IABC Pacific Plains Silver Quill Awards -

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Silver Quill Divisions and Categories

The IABC Pacific Plains Region's Silver Quill Awards are based on the parameters of IABC International’s Gold Quill Awards. They are divided into four divisions and 26 categories. You may enter more than one category with your entry; however, evaluators recommend that you tailor your entry to suit the specific requirements of each category.

Division 1: Communication Management | Division 2: Communication Research
Division 3: Communication Training and Education | Division 4: Communication Skills

Call for Entries Now Available!

DIVISION 1: COMMUNICATION MANAGEMENT

The Communication Management division covers projects, programs and campaigns that are guided by a communication strategy.

Entries to this division can be submitted by any type of organization, including public and private corporations, governments, non-governmental organizations, not-for-profit organizations, partnerships, cooperatives, and educational institutions. Entrants must demonstrate how their project applied a full range of planning and management skills, including research, analysis, strategy, tactical implementation, and evaluation.

Entries may include a wide range of communication materials. (A single tactical execution element that formed part of a communication program may also be entered in the Communication Skills division.)

CATEGORY 1: INTERNAL COMMUNICATION

Programs or strategies targeted at employee or member audiences
Includes programs that create awareness and influence opinion or behavioral change, including those focused on ethics, morale, internal culture or change management
May involve improving employee understanding and alignment with business direction, improving face-to-face communication, preparing employees for change, integration of organizational cultures caused by an acquisition or downsizing, an internal brand ambassador program or a program to inspire pride in the organization
Includes integrated campaigns

CATEGORY 2: EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Local, regional, national or international programs or strategies that profile the role of strategic communication as a driver in improving employee engagement
Entries must focus on the communication elements of these programs, which could include contribution to program development and promotion through various communication vehicles and channels
May include employee recognition and employee volunteer programs, including programs that benefit charitable or philanthropic causes, or that recognize employees’ organizational contributions or achievements in the organization

CATEGORY 3: HUMAN RESOURCES AND BENEFITS COMMUNICATION

Programs or strategies targeted at internal audiences that relate to communication of health and welfare, savings and pension, stocks and compensation, or recruitment and retention initiatives

CATEGORY 4: CHANGE COMMUNICATION

Communication strategies that support organizational change
May be directed at internal or external audiences, or both

CATEGORY 5: SAFETY COMMUNICATION

Programs or strategies that focus on improving awareness, understanding and behaviors related to safety issues within an organization
May be directed at internal or external audiences, or integrated campaigns

CATEGORY 6: LEADERSHIP COMMUNICATION

Programs or strategies that help leaders become more effective communicators, improve the quality of leadership communication within an organization, or improve leader knowledge and the ability to use communication as a business driver
Strategies may include tool kits with speaking notes, videos, games or other tools that help leaders communicate a specific topic, and special publications with information and support for leadership communication

CATEGORY 7: MARKETING, ADVERTISING AND BRAND COMMUNICATION

May include various activities designed to sell products, services, destinations, organizations or ideas to external audiences, and is generally delivered through a variety of communication vehicles and channels
Strategies for new brands and the repositioning of existing brands in relationship to internal and external audiences
May include brand characteristics and attributes, changes to corporate identities and design solutions that address the challenges of brand communication (must be more than a logo redesign)
Strategic advertising campaigns designed to build brand awareness, influence opinion, motivate audience behaviors, or sell products and service
May be directed at internal or external campaigns, or integrated campaigns

CATEGORY 8: CUSTOMER RELATIONS

Strategies or ongoing programs targeted at customer audiences that educate, inform, engage or otherwise connect the organization and its employees to the customer
Programs may influence reputation, brand awareness and loyalty, and market position
May include relationship management, experience standards or appreciation programs, but must be focused on communication and marketing elements

CATEGORY 9: MEDIA RELATIONS

Strategies or ongoing programs that use the news media as the primary channel to reach target audiences and seek to influence awareness, understanding and opinion or motivate action
Should demonstrate the quality of media coverage and its impact on the organization—quantity of media stories alone is not considered a valid measurement in this category

CATEGORY 10: COMMUNITY RELATIONS

A one-time or an ongoing program that enhances stakeholder understanding of issues affecting business operations within the community served
Seeks to build trust and credibility with stakeholder groups generally through consultation and other communication-based activities
Supporting strategies may include formal and informal meetings, town hall discussions, workshops, presentations, open houses, and electronic or printed material

CATEGORY 11: GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

Short- or long-term programs that influence the opinion or actions of government bodies or agencies
May seek to create awareness, or influence the attitudes and behaviors of decision-makers toward the organization or industry

CATEGORY 12: GOVERNMENTAL COMMUNICATION

Programs and strategies specific to government organizations at the municpal, state, provincial, regional, federal, national or international level
May be targeted to one or more audiences and include internal, external or integrated communication strategies or programs.

CATEGORY 13: FINANCIAL COMMUNICATION AND INVESTOR RELATIONS

Entails strategies, tactics and tools used to share financial data and recommendations with investors and other interested parties
Includes investor relations functions that integrate finance, communication, marketing securities laws compliance to enable effective two-way communication between a company, the financial community, and stakeholders

CATEGORY 14: ISSUES MANAGEMENT AND CRISIS COMMUNICATION

Programs targeted at external and/or internal audiences that address trends, issues or attitudes that have a significant impact on an organization, such as labor relations, crises, mergers, acquisitions, public policy or environmental concerns
Programs may demonstrate proactive planning and preventative action during an extraordinary event, or show the actions taken to address trends, issues and interest group attitudes that have a major impact on an organization
May be directed at internal or external audiences, or integrated campaigns

CATEGORY 14B: COVID-19 RESPONSE & RECOVERY MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATION

COVID-19-related programs targeted at external and/or internal audiences that address crisis, business continuity, or issues or attitudes that have a significant impact on an organization, such as shuttering/re-opening businesses, furloughing/laying off staff, redesigning business operations
Programs may demonstrate both proactive planning and preventive action during the pandemic and/or show the actions taken to address trends, issues and interest group attitudes that have a major impact on an organization

CATEGORY 15: CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Programs or strategies that communicate social responsibility and encourage positive actions while building awareness and reputation and positioning the organization as a good corporate citizen
May be targeted to multiple audiences and influence share price and customer loyalty, retention and recruitment, operational efficiency and increased sales
Generally long-term and focused on enhancing the well-being of communities and populations through causes such as the environment, energy sustainability, food safety, economic stability, employment, poverty reduction, literacy, education, health, cultural preservation, and indigenous and heritage protection
May be directed at internal or external audiences, or integrated campaigns

CATEGORY 16: NONPROFIT CAMPAIGNS

Programs recognizing the particular challenges of the nonprofit sector
May include multiple internal or external audiences
Promotes nonprofit organizations or causes
May be paid projects or pro-bono projects donated to the client by an organization, agency or consultancy; entries will generally have a small budget or none at all
May be directed at internal or external audiences, or integrated campaigns

CATEGORY 17: DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Campaigns or programs of work aimed at building a culture of inclusion for an organization, with internal or external stakeholders (or both)
Entries must focus on the communication elements of D&I programs, which could include specific topic-based initiatives, special events or wider organizational strategies to advance D&I aims.

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DIVISION 2: COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

Entries in this division recognize the importance of research and measurement as a foundation for strategic communication work and a competency that’s integral to success throughout the career of a communication professional. A clear understanding of why the research was needed demonstrates its strategic value to an organization.

CATEGORY 18: COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

Formative research conducted during the initial stages of the strategic communication planning process that benchmarks internal audience opinions or behaviors, profiles the marketplace or internal communication environment in which the organization operates, aligns best practices against organizational needs or informs strategic direction for internal communication programs
May include audience analysis, competitive benchmarking, secondary research related to best practices, program or product test markets, and reputation or brand studies

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DIVISION 3: COMMUNICATION TRAINING AND EDUCATION

This division recognizes the mentorship and education role of consultants and communicators in developing and delivering workshops, classes, seminars or training that educates an audience about any aspect of the communication profession. This division includes all communication disciplines and professional competencies.

Entries in this division must demonstrate:

Alignment of learning outcomes to goals and objectives;
Alignment of assessments to specific learning outcomes;
Theories and practices of educational excellence; and
Impact outside the classroom.

CATEGORY 19: COMMUNICATION TRAINING AND EDUCATION

Training or educational programs delivered to an internal or external audience that help to improve their communication competencies
For internal audiences, this may include supervisor/manager/leader training in communication skills, presentation skills and employee ambassador development, in addition to media training, speaker’s bureau training, and other communication disciplines
For external audiences, this may include presentations for conferences, university classes, seminars or workshops, as well as media and executive coaching

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DIVISION 4: COMMUNICATION SKILLS

The Communication Skills division includes marketing and communication elements that showcase technical skills such as editing, writing, design and multimedia production. Entries in this division are generally tactical in nature. Entrants must demonstrate strategic alignment, the creative process and measurable results tied to objectives.

CATEGORY 20: SPECIAL AND EXPERIENTIAL EVENTS

Planning and execution of a special event for an internal or external audience
For internal audiences, this may include employee appreciation events, or events that mark a significant occasion such as an anniversary, internal conference or meeting, or a celebration or special retirement
For external audiences, this may include conferences, workshops, anniversaries, official openings, product launches, road shows and customer events

CATEGORY 21: COMMUNICATION FOR THE WEB

Online communication vehicles that are produced for internal or external audiences
Electronic and interactive communication channels such as websites, intranets, online stores and microsites

CATEGORY 22: AUDIO/VISUAL

Communication vehicles produced for internal or external audiences using sound, images, video, apps, film, slides, CDs or a combination of these elements
May include webinars, video, audio, podcasts, PowerPoint or other presentations, infographics, and interactive content and film
Does not include advertising commercials or websites

CATEGORY 23: SOCIAL MEDIA

Engages internal and external audiences in conversation through social media
Encompasses tools and practices that allow individuals and groups to collaborate and share knowledge and experiences online
May use conversation-enabled publishing platforms such as blogs and podcasts, social networks such as Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook, democratized content networks such as wikis and message boards, content-sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr, enterprise social networks such as Yammer, Stack and Jive, and virtual networking platforms

CATEGORY 24: PUBLICATIONS

Publications produced for internal or external audiences in all formats, including hard copy, electronic and online
May include magazines, blogs, newspapers, newsletters or tabloids, annual reports, books, special publications, brochures and other advertising material, and similar material

CATEGORY 25: WRITING

This category includes writing in both print and electronic formats, includes online writing and blogs:

JOURNALISM

Material in which the news media is the primary communication channel
May include, but is not limited to, editorials, interpretive/expository articles, news releases, and feature stories

CORPORATE WRITING

Material written primarily for use by an organization to inform or educate employees or external stakeholders
May include recurring features or columns, magazines, newsletters, internal or special publications, stand-alone features, speeches and presentations, executive correspondence, scripts for corporate use, writing for an intranet, internal publications, technical writing, and annual and special reports

PROMOTIONAL WRITING

Material written to persuade customers, consumers, employees or stakeholders to adopt a point of view, to perform an action. or to purchase goods or services
May include commercials, advertising, marketing or sales promotion material, advertorials and writing for the web

NONPROFIT WRITING

Material written to promote nonprofit organizations, including IABC regional and chapter events

SPECIAL PROJECTS WRITING

Books (fiction and nonfiction), educational material, scripts for theatrical use, and other writing projects not covered above

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