communication department

Volume XIX Number 6

STC’s Public Relations Competition

By George Slaughter, STC Public Relations Competition Manager and Senior Member, Houston Chapter

The STC public relations competition recognizes chapter and Society-level special interest group (SIG) performance in public relations programs while encouraging chapters and SIGs to establish and maintain quality public relations. The competition evaluates the ability to inform technical communicators in and outside STC about chapter, SIG, and Society activities and to improve the image and visibility of the technical communication profession, chapters, SIGs, and the Society.

Entrants submit copies of the public relations materials they have distributed as well as a public relations plan, which may include a timetable, planned materials, media, measurable goals, and results. The public relations professionals who judge the competition evaluate the plan outline and implementation, considering the public relations materials as the means to implement the plan, as well as the overall results of the public relations effort.

Submitting an Entry

Entry information and entry forms are included with the competition rules document, which is available on the STC Web site. Although the rules do not require entries to be submitted in a specific format, most entries are submitted in a three-ring binder and are divided according to the judging criteria. The judges appreciate the three-ring binder presentation. The judges will evaluate the presentation of your program in addition to the program itself. The competition does not have an entry fee.

Entrants are strongly encouraged to create a copy of their entries for their chapter or SIG records. Award-winning entries are displayed at the annual conference.

Deadline

All entries must be received by March 5, 2007. Entries should include public relations pieces for events and services from May 1, 2006, through April 30, 2007. (News releases or preliminary publicity information for those events between March 5 and April 30, 2007, can be included in the competition entries.)

Send entries to:

Society for Technical Communication
Attn: PR Competition
901 N. Stuart Street, Suite 904
Arlington, VA 22203-1822

Qualifications

To qualify for the competition, entries must meet the basic criteria outlined in the rules. The competition is open to chapters, Society-level SIGs, and Society-sponsored events. This is a year-long effort, starting with your planning sessions over the summer and going through the end of the program year or event. Start collecting the information for your entries from your very first meeting, and don’t wait until the end to put your presentation together.

Prepare your entry with sufficient explanations for each subsection and label each subsection with tabs. The easier it is for the judges to view your entry, the more time they will spend on it.

Categories

Category 1, Chapter Public Relations Program, covers a chapter’s entire publicity campaign, including a chapter brochure, outside media coverage, and promotions advancing the status of STC.

Category 2, SIG Public Relations Program, covers a Society-level SIG’s entire publicity campaign and is judged in similar fashion to a chapter public relations program.

Category 3, Specific Event or Service Publicity, covers publicity for an event or service, such as a conference, employment service, or speakers’ bureau. A group of chapters or international SIGs that worked together on an event may enter this category.

Category 4, Promotional Communication, covers specific publicity pieces, such as brochures, media kits, posters, slide shows, electronic mail, and direct mail. A group of chapters or international SIGs that worked together on a piece may enter this category.

NOTE: Do not combine entries in the same binder. Use a separate binder for each entry.

Awards

The competition gives Distinguished, Excellence, and Merit awards. The number of awards given depends on the number and quality of entries. Award winners are announced in March and their entries will be displayed at STC’s 54th Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Winners receive their plaques in June.

For past Tieline articles on preparing public relations materials, visit the Tieline knowledge base and click “Public Relations.” For more information about this competition, please contact George Slaughter, STC public relations competition manager.