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Tip Sheet
Improve your chances of winning a John Cotton Dana Award!
1. Plan ahead
Every public relations effort has the potential to be a John Cotton Dana
winner. But preparing an entry is time consuming and cannot be done
effectively at the last minute. Plan to enter the contest at the outset,
when beginning the preparations for your PR campaign. Create a public
relations plan and document each step along the way.
2. Follow directions
The John Cotton Dana Award recognizes excellence in public relations
campaigns. When preparing an entry it is easy to confuse the PR elements
with the program or event that it was promoting. It is not the actual
program or event that is important in the JCD competition. Focus your
entry on the elements of a good PR campaign: needs assessment, planning,
implementation, and evaluation. Each of these elements must be clearly
described and documented for a successful entry.
3. Quality over quantity
The biggest entries do not necessarily win! While it is important that
your entry is complete, with all the elements outlined in the rules, it
does not need to include every scrap of information related to your
program. With limited time and many entries to evaluate, the judges
appreciate high-quality entries that focus on the program requirements.
Including vast quantities of marginally-relevant materials in support of
your entry will not improve your chance of success.
Winning entries from the most recent two years are available to borrow
via interlibrary loan from the
ALA Library.
4. Size doesn’t count
Every library has the potential to win a John Cotton Dana Award. It is not
the size or type of library that matters, but the quality of the public
relations campaign. Set your sights high, and submit your programs for
consideration!
Four Steps to Success!
The four judging criteria for the John Cotton Dana Award are based on the
standard "Four-Step" public relations plan. Suggested sources that provide
instruction on this plan are listed at the bottom.
Step One—Needs Assessment (also known as "Define the Problem") –
Research is the key to both the first and fourth steps, by helping you not
only plan, but also evaluate your project. Many practitioners err by
discounting the importance of these steps. You may do these things, but
not think about including them in your report. Research can include data
gathered from scientifically representative samples (formal research),
informal surveys, advisory committees, institutional records, demographic
studies, feedback from the public and staff, and learning from the
experience of others who have done similar projects. Basically, you will
be gathering the facts that indicate the need for your project as well as
information that is important for planning and implementation.
Step Two—Planning
After you identify the problem (too few kids have library cards, etc.),
choose measurable objectives and identify and prioritize your target
audiences. How do you plan to measure and evaluate your efforts? Don’t
forget that the media and your staff can also be target audiences. How do
you plan to accomplish your objectives? What are your strategies (the
general plan) and tactics (the actual methods used to implement the
strategies)? Include your time line and budget. What are the key messages
of your campaign? What publicity tools do you plan to use to reach your
target audiences? These can include press releases, collateral print
materials (brochures, flyers, bookmarks, fact sheets, etc.), events (press
conferences, open houses, dedications, contests, editorial board
meetings), and electronic publicity (PSAs, radio/TV interviews, slide
presentations, your Web site).
Step Three—Implementation
This is where you actually DO what you said you would do in your plan.
It’s what most people think about when they report on their campaigns, but
it’s only one of FOUR steps!
Step Four—Evaluation
How did you measure your success? How well did you meet your measurable
objectives? More than just counting your press clips, how was public
opinion altered during the course of your project? Again, going back to
research, repeat a survey done in Step One. Although formal surveys can be
expensive, you need to devise some way of evaluating the impact of your
campaign. Did you monitor your progress throughout the campaign? Did you
adapt your plan when necessary? What went right and what went wrong? What
recommendations do you have to improve in the future?
You are probably doing most of these things in your projects already.
Organizing your procedures into this simple four-step plan can put your
entry "Four Steps Ahead"! Remember that the award is based on the PLAN,
not necessarily the project.
Suggested references:
This is PR--The Realities of Public Relations, Doug Newsom & Alan
Scott, Wadsworth Publishing Company
Public Relations Marketing: Making a Splash Without Much Cash,
Stephanie Seacord. Oasis Press
Study materials for the Public Relations Society of America’s APR
(Accredited in Public Relations) exam: Effective Public Relations,
8th edition, by Cutlip, Center & Broom, available from Prentice Hall, Inc,
1-800-947-7700. The Study Guide for the Accreditation in Public Relations
(APR) Examination is available from PRSA's Professional Practice Center at
212-460-1408 or visit their website at
http://www.prsa.org/
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