Become the champion and take north american PR the trophy home! www.excellence-awards.com
Be Among the First TO Win AT the North American Excellence Awards Gain international recognition for your PR work and celebrate with North America s communication community! Deadline for Entries November 3, 2015 Deadline for late Entries November 10, 2015 Winners ceremony New York City, April 2016
1 st celebration of the best 5 in PR and communications spread across the globe 46 continents competing simultaneously diverse and prestigious award categories Demonstrate your creativity and mastery to the world! Stockholm December 2015 New York City April 2016 Singapore March 2016 ThinkstockPhoto Rio de Janeiro April 2016 Cape Town March 2016 Become part of the PR and communications Excellence Awards global community and apply now in your region / Africa / Asia-Pacific / Europe / Latin America / North America Information & Application: www.excellence-awards.com
7reasons to enter the North American Excellence Awards Motivate your team Let your reputation flourish Know where you stand Build your brand Discover your potential Announce your successes Celebrate with your colleagues and clients Gain international recognition for your PR work The inaugural North American Excellence Awards are the chance for all those working in the field of PR and communications throughout North America to come together and honour groundbreaking communications campaigns and projects. The event is inspired by the European Excellence Awards. Now in its ninth year, the prestigious occasion has established its place as one of the greatest sources of recognition for European Communicators. With the rapid global development of the communications sector this recognition must be expanded. Be among the first in your field to participate in the North American Excellence Awards and submit your entry on www.excellence-awards.com. Enhance your reputation as a leading communicator, build your brand and provide your team with an extra motivational boost. The North American Excellence Awards will be hosted by Communication Director magazine, a primary source for ideas, analytics and news for those working in PR, communications and public affairs. The magazine draws content from professionals in the field and we believe it is time to celebrate the outstanding achievements of communicators in North America. Your entry should be submitted by November 3 (late deadline November 10). Our esteemed jury of leading communications professionals will then evaluate all submissions. The very best in North American communications and public relations will be awarded at a winners` dinner in New York City. We are excited to present this sensational opportunity for North American communicators to showcase their expertise and hope you will join the celebration. Sincerely, Rudolf Hetzel Chairman of the Jury Publisher,Communication Director
Jury A panel of 30 communications specialists from a wide range of backgrounds has been carefully curated for the Jury in order to ensure a balanced evaluation of nominees and to represent both in-house and agency communications departments. We wish to present a small selection of our esteemed panel to you. Rudolf Hetzel Publisher, Communication Director Chairman Marianne Amssoms Vice President Global Communications, Anheuser-Busch InBev Nicholas Ashooh Senior Director, APCO Worldwide Marjorie Benzkofer Global Lead of Reputation Management Practice, FleishmanHillard Alexander Bilgeri Vice President, Corporate Communications, BMW North America Kathy Bloomgarden CEO, Ruder Finn Dana J. Bolden VP Public Affairs and Comm., The Coca-Cola Company s Bottling Invest. Doug Donsky Sen. Managing Director Financial Services & Corp. Comm., FTI Strategic Comm. John Earnhardt Vice President, Corporate Communications, Visa Jim Joseph Chief Integrated Marketing Officer and President of the Americas, Cohn & Wolfe Michael Law CEO, U.S., Burson- Marsteller Jenny Lovely Director, Global Internal Communications, Marriott Vacations Worldwide Morgan McLintic Executive Vice President, LEWIS PR Arne Näveke Executive Director of Advocacy, Policy and Communications, Intern. AIDS Vaccine Initiative Michael Petruzzello President & North American Practice Leader, Public Affairs, Qorvis MSLGROUP Andy Pharoah SVP, Corporate Affairs, Sustainability & Strategy, Wm. Wrigley Jr. Company J. Christopher Preuss Senior Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Delphi Automotive Stuart Smith Global CEO, Ogilvy Public Relations Miguel Veiga-Pestana Chief Communications Officer, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Pete Wootton Senior Vice President, WE Communications Become acquainted with other Jury members on www.na.excellence-awards.com
Bringing the excellence awards to NORTH AMERICA IDEA The field of communications is characterised by a multitude of challenges. Dealing with them requires the implementation of new ideas, as well as putting old ones to the test. The North American Excellence Awards 2015 will reward the most outstanding achievements within the diverse and dynamic world of communications in the past year. Over the last nine years the European Excellence Awards have been celebrating the achievements of communications professionals. They are one of the leading European-wide awards in their field, with more than 1,600 entries per year. As PR and communications have witnessed a rapid global development in recent years, we want to take the Excellence Awards to the global level by introducing Excellence Awards worldwide in North America, Africa, Latin America and Asia-Pacific. HOST The North American Excellence Awards are hosted by Communication Director, the magazine for corporate communications and public relations. Featuring opinion pieces, case studies and reports, Communication Director is a knowledge-sharing platform for communicators. Its articles are written by senior-level professionals at some of the world s largest companies and organisations, as well as prominent academics and thought leaders. A co-host of the European Communication Summit, which gathers hundreds of leading communications professionals in Brussels each year, the magazine was a natural choice to host the Global Excellence Awards to honour outstanding communications accomplishments in North America and worldwide. www.thinkstock.com
Nomination Categories 2015 Accomplishment 01 Newcomer Agency of the Year 02 Agency of the Year 03 Communication Team of the Year Industries and Institutions 04 Automotive and Transport 05 Energy 06 Technology and Consumer Electronics 07 Telecommunication 08 Finance 09 Health 10 Fashion and Beauty 11 Retail 12 Sports and Lifestyle 13 Entertainment and Culture 14 Science and Education 15 Travel and Tourism 16 Food and Beverage 17 Ecology and Environment 18 Government Agencies and Parties 19 Associations 20 Non-Governmental Organizations Communications 21 Multi-Market Communication 22 Change Communication 23 Internal Communication 24 Crisis Communication 25 Content Marketing 26 Brand Relationship 27 Launch 28 Relaunch 29 Employer Branding and Recruiting 30 Corporate Social Responsibility 31 Event & Experiential Marketing 32 Public Affairs 33 Issues and Reputation Management Corporate Media & Tools 34 Annual Report 35 CSR Report 36 Employee Publication 37 External Publication 38 Corporate Advertising 39 Corporate Film or Video 40 Intranet 41 Blog 42 Website 43 Microsite 44 Social Media 45 Mobile Communications and Apps 46 Online Video Channel For detailed descriptions of each category, see our website at: www.na.excellence-awards.com
5 continents searching for the best in PR and communications
Information & Conditions The NORTH American Excellence Awards The North American Excellence Awards honour outstanding achievements in the field of communications and PR across North America. Host The Awards are hosted by Communication Director, the magazine for Corporate Communications and Public Relations in Europe, which is distributed worldwide. Applicants The Awards are open to public relations, communications, brand building and reputation management professionals from companies, consultancies, associations, institutions and NGOs whose work has displayed exceptional talent and skill. Either the company/agency has to be located in North America or the campaign has to be launched in North America. Entry deadlines The deadline for all applications is November 3, 2015. The late deadline, which comes with an extra charge, is November 10, 2015. Jury The Jury of the North American Excellence Awards is comprised of leading communications professionals from companies, agencies, associations, institutions and universities. The Jury s range of expertise covers the whole of North America, from the perspective of both in-house and agency communication departments. Selection process After the late deadline, our Jury will review via online voting all submissions to determine a shortlist of five projects per category. Entries are evaluated against the following criteria: strategy, innovation, implementation and results. Between December and January, entrants will be informed as to whether or not their project has been selected for the shortlist. One month later, between January and February, the winner of each category will be announced. The awards will be handed over on stage in the course of the winners dinner ceremony in New York City, April 2016. Entry fee The application fee applies per project entered and per category. Until 11.59 p.m. (CET) on November 3, 2015, the first application costs 270 USD plus VAT, and each additional application submitted costs 190 USD plus VAT. Between November 4 and November 10, which is the late deadline registration period, applications come with a late fee of 50 USD each. Participation in the winners dinner ceremony is voluntary. Tickets must be purchased separately for each person. All costs are payable by credit card. Language of submission All submission forms and documents must be completed in English. However, the project itself does not need to be carried out in English. Supporting material can be submitted in the original language. Time frame for participating projects Any project created or published between November 1, 2014 and October 31, 2015 may participate in the competition. A large part of the project must have taken place during that time frame, however, it is not necessary for the whole project to have been completely implemented in this period. Projects can also still be ongoing. How many categories may I apply for? Projects can be entered into multiple categories, and you are free to apply in as many categories as you like. Please note: the application fee is per project entered and per category. Applying online Applications can only be submitted online. With the application system, you can easily submit your entry/entries on our password-protected intranet site. You may upload your application material and additional supporting material on: http://application.na.excellence-awards.com As the Jury voting is online only, we can t consider hard copies as supporting material for your entry.
Application Submit your application using our userfriendly online system at: http://application.na.excellence-awards.com Your completed application must contain the following elements: 1 General contact details about the entrant(s), the involved organization and agency (if applicable). 2 The main details of the project: a) short summary of the project with a maximum length of 400 characters (including spacing and punctuation) b) time frame of the project c) budget in USD (This is not a mandatory field but it plays a major role in helping the Jury assess your project. The information will not be distributed.) d) number of employees working on the project. 3 A project description of no more than 2,000 characters in total (including spacing and punctuation) must be provided, including the following information: a) the initial situation which led to the creation of the project b) the objective of the project c) the strategy involved in the project d) how the project was implemented e) the results achieved by the project (e.g. sales and awareness increases, media monitoring, click and user rates, benchmarking and KPI results). 4 Include a cover picture that best represents your project to illustrate it to the Jury. 5 Supporting material should be selected carefully to illustrate the main points and essence of your project. There is a limit of three supporting documents, to be uploaded in our online system (one document equals one file or copy). Items accepted as supporting material include press releases, pictures, brochures, powerpoint presentations of no more than 10 slides, movies of no more than 3 minutes and any online material or other unique media. 6 You can specify up to three links to websites, social media platforms, intranet sites or online videos. Digital format The following file formats are accepted: For text:.pdf,.doc For pictures:.jpg /.jpeg,.gif,.png. (Ideally in print quality; 300 dpi) For videos/movies:.mov,.flv,.avi,.mpg /.mpeg (no larger than 50 MB), or a link to the website where the video is posted For presentations:.pdf,.ppt (ideally convert.ppt into.pdf format, no larger than 5 MB) Documentation The finalists project titles, together with the name of the organization and agency (if applicable), will be documented in brochures, on the website and at the winners dinner. Winners dinner The winners will be announced and presented with their awards at the North American Excellence Awards ceremony in New York City, between March and April. Tickets for the ceremony must be purchased separately. It isn t mandatory to participate in the winners dinner to receive the award. Still have questions? Visit www.excellence-awards.com or contact Anna Maria Engelmayr, Award Manager anna-maria.engelmayr@ na.excellence-awards.com
Excellence Awards are hosted by Communication Director is a magazine for global decision makers in corporate communications, PR and public affairs. Distributed around the world, Communication Director features articles by and interviews with the very top in the international communication profession as well as high-ranking academics and other established thought-leaders. For real insights into today s multinational communications profession, Communication Director is at the forefront. www.communication-director.com
1 2 3 4 5 6 6 easy steps to apply successfully for the NORTH AMERICAN Excellence Awards Start your application online by registering on our passwordprotected intranet: http://application.na.excellence-awards.com Review the online application checklist Choose the correct category for your project or campaign Describe your project in 2,000 characters or less Support your application with a representative picture, illustrative material and web links Submit your application and use our online shop to pay directly with your credit card 1 2 3 For further details, please see www.na.excellence-awards.com or contact Anna Maria Engelmayr, Award Manager, at anna-maria.engelmayr@na.excellence-awards.com Excellence Awards African Excellence Awards Asia-Pacific Excellence Awards European Excellence Awards Latin American Excellence Awards North American Excellence Awards North American Excellence Awards Helios Media Square de Meeûs 37 B-1000 Brussels Belgium Tel +49 (0)30 84 85 90 Fax +49 (0)30 84 85 92 00 info@na.excellence-awards.com www.excellence-awards.com www.communication-director.eu The North American Excellence Awards are hosted by