Explain how your entry upholds the CPRS definition of CPRS of public relations *Requirements vary slightly between different student categories. Please read the entry form guidelines before submitting. http://www.cprstoronto.com/students/awards.aspx

16. Leadership Award Categories CPRS Toronto Public Relations Student of the Year CPRS Toronto PR Professional of the Year CPRS Toronto Young PR Professional of the Year CPRS Toronto Mentor of the Year CPRS Toronto Volunteer of the Year

17. Submission RequirementsLeadership Awards Specific requirements listed in each category Résumé Endorsement Letter from Nominator A statement outlining nominee’s qualifications Completed Entry Applicationhttps://secure.dynatechsolutions.com/cprs/ace/entryform.aspx *Submissions must be in PDF format

18. Deadlines & Important Dates January 14, 2011 Early Bird Deadline for Entries January 28, 2011 Final Deadline for Entries March 11, 2011 Final Deadline for Leadership Award Nominations April 27, 2011 ACE Awards Ceremony (Location: TBA)

19. Review of PR Basics A Breakdown of the ACE Awards Judging Rubric

20. RACE Acronym The RACE acronym stands for Research, Analysis, Communication and Evaluation. These four elements form the basis of every successful PR campaign. All ACE Award entries are evaluated based on the RACE formula.

21. A Review of RACE Research What is the problem or situation? What kind of information is needed? Action What is your plan for solving the problem/challenge? Communication How will you effectively communicate and implement your plan? How will you tailor your communications with each target audience? Evaluation Was the audience reached and what was the effect? How did you collect the feedback?

23. Use of research to identify communications insights/opportunities

25. Clearly stated and measurable goals & objectives

26. SWOT analysis or other analyses

27. Strategy(ies) relate to research and analysis?

28. Effective use of budget

30. How well do communication tools support the strategies?

31. How well do communication tools support the objectives?

33. Demonstrated understanding of measurement and evaluation

34. Are there specific evaluation tools and numbers?25% 25%

35. Tips The definition of ‘research’ is broad, it doesn’t mean just primary research. We want to see that you’ve designed your campaign to address a specific need that has been identified Make your objectives MEASURABLE Show how your evaluation maps back to your original objectives For media relations campaigns highlight the media relations rating points – and show more than impressions Highlight innovation and creativity, but also honour the tried and true best practices Don't cut and paste the exact same entry in different categories - show how your campaign illustrates the concepts and demonstrates best practices that are relevant to the category Make sure your campaign details are consistent throughout the submission Follow the RACE formula – ALWAYS –write your executive summary according to the formula

36. Your Turn… Questions? Feel free to contact us at cprs.ace.awards@gmail.com