Why Industry Awards Should Not Be Over Looked

As PR professionals we are not naturally geared for soaking up the limelight. Most of our hours are spent developing and executing plans that showcase the successes of our clients. We are often the unsung heroes who remain in the background when the lights go on.

We work hard to craft well thought of, inspiring campaigns with brilliance that we often take for granted. There is a tremendous amount of thought, time and energy put into our work and we are great at finding those magic moments to ensure that our clients shine.

We’re made for celebrating those moments with client yet we are not that enthusiastic of our own successes. This is an area where Ad agencies have come to the party and are increasingly walking away with PR accolades. This growing epidemic has slowly crept into our industry both locally and globally, where our creative friends down the hall, seem to be winning at what was meant to be moments of celebrating PR done well.

As with clients, it is important to embrace industry awards to ensure that we stay top of mind and build our own reputations. In the present economic climate PR is often the first to be cut and competition for business is even greater. This is part of why award wins are so much more important.

Showcasing your work by entering and winning awards can not only provide you with a crucial competitive edge, but be instrumental in attracting new clients and commanding respect from your peers. There’s nothing better than an award win to boost team morale.

There are many highly respected awards in the traditional PR and Digital space like the Prism Awards, Bookmarks, Tony Koenderman’s Ad Review Awards, even the Loeries have created a PR category ode to the great work done in our industry.

This year Prism Awards have been resculpted to better reflect the space that the industry is in, with clients now being involved in the Prism process. We need to utilise this opportunity and take back centre stage.

Collectively the standard of work done in the industry is world class. It’s time for the South African PR industry to stand up and be recognised for the work that we have done. Start telling our own stories and celebrate our own successes.

Written by Natalie Norman