If you’ve ever considered pursuing a top-notch, highly visible award for your client or boss, now is the time to join one of the best award programs — the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards in the Rocky Mountain Region.
The nomination deadline is Friday, March 19. Check out the official online nomination form, or download the official printed nomination form. The nomination process is neither complicated nor time-consuming, yet the potential benefits of being named a finalist and/or winner are enormous.
Awards are given to entrepreneurs who have demonstrated excellence and extraordinary success in such areas as innovation, financial performance, risk, and personal commitment to their businesses and communities. Eligible nominees must be an owner or manager of a private or public company who is primarily responsible for the recent performance of the company, and an active member of top management. Nominees must be headquartered in Colorado or Wyoming and have at least three years of financial history.
There are great recognition and networking opportunities for regional finalists, and the program will culminate with the black tie awards ceremony on Thursday, June 24, 2010, in Denver. All Rocky Mountain award recipients are then invited to participate in the national Entrepreneur Of The Year gala, hosted by Jay Leno, on November 13, 2010 in Palm Springs, California. The gala is the culminating event of the Ernst & Young Strategic Growth Forum, the nation’s most prestigious gathering of high-growth, market-leading companies. Visit www.ey.com/us/eoy for an online nomination form and additional information. Please contact Courtney Story at 720-931-4411 or courtney.story@ey.com if you have any questions.
JohnstonWells Public Relations is a sponsor of the Ernst & Young Entrepreneur Of The Year awards in the Rocky Mountain Region.
Today is the last day of the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver… and the U.S. made an astonishing run at the Gold! Now Denver PR firms are being asked to go for the Gold. And while it may mean late nights, paper cuts and dozens of runs to the office supply store, winning a PRSA Gold Pick can really pay off.
Here’s what some of our past award members have to say about the importance of Gold Picks.
“Having the opportunity to work with the March of Dimes to help raise awareness for infant prematurity, a serious health issue affecting one in eight babies in Colorado, was extremely important for our agency for many reasons. To then have this campaign go on to win a PRSA Gold Pick award for the Best Nonprofit PR campaign in Colorado, as judged by our peers in the industry, made the experience even more amazing.”
“Gold Pick Awards are a testimony to the value of public relations- truly a celebration of our work and the work of our peers. Gold Pick inspires our entire team to be as creative and effective as possible, while making us think critically about the research component as we plan programs and campaigns for our clients.”
“Gold Pick awards are one of our most important marketing tools. Whether it is showing off the awards wall to potential clients, or highlighting award-winning campaigns on our web site, Gold Picks help us to win business.”
“I thought Gold Picks, especially the Grand Gold Pick, were reserved for big firms, big clients, and big budgets. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that’s not the case at all. Great work is great work no matter who’s doing it, and there’s nothing more satisfying than to be recognized for doing great work.”
Whether it’s helping you to better focus your future campaigns or helping you to win new business, a Gold Pick is a wonderful way to showcase your hard work from over the year.
What’s the submission process like?
Here’s how the Webb PR Team put our seven submissions together:
Thursday, February 25
5:00 p.m.
We realized our binders were pretty thin and it was time to start stuffing.
5:15 p.m.
We all decided to work late to have a “marathon” Gold Picks night.
5:30 p.m.
Papers printed, tabs printed and labels made.
6:00 p.m.
Food run. Margaritas made at the Webb PR bar!
6:30 p.m.
Time out to eat and drink margaritas.
7:00 pm.
Binders carefully packaged together over good food and margaritas.
7:30 p.m.
First round of binders inspected.
8:00 p.m.
Second round of binders stuffed and organized.
8:30 p.m.
Last call for margaritas and binders to be checked.
9:00 p.m.
Closing Time.
Friday, February 26
7:00 a.m.
Crew arrives early to finish labeling binders.
7:30 a.m.
Labels put on each page included in binder.
8:00 a.m.
Last run to office supply store for last minute supplies.
8:30 a.m.
Scanning in all materials.
9:00 a.m.
Printing CD labels and last minute page labels.
9:30 a.m.
Having binders checked one last time to make sure everything is included.
10:00 a.m.
Start burning CDs for submissions.
10:30 a.m.
Putting all “approved” submissions in the box.
11:00 a.m.
First round of “approved” submissions out the door while more CDs are burned.
11:30 a.m.
First round of binders arrive at PRSA Westminster office.
11:50 a.m.
Second round of binders arrives at PRSA Westminster office.
12:00 p.m.
Sigh of relief! We made it!
1:00 p.m.
Staff Meeting at Lime with more Margaritas and Mojitos to celebrate making the Early Bird Deadline.
It’s not too late!
You still have five days to submit. The deadline is 5 p.m. this Friday, March 5! Get the call for entries at http://bit.ly/CallEntry.
The following PR articles this month share the scoop on social media policies, a Twitter Olympic scandal and branded vs. individual Twitter accounts. If you come across an interesting PR article, please send it to prsacolorado@gmail.com or tweet a link to @PRSAcolo.
I get the value of video as an important component for communications and marketing plans, but I’ve always figured that a PR pro couldn’t really do video. Then I heard about a workshop that claims it can teach anyone how to create great video. It’s in Norman, Oklahoma, but it seems like it is worth the trip if you want to learn from the best and learn fast!
Creating video has never been more affordable or accessible. But how do you make the most of these tools and the ability to be a broadcaster? How can you use video capabilities to stand out as a professional?
The National Press Photographers Association will host this year’s NewsVideo Workshop, a week-long immersion into the world of moving pictures and sound, March 14-19, 2010 at the University of Oklahoma in Norman. The workshop agenda includes:
Learn techniques and methods for discovering interesting, compelling ways to tell your stories regardless of the topic
Discover how to avoid clichés, visual distraction and narrative breaks.
Speed the production of your projects by planning more effectively
Reduce time spent editing as you shoot more efficiently
Learn the ins-and-outs of lighting, composition, audio, and editing
Framing is something we hear about a lot in politics, but the concept has now crossed over to general messaging and communications. So what the heck is it? Simply put, it is establishing context for the purpose of influencing how an action or issue is viewed. Framing helps you direct how your audience perceives what you are doing and what you are saying in a way that is advantageous to you.
If perception is reality and framing affects what our audiences perceive or don’t perceive, then framing would be a must for successful persuasion. But is it ethical? I suppose that depends on your motives.
The PRSA Code of Ethics calls on us as communication professionals to promote truth, accuracy and fairness while respecting all points of view. Framing that derides or obfuscates important elements of an issue, flies in the face of fairness and respect. Unfortunately, framing in political circles often does just that. Political strategists will tell you that negative works and gets votes. Motivating people through fear can get quick action, but in the end what kind of relationships does it build? What does a community really gain through discourse that emphasizes what’s bad instead of what works or what’s possible?
Effective public relations professionals drive organizational messaging and counsel management on the consequences to their decisions. As part of that responsibility, we should also be advocating for positive framing that builds honest context and meaning for our audiences. The resulting messages, along with responsible actions, will create trust in what an organization says and does. That builds relationships and reputations that endure.
As public relations professionals, we help our clients tell their stories and build meaningful relationships. We provide advocacy, counsel in times of crisis and messaging that resonates. Not only do we plan and execute using keen attention to detail and cheetah-like speed, but our thought leadership leads the way to phenomenal results.
As a cornerstone of the Colorado public relations community, you have the opportunity to brand your clients and yourself by sharing your award-winning campaigns at the 2010 PRSA Colorado Chapter Gold Pick celebration. Any Colorado public relations professional can enter a campaign or component that they believe deserves kudos from fellow public relations comrades.
If you think you’re good enough to win a Gold Pick, submit your entries now! The PRSA Colorado Chapter’s Gold Pick award entry deadlines are approaching, with the early deadline on Friday, Feb. 26 at noon. Submissions for Special Awards, which can also be found in the Call for Entries, are due Friday, April 2.
We’d like to give a shout out to Platinum sponsors EnCanca Oil and Gas and Linhart PR, Gold sponsor Pure Brand Communications and Silver sponsor GroundFloor Media for generously supporting the Gold Pick program. Sponsorships and program advertising range from $75 to $2,500 and are a great way to get involved. The deadline for sponsorships is Friday, April 9.
Props to Sym Labs (www.setyourmind.com) for producing this short video for the PRSA Colorado Chapter. Stay tuned for the premiere of a more expansive show at the Gold Pick Awards Ceremony on Thursday, May 6th.
Post written by Allison Shaw, Gold Picks Committee.
Earlier in the week at the Digital Toolbox luncheon, there was some great discussion after Ramonna Tooley’s presentation. At my table, we talked about the ROI of Twitter, had a semantic discussion about social networking vs. social media and discussed location-based services such as Foursquare and their privacy implications. We were all over the map, but it was a good discussion. One question remained unanswered, however.
We talk a lot about getting started with social media — monitoring, developing strategies, building communities — but we rarely talk about finishing them. Many social media initiatives are ongoing, but others are finite campaigns. Have you put any thought into how they’ll end?
If your campaign was successful but has a limited duration, will you shut it down or forget about it and let the digital tumbleweeds roll through until someone pulls the plug? How will you drive your followers and fans to the next big thing? It’s natural to feel excited about starting new things, but sometimes finishing them well is also important.
Do you plan the end of your campaigns as meticulously as you do the beginning? If so, what do you plan for?
Leave a comment below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Earlier this week, GroundFloor Media’s Ramonna Tooley, vice president and managing partner discussed strategies for today’s digital PR world and shared examples from a variety of industries including nonprofit, food and beverage, and sports and entertainment.
The three key takeaways?
Listen. Use free tools like Google Alerts or more robust listening tools to keep on top of what’s being said about you or your clients, the competition and the industry.
Engage. There are countless opportunities, beginning with the usual suspects, but including many niche sites and communities. If you can’t find one that fits your niche, build one.
Measure. Measure things that matter. Identify the metrics that demonstrate the most value and create dashboards to show off the results of your work.
Join us March 17 to learn how you can maximize digital media strategies for your organization from a very special guest, U.S. Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg, emerging media directorate, Defense Media Activity.
Based in Washington, D.C., Lt. Cragg serves as an operations officer creating cutting-edge online communication strategies for military and government public affairs officers and leaders around the globe. At the PRSA International Conference, she described some of her team’s award-winning work, including:
The DoD has been using new media since 2006, and Lt. Cragg will highlight how her team uses specific digital tools to achieve its communications objectives. Using the Haiti relief efforts as a case study, she will discuss effective strategic communications and integrated social and digital media techniques that can benefit your organization.
Each year, Colorado public relations practitioners gather to honor the award-winning campaigns of our peers, colleagues and competitors at the Gold Pick Awards Ceremony. As a long-standing tradition, this event encourages those in the industry to aspire to greater levels and achieve the highest watermark of success – the Grand Gold Pick Award. Gold Picks recognize the talent and creativity behind some of the top public relations campaigns in the state (and arguably, in the country) with a night of celebration and prestige. Behind the scenes, committee members dedicate hours of their time to plan the event, but we would like to point out that it’s our sponsors who make the Gold Picks and other Chapter activities possible.
Top Five Reasons to Sponsor the Gold Picks
Elevate the public relations profession at the most prestigious PRSA Colorado event of the year
Support PRSA Colorado Chapter efforts throughout the year
Promote brand visibility to 250 public relations professionals and business associates
Inspire new PRSA members to recognize the prestige and importance of the Gold Picks
Preferred seating for VIP table sponsors
The deadline for Gold Pick Awards sponsorship is April 9. Sponsorship packages range from $75 program advertisements to $2,500 sponsorships. For more information visit http://bit.ly/SponsorPackage.
Join us March 17 to learn how you can maximize digital media strategies for your organization from a very special guest, U.S. Navy Lt. Jennifer Cragg, emerging media directorate, Defense Media Activity.