2021 Image Awards Call for Entries

The Call for Entries for the 2021 Image Awards is now open! Calling all public relations, marketing and media professionals of the Capital City, we want your entries. The 2021 submission deadline has been extended to Monday, February 22 at 11:59 PM. Submit to www.fpraimage.org/capital.

Full details can be downloaded and are outlined below. For more information, contact the Director of Awards & Professional Recognition Valencia Scott at [email protected] or (850) 606-6212.

ABOUT THE LOCAL IMAGE AWARDS
The Local Image Awards competition is conducted annually by the Capital Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association to recognize outstanding public relations programs in Florida. The competition is open to both FPRA members and non-members alike. By recognizing the very best examples of innovation, planning and design, the Image Awards encourage and enhance public relations professionalism in the communities we serve.

A benefit of participating on the local level is the feedback and insight gained for those who wish to enter FPRA’s statewide Golden Image Awards, a highly regarded standard of public relations excellence in Florida. Both competitions include four divisions: Public Relations Programs, Printed Tools of Public Relations, Digital Tools of Public Relations and Student Projects in Public Relations. To qualify for judging, an entry must incorporate sound public relations research and planning. Entries also must meet the highest standard of production, execution, and evaluation of results and budget.

The 2021 Capital Chapter Image Award event will be held in April, more information coming soon. The statewide Golden Image Awards will be presented at FPRA Annual Conference, August 8-11 in Orlando, Grande Lakes.

IMPORTANT UPDATES AND CHANGES 
There are new divisions and categories for our call for entries. Take note of several MASSIVE changes to this year’s category:

DIVISION A – Public Relations Programs

  1. 12A – Virtual Special Event

Any program developed to commemorate a special event, conference, observance, educational opportunity, or one-time activity that took place virtually. This event must have been shared using online video broadcasting, which is the distribution of video and/or audio content to an audience over the web or via live streaming, in real-time. 

DIVISION B – Collateral of Public Relations

  1. Division B is now called “Collateral of Public Relations” and many items have been moved either under specialty item or other category.
  1. The addition of “pitch” to 5B

5B. News Release or Pitch – Any document, prepared statement or email communication released to the media as a news item, article or feature story on behalf of a sponsoring person or organization.

 DIVISION C – Digital Tools of Public Relations

  1. 1C – Social media doesn’t fall under Online Audience Engagement anymore; it has been added to crowdsourcing, influencer campaigns and podcasts to this category
  1. 2C – Digital Promotion – includes most digital marketing, including PSAs, boosted posts and paid content
  1. 3C – The all new social media category

Social Media – Any program or portion of a campaign developed for one or more social media channels, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, SnapChat, Twitter, Tik Tok, etc.”

  1. There are now four types of video categories – this should now cover any kind of video now

4C. Video – Internal – Any video that presents information to an organization’s internal audience. Examples include orientation programs, meeting openers, news shows, company updates, training, webinars, etc.”

5C. Video – External – Any video that presents information to an organization’s external stakeholders with an intent to promote, publicize, introduce, or create an identity for a specific product, service or idea. These tools generally are developed within a marketing framework and often include a purchase or user acceptance of a specific product or service among their objectives.”

6C. Video – Public Service – Any video presented to inform or educate an organization’s external audiences on an issue of public concern.

7C. Video – Institutional– Any video used to support the public image of an organization. This tool typically is designed to generate awareness and support of the organization’s mission, values, programs, plans or activities.

DIVISION C – Digital Tools of Public Relations continued

  1. 9C – Other now includes the rarely entered “video news release” and we have added presentations and apps to this category

Any digital, online, audio, audio/visual or electronic tool that is not included in the above-listed categories such as a video news release, presentation, app, landing page, etc.

DIVISION D – Student Projects in Public Relations

  1. Division D had a full refresh, adding in social media and special event as categories and removing some of the boring, less entered categories

AWARDS PRESENTED
Click here for the list of divisions and categories.

Award of Distinction
Presented to all entries that meet the standards of excellence set by a panel of judges

Image Award
May be presented to the top-scoring entry in each category if the entry meets predetermined criteria of excellence set by the judges

Judges’ Award
Special award presented by judges for entries that achieve maximum results while using a minimum amount of money

Grand Image Award
Presented to the best Image Award-winning entry in Divisions B, C and D

Grand All Image Award
Presented to the best Image Award-winning entry in Division A

FORMAT & JUDGING CRITERIA
Entries are judged by qualified FPRA members from outside the Capital Chapter. Judges must be Accredited in Public Relations (APR) and must have previously won an award in the Image Award or Golden Image Award competition. Judges first read and evaluate the summary that accompanies the entry. Seventy percent of the scoring is based on the summary, which sets out the reason/need for the creation of the public relations program or tool, how the program or tool was implemented, and the results. The judges then review the support materials for professionalism, innovation and design to score the remaining 30 percent of the entry.

All Image entries must be submitted via FPRA’s online Image Awards platform to be considered as an official Image Award entry. Through this platform, judges will score entries by answering a series of questions that correspond with the provided rubric.

Based on their answers, the system will assign a score to each section being answered. These scores and award assignments, based on the judge’s answers, will then be provided to the judging teams to review and verify.

The judging method allows the judges to concentrate on the following criteria required in each two-page summary. For a breakdown of what makes a poor vs. good vs. outstanding entry and a step-by-step explanation with examples of division sections please read the image awards judging process and rubric. and the 2021 Image Awards Guide & Glossary and worksheet.

TWO-PAGE SUMMARY

The first PDF, titled with the name of the entry, division, category and the word “Entry,” will be the two-page summary.

  • The summary must address each of the following: Research/Situation Analysis, Planning, Implementation, Evaluation and Budget.
  • The summary cannot exceed two typewritten pages.
  • The summary must be created in Word using Times New Roman font. Type size must be a minimum of ten-point.
  • NEW in 2020: One and a half-spaced (1.5) lines (previously double-spaced), with a .75 margin (previously was a one-inch margin) around the summary.

Research/Situation Analysis (10 points) – Research is the formal and/or informal gathering of information to understand a situation, check assumptions and perceptions, define the problem and publics and determine the appropriate course of action.

  • Defining the Problem (5 pts.)
  • Employed Research Methods (5 pts.)

Planning (20 points) – Among the planning elements are audience identification and setting goals and objectives based on research findings. Objectives should be specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-specific. The stated goals and objectives should address the identified problem or issue. The planning section should distinguish goals, objectives, strategies and tactics. In addition, the program’s/project’s goal(s) should align with the organizational mission and goals.

  • Goal-Directed Strategic Thinking (5 pts.)
  • S.M.A.R.T. Objectives Provided (5 pts.)
  • Strategies & Tactics Distinguished (5 pts.)
  • Audience Identification (5 pts.)

Implementation (15 points) – The implementation section outlines the action and communication employed for achieving the stated goal(s) and objectives. How and when the plan’s key message(s) were communicated should be addressed. These message(s) should work to motivate the receiver’s (identified target audience) interest, as determined by research, and cause a response (goal-directed). Within this section, judges should be given enough information to understand the sequence of events (timeline) and assigned responsibilities for plan execution.

  • Sequence of Events/ Timelines (5 pts.)
  • Effectiveness of Plan Messaging (5 pts.)
  • Program/Plan Creativity (5 pts.)

Evaluation (10 points) – The evaluation section determines if the goals and objectives of the entrant’s program or project were met and the extent to which the results or outcomes of the program/project have been accomplished. This section is meant to answer the question “How well did the entrant do?”

  • Objectives Met (5 pts.)
  • Goals Met (5 pts.)

Budget (15 points) – To properly assess an award-winning program, all costs associated with the project/entry must be identified, either in dollar figures or the percentage/ratio of cost to the department’s or organization’s overall budget. This includes staff time and in-kind contributions, if applicable. The primary purpose for budget documentation, is to demonstrate why the submitted program/project equates to a worthwhile investment.

  • Budget Documentation (5 pts.)
  • Budget Justification (10 pts.)

SUPPORT MATERIAL
Support Material (30 points) – The second PDF, titled with name of entry, division, category and the word “Support,” contains materials that support or substantiate information provided in the summary.

This section should contain the materials that support or substantiate the information provided in the two-page summary. An effective support material section works to quickly summarize the program/project entry for the reviewing judges.

  • The first page of the support material PDF should be a table of contents page indicating information about the files contained within.
  • News clippings, photos, publications and copies of materials used in the implementation of the program/tool are pertinent.
  • Photographs may be incorporated into the “Support” PDF to represent support materials not available electronically.
  • Examples of audio-visual materials and video coverage may be submitted separately to support any entry in the Public Relations Programs division.
  • Entries in the Audio/Visual/Online Division should be submitted as electronic files titled with the entry name, division and category.

ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW
In this document, briefly list company background and PR staff size to better acquaint the judges with the submitting organization.

50-WORD SUMMARY ATTACHMENT
A 50-word summary of the entry must accompany your submission. Information provided in this document will be used when announcing winning entries.

IMAGE ATTACHMENT
The final attachment needed to submit your entry is a JPG image representing your entry. This will be used in addition to your 50-word summary in the event your entry wins an award.

RULES FOR ENTRY

  1. Entries must be submitted in the most appropriate division and category.
  2. Entries for the same project may not be entered in more than one category in the same year; however, pieces from an entry may be entered into other categories. Entries that win Image Awards may not be re-entered in subsequent years unless there has been a substantial change in the entry.
  3. Some part of the entry must have taken place between January 1, 2020, and February 15, 2021.
  4. Entries must be submitted electronically in five separate files (Two-Page Summary PDF, Support Material PDF, Organizational Overview PDF, 50-Word Summary PDF, and one JPG). The titles of all files should include the name of the entry, division and category.

PAYMENT
Payment for the entry fees can be submitted online or by check.

Division A, B or C
FPRA Member – $45 for single entry; $40 each for multiple entries
Non-member – $55 for single entry; $50 each for multiple entries

Division D (Students Only)
Student FPRA Member – $25 for single entry; $20 each for multiple entries
Student Non-member – $35 for single entry; $30 each for multiple entries

DISCLAIMERS

  • The judges reserve the right to reclassify entries if deemed necessary.
  • Entries that do not follow all of the Rules for Entry may be disqualified.
  • No part of the entry may be submitted after the deadline.
  • Fees for disqualified entries will not be refunded.