I HAVE enjoyed many important benefits as a member of the International Public Relations Association (Ipra) ever since I joined in 2003. Aside from the learning, the coaching, and the fun and camaraderie with the country’s top PR practitioners, I get to contribute to doing “PR for PR,” reaching out to aspirants and beginners in the profession via industry events, public lectures and this weekly column.
The most important privilege for me, however, is to be invited to judge at the prestigious Ipra Golden World Awards for Excellence (GWA) and to be able to select entries vying for this unique distinction. In the process, I get to understand better why winning teams win over other entries and what makes them tick louder than the rest of the pack.
Recognizing excellence in PR
THE annual Ipra Golden World Awards initiative, established in 1990, recognizes excellence in public-relations practice worldwide in a variety of categories. Recipients of the award take particular pride in the recognition granted to their entry as meeting international standards of excellence in public relations.
An overall Ipra Grand Prix for Excellence is presented each year to the entry judged as representing the highest standards that year. While there are many national and regional PR awards, there is only one truly global scheme: the GWA.
I recall the impression I got when I attended a GWA awards event in New York City back when I was the national chairman of Ipra Philippines. The venue was a high-ceilinged, wood-paneled exclusive club of one of NYC’s biggest civic organizations. Dinner was impeccable. Many countries were represented and national costumes added glamour and prestige to this truly globally diverse group of PR professionals, the world’s best and brightest.
Easy to join online
THE Golden World Awards for Excellence 2016 is now in its sixth week and is still open to receive entries. I encourage those who are interested to participate in this global search for excellence to submit their entries. There are separate awards for agencies and in-house teams, and you do not need to be an Ipra member to enter. You just need to be very good. The volume of entries to date has been excellent within a wide spread of categories.
To enter the competition, you may go online on the Ipra web site at www.ipra.org, where you will also find a full description of the rules, an entry kit, the 30 categories and a set of FAQs. Entries opened on Tuesday, March 1 and closes on Monday, May 16.
We are now in the main-entry session, which runs until April 25. Entries cost £340 each. And remember with a simple copy and paste, you can add the same entry to multiple categories to increase your chances of winning.
Feather in your cap
READING the entries for the GWA has heightened my awareness of the unique profession that is public relations. We are not pushovers, and we certainly do not stop at the first try. In fact, we love challenges. We thrive in adversity. We produce valued impacts. We are at our best when we are able to create some outstanding results for our clients and our communities with very limited resources or despite seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
I have learned a lot and have been inspired by entries, for example, in the PR on a shoestring-budget category. There are 29 other categories to choose from.
Entries must be submitted to Ipra online. Entries must be for PR programs that “completed” before the start date of the annual competition (i.e., March 1, 2016). The programs may have started one or more years before this. By “completed,” we mean that you must have enough information to be able to answer section 6 “Outcome and Evaluation.”
So hurry up and share your best practices with Ipra. Who knows? It might land you a GWA, a precious feather for your cap, as well as for your company’s.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the premier association for senior professionals around the world. Richard Burgos is a past national chairman of Ipra Philippines and director of the Science and Technology Information Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-STII).
We are devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your comments or questions to askipraphil@gmail.com.