Marketing Communications Awards

Entries are due July 30, 2010.

The Marketing Communications Awards, which were presented for the first time at the fall 2001 meeting, recognize another important aspect of construction writers' efforts - communications, including advertising, corporate communications, and public relations. The competition is open to any industry-related individual, corporation, association, or publication.

The competition showcases the best of the best in construction-related communications and is a prestigious acknowledgment that the work of these writers through their various communication efforts has met a very high standard of excellence. The CWA Marketing Communications Awards Committee enlists seasoned business-to-business media professionals to serve as competition judges.

View past winners »

T. Randolph Russell Award

The T. Randolph Russell Award for newsletters is now part of the Marketing Communications Awards. The Russell Award was formerly part of CWA's spring journalism awards, but the newsletters being submitted over the past few years were promotional in nature and so fit the fall marketing communications awards niche much better. Entries may be a single newsletter or a series of related issues covering a single topic.

The Russell Award for newsletter excellence was established in 1993. The award is named for T. Randolph "Randy" Russell, who worked for the American Road & Transportation Builders Association from 1958 until his death in 1985. As vice president of public affairs and newsletter editor for ARTBA, Russell published a well-respected weekly newsletter.

View past winners »

Award Specifications

The competition is open to any industry-related individual, corporation, association, advertising agency/pr firm or publication submitting a completed entry form accompanied by a $125.00 entry fee. The Marketing Communications Awards are awarded to the organization not the individual. The organization and or the individual(s) submitting the award must be a CWA member in good standing at the time of submitting information.

Entries will be divided into four classifications:

• Advertising – includes single ads, campaigns, and advertorial supplements
• Corporate Communications – includes annual reports, brochures, internal newsletters, video/multimedia, direct mail (single piece or campaign), corporate identity, trade show exhibits, and proposals/presentations.
• Public Relations – includes PR campaigns, media kits, and special events
• Newsletters – external

Based on the number and breakdown of entries, the judges may establish subcategories to facilitate judging. A winner will be selected and receive an award plaque in each of the award categories/subcategories. Award winners will be recognized at the awards dinner, in the CWA newsletter, and on the CWA website. Awards winners will be presented their awards at the 2010 Annual Conference Awards Dinner on October 26, 2010, which will be held at the Hilton Suites Chicago on the Magnificent Mile in Chicago, Illinois.

In addition, the judges may elect to award certificates of merit to worthy runners-up. Judges reserve the right to not select a winner in any category where they deem the entries do not meet award standards.

Judges

Judging will be conducted by an impartial panel of peers in each category with acknowledged expertise in marketing communications, selected by the CWA Marketing Communications Awards Committee. The committee enlists seasoned business-to-business media professionals to serve as competition judges. The committee serves to screen entries to ensure they meet the prescribed entry rules. No individual is eligible to serve as a judge if he or she has submitted an entry in the CWA Marketing Communications Awards or is affiliated with a company or organization that has submitted an entry.

Judging Criteria

Entries will be judged on the basis of the following criteria:

• Graphic design (25%)
• Writing content (25%), and
• Effectiveness in achieving the stated marketing and communications goals (50%)

Entry Requirements

Entrants must submit to the chairperson of the Marketing Communications Awards Committee a completed entry form printed from our brochure, a photocopy or a copy downloaded from the CWA website. All entries must be received no later than Friday, July 30, 2010. Submissions should not be mounted on boards. Entries must have been produced between January 1, 2009 and the submission deadline. Video/CD submission must include the entry's running time. Entry forms are available on the CWA website at www.constructionwriters.org. Entries will not be returned. An entry fee of $125.00 should be sent separately to CWA headquarters.

All entries must be received no later than Friday, July 30, 2010.

Your entry must be sent to the chairperson of the marketing communications awards committee.

Please delete credit card information from the form you send to the chairperson:

Michael Anderson, Chair, CWA Marketing Communications
Senior Editor
Randall-Reilly Publishing Company
3200 Rice Mine Road, NE
Tuscaloosa, AL 35406
United States
Telephone: 205-248-1310
Email: mike.anderson@rrpub.com

Entry fees should be sent to the CWA Headquarters:
Deborah J. Hodges, Executive Director
Construction Writers Association
By Mail: P.O. Box 14784 Chicago, Illinois 60614
By Email: info@constructionwriters.org
By Fax: 773 687-8627

For Additional Information:

Contact the committee chairperson Michael Anderson at or by email at michael.anderson@rrpub.com or contact the CWA executive director, Deborah J. Hodges at the CWA office at 773- 687-8726 or by e-mail at info@constructionwriters.org.

CWA will issue press releases announcing all winners. Award recipients may send their own release after the official CWA press releases. The CWA logo is available upon request in writing by contacting Deborah J. Hodges, Executive Director. A copy of the draft release should accompany the request for logo use.

Deadlines

All entries must be received no later than Friday, July 30, 2010.

All winners will be notified in early September 2010 or earlier.

Tips for Successful Entries

1. Entries should be typewritten. Whether it’s fair or not, presentation counts, and judges are not as likely to rate highly an entry that they have trouble deciphering because it’s handwritten.
2. Make it as easy as possible for the judges to review your entry. While it may be more convenient for you to put your 30+ press releases and/or photos on a CD, it is much more difficult for the judges to read/view them in that format. Remember, the judges are evaluating numerous entries in a single day, many of them voluminous, and despite their dedication to the task, they are human and subject to fatigue and frustration.
3. More is not necessarily better. While you are encouraged to include everything necessary to support your entry, overkill can work against you, particularly with respect to the PR category. For example, rather than including a copy of every single placement your campaign garnered, consider instead several samples along with a complete listing of all the publications and placement dates. Again, be conscious of the judges’ time and attention.
4. Pay particular attention to the sections on the entry form that call for a description of your entry, its marketing and communications goals, and the documented results. In the past, a number of award-caliber submissions have not received the recognition to which they were entitled because these areas were inadequately or not clearly addressed. As stated on the entry form, 50% of an entry’s score is based on its effectiveness in achieving the stated marketing and communications goals. The judges will not make any assumptions; they can only base their evaluation on the information with which you provide them.

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