By Tegan Henchie
PRISA states, “
The PRISM Awards allow us to recognise some of the best work in the public relations and communications industry.” Chief Judges put forward the following criteria as a benchmark on which the 170 entries were judged this year. “When Adjudicating the
PRISM entries, a standard entry will not be the one that will win an award. What will, is one that includes creativity, obvious Return on Investment (ROI), an entry that is well put together, a true reflection of the campaign that was activated.”
Topical conversation Event MC and programme director Ashraf Garda was joined by guest speaker Jeremy Maggs, who addressed the audience and PR industry at large with some compelling observations. Maggs expressed, “I am alarmed at the poor research backing up campaigns.” He went on to say that there is a need for “in-depth and meaningful research” which will address the current issues that were evident in campaign entries.
Other topics that were prevalent in the festivities’ discussion were the importance of social media as an under-utilised communication tool and the need for a more evaluative approach when measuring reach on social media. Maggs expressed that the industry is, “obsessed with measurement and delivery”. An approach which has the ability ‘to feel and make feel,’ was suggested as a solution. The catch-phrase ‘Action, Reaction, Transaction’ became a quick
Twitter favourite tweeted by the industry goers.
Industry highlights One of the most anticipated announcements was that for the award Campaign of the year. First-time winners Atmosphere Communications stole the stage with the Launch of Burger King South Africa campaign. Other event highlights included PR Worx team members taking home the awards for
Best Up-and-coming Public Relations Professional,
Best Public Relations Professional and the
Lifetime Achievement Award.
For more information on all the awards visit PRISA's website
here.
To catch up on the conversation on
Twitter, follow the hashtag, #Prisms14.