The Say Communications Excellence in Communication Through Creative Execution

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Judging criteria:

The judges will be focusing on the following areas when scoring your entry. Write your entries accordingly.

• A summary of the initial brief (5)
• Strategic rationale; including key insights that informed the creative (20)
• Core creative idea/platform (30)
• Quality of execution and implementation (20)
• Validation against audience needs (10)
• Measurements techniques and tools put in place (5)
• Effectiveness and results – evidence that it delivered against the intention and objectives. (10)

Remember: entries in this category do not have to be anonymised.

Don’t forget: all supporting material must be supplied electronically.

This award celebrates the power of creativity as a tool to communicate key messages to target audiences. The judges will be looking to understand how creative ideas and choice of execution link back to research and insights relevant to the target audience. They are keen to understand the core creative idea behind specific executions, and the rationale for choosing any particular route over another. What mindset changes were identified, and how did the creative seek to deliver that change? What rationale and validation did the creative go through to ensure success? How was the creative measured?

Entries can showcase words or images, digital, print or any other medium, along with an explanation of why you feel this particular execution delivered against a clearly defined need. Of course, the judges will also be looking for stunning imagery and cleverly worded copy, but we’re also keen to understand the brief and how your creative has answered it. So, to win this award you need to show:

• What research and insights powered your creative brief and inspired the core idea
• An explanation of the idea itself
• The rationale behind  the creative direction taken
• Stunning creative that delivers against the rationale.
• Why you chose to take the route you did in terms of media
• The design and selection of specific methodology to measure the impact of your creative execution
• Effectiveness and results – evidence that it delivered against the intention and objectives.

Entries should demonstrate first-class strategic thinking and exceptional implementation (in line with the ABPI, EFPIA and PAGB Codes of Practice).

What the judges are looking for: Excellence in Communications through Creative Execution category

All work and supporting material must be submitted via email.

IT IS ESSENTIAL TO PROVIDE BUDGET BAND INFORMATION, failure to do so will incur a penalty from the judges. If your client has declined to allow this, you must state this within your submission.

Band A under £10,000
Band B £10,001-£25,000
Band C £25,001-£50,000
Band D £50,001-£100,000
Band E £100,001-£200,000
Band F over £200,001.

Work conducted during the 18-month period between July 2018 and December 2019 will be eligible

Entry Format

Executive Summary (max 200 words) 

Must be supplied separately from the two-page A4 submission.
If your submission is nominated for an award, only extracts from executive summaries will be published, allowing you to ensure it contains no confidential information. No other part of your entry will be reproduced. Please note that the judges will not see the executive summary and it does not need to be anonymised.

THE REMAINDER OF YOUR ENTRY SHOULD NOT
EXCEED TWO A4 PAGES AND MUST BE ANONYMISED
(unless otherwise indicated in the category description).

1. Situation/Market Analysis

A description of the situation/environment before you undertook the work. For example:

• What information, research, analysis etc that led you to identify the problem, issue or opportunity
• What insights that helped you work towards a plan or solution
• Provide benchmark data* (if available) so that the judges can see what the metrics/trends were before the programme began. They can then see changes from baseline metrics brought about by your programme or initiative
• What challenge(s) had to be overcome.

2. Objectives

Provide clearly defined SMART objectives 

The judges recommend no more than five.

• Make sure you clearly identify key audiences and define benefits to them and to stakeholders and the organisation

3. Strategy

Describe your strategy

• What was the plan/approach adopted to meet your objectives?
• Who was involved in the delivery team (both internal and external)?
• What was the rationale for any collaboration with external stakeholders?
• Was there a part of the strategy that was truly innovative/groundbreaking?

4. Tactics

• How was the strategy implemented in line with your objectives?
• What channels/tactics did you employ to implement the strategy and why did you select these channels?

5. Effectiveness: Outcomes vs Objectives

Demonstrate how outcomes were delivered/achieved against your stated objectives. Show clear evaluation of:

• Outtakes (knowledge, attitudes, opinions, levels of confidence, number of people who heard about the campaign etc.)
• Outputs (volume of coverage, number of leaflets, hits to websites etc.)
• Outcomes (quantifiable changes in behaviour or action taken as a result of the campaign).

What did success look like for the campaign? Show the real benefit that the work delivered for stakeholders, patients and the organisation.

*This is where you should refer to the benchmarks you identified earlier.

6. Stakeholder Testimonials and Client Verdicts

You must provide a minimum of one (maximum three) independent, third-party stakeholder testimonials. These will be scored by the judges in terms of their quality and relevance and can significantly influence your overall score.

You will also need to provide a minimum of one (maximum three) client testimonials.

• Approved quotes may be submitted as a letter, fax or email supporting the overall effectiveness of the programme or activity, but the quotes themselves must be included in the two-page submission.
• Include contact details for the stakeholder(s) (email address and telephone number) for verification purposes
• If the stakeholder(s) references are confidential, please highlight this on the entry form.

7. Lessons Learned 

What lessons did you learn that would help with future work?

8. Supporting Materials (not included in submission length limit)

• ESSENTIAL: A summary sheet must be supplied with supporting materials, detailing each of the supporting materials and clearly referencing where evidence can be found to support claims made in the entry about outcomes, such as shifts in awareness, attitude and reported behaviour, eg info on sample size, method of data collection etc. Entries will not be accepted without this document.
• Where possible, provide a copy of the original brief from the client
• If you have submitted the same campaign/work previously, provide a copy of the previous submission(s).
• Supporting Materials do not need to be submitted until Friday 29 March 2019.