⌛ By Kaylin R. Staten ⌛

Welcome to our third and final case study for the month of September!

This time around, I’ll be discussing the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA)-River Cities’ Chapter’s 2018 Tribus Awards Call for Entries. It’s no secret that I love mostly anything involving public-relations awards. I’ve served as a judge for multiple PRSA Chapters’ awards programs since the beginning of my career, as well as the illustrious Silver and Bronze Anvil awards on the national level. This case study will reveal our Call for Entries document for our inaugural Tribus Awards year in 2018 and delve into what it takes to plan an awards program in general.

Like we said in our previous two case studies, for each campaign and tactic, we use the RPIE process of public relations, which is: Research, Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. I’m sure you’ve seen me use that formula before, as it is a cornerstone of what Hourglass Media does internally and externally in its continued public relations efforts. You may also know it as RACE or ROPE, depending on your school of thought, but we use the APR-standard of RPIE.)

RESEARCH

Since PRSA-River Cities Chapter’s inception in Fall 2015, the board of directors and members wanted to have its own awards program. In 2018, that dream became a reality, after several committee planning meetings. Many of the members have entered awards in other state, regional, and national awards programs, and we knew it would add credibility to our young-but-growing Chapter. We decided to use the RPIE process of public relations for our own efforts, beginning with primary research to assess interest levels and other key elements. We surveyed the membership using SurveyMonkey to see what they expected and wanted from our upcoming awards program. We then forayed into secondary research to assess other Chapters’ awards programs, from their judging rubrics to best practices. We decided to adhere to PRSA National’s and PRSA-East Central District's awards parameters while using our own flair to make this awards program our own.

PLANNING

Once Research was conducted, the awards committee proceeded with the creation and cultivation of its own brand personality and 10-step communications plan. The group landed on the name “Tribus,” which means “three” in Latin, due to the fact that PRSA-River Cities Chapter serves 15 counties in West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky. We also paid tribute to the three states by utilizing a color scheme of pearl white, orange, and slate gray -- three integral colors to each state. The overall theme was exhibition and travel, as a selling point for our Chapter was that we could travel from county to county to learn more about public relations and local culture. The overall goals were to engage members through heritage, innovation and

dedication with the awards. In addition, board and committee members wanted to further PRSA River Cities’ mission. Our SMART objectives were to:

Encourage the primary target audience of members and prospective members to enter awards at each deadline stage;
Raise $500 for the Chapter by the end of the Call for Entries process in October 2018; and
Increase PRSA-River Cities’ awareness in our 15-county service area by 25 percent.

IMPLEMENTATION

A vital part of the communications plan was the Call for Entries document. Most awards program have them, but a lot of them are lackluster. We wanted a document that would stand out and entice members and nonmembers to submit their entries and learn more about PRSA-River Cities Chapter. This Call for Entries PDF was laid out like a magazine, telling our Chapter’s story and giving pertinent information for entering awards at various price points. We released this Call for Entries document to members and nonmembers through our website, social media posts, eNewsletter, private Facebook group posts, phone calls, in-person conversations and meetings, direct emails, and more. While we had a small budget ($400-$500 for the entire program and awards ceremony), we attempted to maximize our efforts through earned and owned forms of media.

See the Call for Entries document here.

EVALUATION

Our inaugural year for the Tribus Awards in 2018 saw its own trailblazing brand of success. We

exceeded our objectives in the following ways:

Members and non-members submitted a total of 22 entries in Campaigns and Tactics categories and had a 59 percent award rate, setting the precedent for 2019;
Raised nearly $1,000 for the Chapter to cover costs of awards, ceremony costs and extra money in the bank; and
Increased awareness for our Chapter by more than 50 percent (double our initial objective).

This Call for Entries document paved the way for our Chapter to host an awards program that continues to grow. In 2019, we increased our entries with an award rate of 61 percent.

Learn more about PRSA-River Cities Chapter here.

Kaylin R. Staten, APR, is an award-winning, accredited public relations practitioner and writer based in Huntington, WV with 18 years of professional communications experience. As CEO and founder of Hourglass Media, she uses her compassionate spirit and expertise to delve into the heart of clients’ stories. She is a recovering perfectionist, mental health advocate, wife, Luke’s mom, cat mom, and Leia Organa aficionado. Connect with Kaylin on LinkedIn.

CASE STUDY: 2018 Tribus Awards Call for Entries