Best in Southwest Florida Public Relations Programs Recognized

Winners of the Grand All Image Award from Lee County Port Authority at the 2011 Local Image Awards.

Champagne, cupcakes and plenty of applause awaited the recipients of the 2011 Local Image Awards at a special May 2nd event held by the Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA).

Recognizing the best public relations, communications, and marketing efforts in Southwest Florida during the past year, this year’s Image Awards recipients are:

• “SWFAS Celebrates 30 Years of Recovery” by Kevin B. Lewis of SWFAS and Susan Bennett, APR, CPRC of Susan Bennett Marketing & Media, L.C. Image Award and a Judges’ Award.
• “Child Care Turns the Corner” by Beth Lobdell of Child Care of Southwest Florida and Susan Bennett, APR, CPRC of Susan Bennett Marketing & Media, L.C. Image Award.
• “Rocket Harley-Davidson Ownership Transition” by Samantha Scott, Pushing the Envelope, Inc. Award of Distinction and Judges’ Award.
• “Posing for the Cure” (calendar) by Susan Lindenmuth, Estero Fire Rescue. Award of Distinction and Judges’ Award.
• “Early Learning Coalition Literacy Buddies” by Samantha Scott, Pushing the Envelope, Inc. Award of Distinction.
• “2010 Southwest Florida Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure” by Miriam Ross, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, Southwest Florida; and Phyllis K. Ershowsky, APR, CPRC and Marie Mosley, APR, PKE Marketing and PR Solutions. Award of Distinction.
• “California Closets Southwest Florida Goes Social” by Samantha Scott, Pushing the Envelope, Inc. Award of Distinction.

The Grand All Image Award, FPRA’s highest honor, was given to the Lee County Port Authority for its internal campaign “Lee County Port Authority United Way Campaign 2011.” This project also won an Image Award in its category and a Judges’ Award, for maximizing results with a minimal budget.

The Local Image Awards competition is conducted annually to recognize outstanding public relations programs in Southwest Florida, and to encourage and promote the development of public relations professionalism in our area. Winners demonstrate the very best examples of innovation, planning, and design.

Congratulations to all this year’s Image Awards winners and good luck at the state level Golden Image Awards in August.

Image Awards to Highlight May Meeting

Mark your calendar for Monday, May 2nd and plan to celebrate with this year's outstanding Image Awards winners.

Join us as we announce this year's Image winners and then hear from an award winning PR professional on pitching the media and executing a successful media relations program.  This presentation will be sure to whet your appetite for our FPRA media breakfast to be held on Tuesday, June 7th.

This jam-packed meeting will have a few surprises as we celebrate the best of public relations in Southwest Florida. This isn't going to be your ordinary luncheon business meeting - just Imagine the Possibilities.  We are! 

Event Details
Imagine the Possibilities:  Image Awards & Pitching the Media
Monday, May 2, 2011
11:15 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Broadway Palm Dinner Theatre
$20 for members
$25 for guests
$10 for students

Register today. Click here.

FPRA Local Image Awards Competition

Calling all public relations and marketing professionals in the area – now is the time to submit your finest work. The Southwest Florida Chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association (FPRA) has issued a Call for Entries for its 2011 Local Image Awards. Local Image Awards are held annually and recognize the best public relations, communications and marketing efforts in Southwest Florida during the past year.

Submissions for awards must be presented in a detailed and specific format, as directed by the Call for Entries. The contest is open to FPRA members and non-members as well as students. Learn more about the 2011 Call for Entries

Imagine the Possibilities! Download the entry form.

Local Image Awards 2011: Tips for Success

The Call for Entries for Local Image Awards will be sent in late January. It will contain all the information you need for an Image entry including judging criteria, awards presented, rules for entry, deadlines and where submissions need to be sent, descriptions of each of the divisions and categories, entry fees, the official entry form and an entry checklist.

Whether you are new to the process or a seasoned Image participant, use the Call for Entries as your step-by-step guide to staying on track. A new project is kind of like your very own PR science experiment – you have a hypothesis or great idea, develop a plan, consider and address the variables, observe and collect data, create back-up materials, formulate the project results and come up with a final conclusion.

One very helpful hint is to ask someone who is not invested in the project to review your entry. A colleague, with a fresh perspective and eyes, may notice something that needs to be corrected or clarified.

And finally – we know we mentioned it last month, but make sure you proofread and present your project in the best way possible. We have a new chapter judging our entries this year. So, let’s show the Pensacola chapter what great work Southwest Florida professionals are doing in the PR field!

“The secret of all victory lies in the organization of the non-obvious.” - Marcus Aurelius

Local Image Awards 2011: Tips for Success

We already told you to look at your projects and think about the many categories you can submit entries for Local Image Awards. But the real Image formula for success is something so basic it may be overlooked - Read the directions!

Image guidelines are very specific. Since projects are different, there must be a uniform approach to presenting an entry so that judging can be fair and impartial. And remember, PR professionals are sticklers for details and they are the ones who judge your entries. There are guidelines for what should be included and how things need to be formatted, and those guidelines should not be ignored.

The very last thing you want is to have an award-worthy project fail to win or, even worse, be disqualified all together, because you did not follow the directions.

Put most of your effort into the 2-Page Summary. Seventy percent of the scoring is based on the summary of your project that sets out the reason and need for development of the public relations program or tool, how it was implemented and the results. Make sure you address five elements - Research, Objectives, Implementation, Evaluation and Budget. And it should be clear, concise and factual – not just creative.

The judges then review support materials for professionalism, innovation and design to score the remaining 30 percent of the entry. Please think about what you can include to help the judges understand or appreciate your project. Don’t lose valuable points by failing to include support materials that detail what you have presented in the summary.

And last, but not least, please, please proofread your final summary. Check, not only grammar and punctuation, but general typos that could cost you an Image award.

Every job is a self-portrait of the person who does it. Autograph your work with excellence. ~Author Unknown

Local Image Awards 2011

This month, the Local Image 2011 team wants you to really explore some of the categories you can enter. Most people think of the big stuff – promotional/marketing campaigns, special events, internal campaigns, etc. But you may not realize that you can also enter a poster or calendar, news release, written speech, specialty item, electronic communications (including blogs, e-mail, newsletters and surveys), brochure, website or even a presentation.

We point this out because the feedback from many people on why they don’t enter is because the process is difficult and time-consuming…and yes, it can be challenging for large-scale projects. But you can also break larger projects up into small, more manageable pieces. Since most of these projects are smaller in scope, entering your work in the “tools of the trade” categories B and C may be less overwhelming, especially to someone who has never submitted anything. This may end up being your formula for success!

So, think about all the categories when looking over your project list and see what sparks your imagination!

Note to students Students can enter a written speech, news release, position paper or computer-generated communication like a website or PowerPoint. You can also enter any other category in the other professional divisions if you have something that doesn’t fit in the student division. Just think how great it would be to tell future interviewers that part of your body of work won an award at a local, or possibly state level. That would definitely set you apart from the crowd and help jump-start your career!

“Action is the foundational key to all success.” - Pablo Picasso

Local Image 2011

Local Image Awards are held annually to recognize outstanding public relations programs in Southwest Florida. So, even though it is months away, your Image committee is excited and already making plans for the professional and social event of the year…and so should you!

Put your projects under the microscope and consider everything you do to be a potential award-winning entry. We know it takes time and effort but we want you to showcase your very best work

• In order to enter, some part of the project must take place between January 1, 2010 and mid-March 2011 (end date will be announced shortly).
• Write your plan now. Set your goals (broad) and objectives (precise). What are you trying to accomplish? You can have qualitative and quantitative objectives, but they must be specific and measurable.
• Organize support materials. Keep a file for notes, surveys and documentation. Start saving copies of results, proof of research, before and after samples, e-mail correspondence or feedback, media clips, letters/notes, reference materials, photos, etc. Basically, collect everything that will help someone understand your project and provide back up to your two-page summary. And for 2011, let’s make every effort to save work product electronically!

Remember…"Creativity is not the finding of a thing, but the making something out of it after it is found." – James Russell Lowell