2020 has been a turbulent year.

We are still in the midst a worldwide pandemic, calls for social equity and justice—both in society and the workplace—have become louder and more resounding and, even with so much happening, companies continue to face other reputational and organizational crises.

Through it all, communicators have played an important role in delivering powerful messages of support and action, and protecting their organization’s or client’s reputations.

Ragan and PR Daily’s first-ever Crisis Communications Awards will recognize your influential campaigns and content that were instrumental in communicating during a crisis.

How did you respond to COVID-19? What causes has your organization championed? What steps did you take to protect or repair your organization’s or client’s reputation? We want to hear it all.

Our Crisis Communications Awards will showcase the communicators and teams who were proactive and tackled crises head on.

This awards program is open to organizations worldwide and will be judged by a panel of industry experts. Winners will receive an award trophy, editorial coverage, exposure through press releases, social media and digital marketing.

Enter Ragan and PR Daily’s Crisis Communications Awards to earn the recognition you deserve for your impressive crisis communications efforts!

CATEGORIES

CAMPAIGNS AND STRATEGY

 Cause-related Campaign

We want to hear how your comms efforts drew attention to and supported a social cause or initiative. What was the cause, and what tactics led to success? Share the goals, strategy and results.

 Change Management Campaign

How did you navigate an organizational change? What was the change, and how did you help guide a smooth transition?

 Corporate Values/Purpose Campaign

Your organization stands by its values—and believe deeply in them. How did you spread the message and stay true to your values? We're looking for internal or external campaigns.

 Covid-19 Campaign

We’re looking for communications work that helped your organization or client navigate the pandemic. How have your communications efforts informed and educated your audience—and led to success? Don’t forget to include results.

 Data-driven Campaign

Share how you used metrics to drive your successful crisis communications campaign. What connections did you discover in the data? We want to hear all about your campaign.

 Employee Communication

We want to know about your effective communications efforts that kept employees informed during a crisis. Why was this important and how did it help your organization overcome the issue? What were the goals? Which tactics led to success—and what were the results?

 Executive Communication

Tell us about your organization’s leaders’ communication during a crisis. How did their messaging help your organization navigate the crisis? Share all relevant metrics.

 Global Response Campaign

We want to hear how you coordinated an effective global response to a crisis. Who was involved, and how did you get everyone on the same page? Share the strategy and the results.

 Media Relations Campaign

Share with us how you connected with media to control the narrative during a crisis. What was your strategy, and how did you execute a successful media relations campaign?

 Public Relations Campaign

We want to hear how you used a variety of channels to communicate with stakeholders during a crisis—and how this proved successful. What were the goals? How did you achieved them, and what were the results?

 Reputation Turnaround Campaign

Your organization or client withstood the initial crisis, but the work wasn’t finished. Share with us how you repaired your leaders’ or organization’s reputation in the aftermath. Which tactics did you employ? What was the overall strategy?

 Social Justice Campaign

Your organization took a stand to fight for social change. What issue did you aim to address? How did you bring this issue to the forefront of public consciousness?

 Social Media Response

We’re looking for social media tactics that helped your organization or client address and overcome a crisis. How was this channel beneficial to your overall strategy? Don’t forget to share metrics.

 Speech/Presentation

How did this address help guide your organization or client through the crisis? Did this help ease tension? Was transparency what your audience was looking for? We want to hear about it.

 Use of Intranet

Keeping employees informed during a crisis is crucial to successfully navigating trying times. How did you use your internal hub to help during a crisis?

CONTENT

 Media Coverage

We’re looking for specific media coverage that helped your organization overcome a crisis. Don’t forget to include your overall strategy and results.

 Pitch

We want to hear how your pitch landed coverage for your organization or client during a crisis—and how that benefited them.

 Press Release

Share with us your press release and how it addressed the crisis and explained how your organization or client planned to address and alleviate the issue in question.

 Social Media

Share how you effectively leveraged social media platforms to manage your brand’s reputation during a crisis/crises.

 Video

We’re looking for videos that told powerful stories and enhanced your crisis communications efforts. Why was this medium beneficial to your overall strategy?

CRISIS RESPONSE BY INDUSTRY

 Automotive

We want to hear about the crisis your automotive company faced and how you orchestrated a response that steered them out the other side. What were the goals, strategy and results?

 Education/Academia

What crisis struck your educational or academic institution? What was the strategy for executing an effective crisis communications plan, and which tactics proved most successful?

 Entertainment

Tell us about the crisis your entertainment company faced and how you overcame it. What channels did you use? What were your goals and results?

 Finance

Tell us about the crisis your financial organization faced, and the communications plan you implemented to help overcome the issue. Share all of the details.

 Food and Beverage

What communications efforts have helped your food or beverage company navigate a crisis? We want to hear about the crisis and the strategy behind addressing it. We want to hear all about it.

 Government/NGOs

Tell us about the crisis your government or NGO organization faced or aimed to address. What was the communications strategy you implemented? We want to see goals, tactics and results.

 Health Care

We’re looking for the crisis communications strategies that helped your health care organization address an issue and overcome the crisis. Share your goals, tactics and results.

 Insurance

Tell us about the crisis your insurance organization faced and the communications strategy you implemented to overcome the issue. We want to see goals, tactics and results.

 Manufacturing

What communications efforts helped your manufacturing company overcome a crisis? We want to hear about the crisis and the strategy behind navigating the storm. Tell us all about it.

 Media

When a crisis struck your media company, you were ready to tackle it. Tell us about your communications tactics and strategy for addressing and overcoming a crisis. We want to hear about the crisis, your goals and the results.

 Nonprofit/Association

Tell us about the crisis that struck your nonprofit or association and your strategy for weathering the storm. What were your goals and results?

 Travel, Hospitality and Tourism

What communications tactics did you use to address and overcome a crisis in the travel, hospitality or tourism industry? Tell us about the goals of your campaign, its execution and the feedback you received.

 Utility/Energy

We’re looking for the communications strategies that helped your utility or energy organization address and overcome a crisis. Tell us about your goals, tactics and results.

 Other

Do you work in an industry that we didn't address above? Tell us about the crisis your organization faced and your strategy for navigating those trying times.

PEOPLE AND TEAMS

 CEO “Grace Under Pressure” Award

When a crisis struck, stakeholders looked to your organization's leader to address the issue and identify a strategy for overcoming it. We want to hear about CEOs who did not let the moment overwhelm them and remained transparent throughout the crisis. We're looking for the leaders who stayed calm amid the storm and led their organizations through trying times.

 Company of the Year

Your organization faced a crisis, but did not let the issue define it. How did your organization overcome a crisis and protect its reputation. What has been the process for rebuilding afterward? We want to hear about the tactics and strategy your organization employed to address and overcome a crisis.

 Crisis Agency of the Year

Your agency knows how to face adversity, and it delivered a successful strategy to quell a crisis. What was the crisis? What was the response? We want to hear about your goals, the tactics used and the results.

 Crisis Communicator the Year

You are the calm in the storm. You wasted no time in addressing the crisis and went right to work on trying to fix the issue. Share what makes you the crisis communications professional of the year.

 Communications Team of the Year

No team is better than yours when it comes to facing a crisis. You confronted the crisis and immediately planned and executed a successful communications strategy. We want to know what makes yours the crisis communications team of the year.

 Technology Partner of the Year

HOW TO ENTER

Campaign, Strategy or Content Entries: On the entry form, be sure to include a thorough synopsis explaining the purpose and scope of your project. We ask that the synopsis be at least no more than 1,250 words and include the following sub-headings (when applicable):

  • Goals
  • Strategy and tactics
  • Execution
  • Evaluation: success, results or ROI

Individual or Team Entries: Tell us in 1,000 words or less about the nominee’s or team's accomplishments in the previous 12 months. Winners will be those who have distinguished themselves among their peers with meaningful achievements. Please include examples of creative campaigns or initiatives that have proved beneficial to your organization or clients. When applicable, please include the following sub-headings:

  • Goals
  • Strategy and tactics
  • Execution
  • Evaluation: success, results or ROI

Be sure to follow the guidelines laid out in the category descriptions, as the judges will look for those elements when they select the winners.

You will be able to upload additional documents to your submission. We encourage you to include press releases, design concepts, videos, analytics, testimonials and anything else you feel will give us a better sense of your project. Proprietary or internal information can also be attached and will not be shared with the public.

Supporting documents that can’t be uploaded to the system should be mailed to:

Brendan Gannon
Ragan Communications
10 S. LaSalle St., Suite 310
Chicago, IL 60603

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS

These awards are open to in-house, agency and independent communication practitioners in the private, corporate, nonprofit and government sectors. Enter your work, the work of your organization or submit entries on behalf of your client.

Companies from around the world are welcome to enter as long as the entry is submitted in English.

Contact Brendan Gannon to find the perfect category for your campaign or project. You can call 312-960-4407 or email brendang@ragan.com.

This year’s program is open to any work executed between Nov. 1, 2019, and Dec. 11, 2020, inclusive.

ENTRY FEES

The fee for this program is $425 per entry.

A late fee of $199 per entry will be added to all entries after 11:59 p.m. Central time, Dec. 11, 2020.

Do you have a campaign, project, person or team you'd like to enter into multiple categories? Pay the original entry fee, and then only $199 for each additional category!

W-9 Form / Tax ID Number Request

Frequently Asked Questions

Why should you apply?
Our award programs help you measure the success of your work and prove the value of your contributions to your organization. You can set yourself apart in the industry as an expert, which will open doors throughout your career. As a winner, you’ll earn publicity for your brand across our websites and social media audiences, a custom write-up about your campaign and a trophy.
Who can enter?
Entries may be submitted by organizations worldwide. The only requirement is that entries be submitted in English. The program is open to in-house, agency, independent communication practitioners and vendors in the private, corporate, nonprofit and government sectors.
What does it take to be a winner?
We look for top-quality work that shows clear, bold and creative ideas that benefit your business or client. Please provide metrics or media coverage that back up your claims, and share creative collateral such as videos, visual design or websites that were a part of your project. Please look at our past award winners to see what gets recognized and rewarded. We encourage you to submit the same campaign to multiple categories, if you feel they are relevant. Doing so increases your chances of winning. You'll also save on multiple submissions of the same campaign or project.
Why are some deadlines extended?
We extend deadlines based on applicant needs and upcoming promotional opportunities.
When will I find out results?
Winners will be announced in Spring of 2021. Emails notify entrants of these announcements.

Additional Questions

If you have any questions about the program or problems submitting your entry, please call Brendan Gannon at 312-960-4407 or email brendang@ragan.com.

Sponsorship Opportunities

If you are interested in sponsoring one of Ragan Communications’ award programs, please contact Hannah Lavelle at 312-960-4628 or email hannahl@ragan.com.

Ragan Communications is not responsible for international shipping fees related to trophies or certificates.