Call for Entries Deadline:

This program is now closed.

Learn more about current programs here.

Visuals have the power to connect with audiences on a uniquely emotional level. They captivate audiences and keep them coming back for more.

PR Daily’s Video & Visual Awards will showcase the individual communicators, teams and agencies that used the power of visuals to tell compelling stories and engage audiences.

Share with us how your videos and visual designs grabbed audience attention—both internally and externally. What stories did they tell? How did they lead to success for your campaigns, projects or initiatives? What made them unique and special? We want to hear it all.

This year’s program offers more than 40 categories covering a wide range of video and visual design attributes and topics. You can enter more than one category to increase your chances of winning—and save on multiple submissions of the same campaign or project.

Scroll down to read more about this year’s program and categories, then check out last year’s winners to see what winning work looks like.

CATEGORIES

VIDEOS BY TOPIC

 Charitable or Nonprofit Video

How did you use video as a storytelling tool for your nonprofit or charitable initiative? Share the video you created to raise awareness about an issue, foundation, charitable service or nonprofit organization. Entries from nonprofit or for-profit organizations doing charitable work are eligible.

 Crisis Management Video

You had to respond to a crisis in a sensitive and prompt manner. Producing a video was the perfect way to get your message out to a broad audience. Did you issue a public apology? Respond to a crisis affecting your community? Tell us why you had to create this video and walk us through the production process. Don’t forget to include what made it successful.

 Digital Advertisement

Video is an extremely effective way to drive sales. How did your digital ad show off your product or service and entice people to buy? Tell us all about it—and whether it made a difference in your revenue as well.

 Educational Video

Who was your audience? What were you hoping to teach with your video? How did you use the expertise of your employees, executives or outside influencers to add credibility to your message? We want to know your mission and, most importantly, the results.

 Event Video

You sought a more creative approach to driving attendance to your event—and a video was the perfect solution. What channels did you use to share it? Did it feature clips from speakers, emphasize the benefits of attending or show what people missed by not attending? Let us see the video you created for your event or program. Please include responses from your audience(s).

 Executive Communication Video

How did you train your executives to effectively share messages on camera that people would pay attention to? How did this make a difference in viewership and perspectives of credibility? What were the results from your executive comms video message?

 Explainer Video

Explainer videos are a great, fun way to explain business ideas and new concepts. Why was producing an explainer video a great strategy for you? Did you create this for a client or for internal use? Share a link to your video and all the details about your strategy and success.

 Influencer Video

You wanted to get your brand in front of a massive audience, so you let an influencer take center stage. How did you choose the right spokesperson for your video? What made him or her a perfect fit for your brand? We want to see the planning that went into selecting this influencer, along with the video you produced and the results.

 Internal Communications Video

We want to see how you delivered your organization’s news onscreen, offered holiday greetings to your workforce, announced a merger or new direction, boosted morale or communicated an executive’s statement. Share your success with us, and don’t forget to include employee feedback.

 Interview Video

Video captures human wisdom and emotion more powerfully than any other medium. Why did you choose video to bring a person’s passion or story to life? Did you interview an employee to share his or her experience at your organization? We want to know what made your interview video a success.

 News Story Video

You delivered powerful or important news to your audience through video. Tell us how you covered all the key questions and delivered significant information to the public, employees or customers. How did you capture your audience’s attention in a world of constantly breaking news?

 Organization Overview Video

How did you capture your organization’s goals, mission, new initiatives or services on video? What did they do for recruitment and training? We want to know what you did to enhance your organization’s message, as well as the feedback you received.

 Product Marketing Video

A picture might capture a moment worthy of a thousand words, but a video tells your product’s story. Why did you choose video to market this product? What was video’s distinct value? We want to know what your marketing goals were—and don’t forget feedback. What made your video a hit?

 Public Relations Video

Your press releases weren’t getting attention anymore, so you went a different route. What story did you tell in your public relations video? Was your video created to pitch a story to journalists? Did you want to generate a more favorable image of your client or brand? What did you achieve?

 *NEW* Public Service Announcement Video

Was your video instrumental in raising awareness about social or health and safety issues? How did it inform the public or help change attitudes towards the issues in a unique and compelling way? Share the strategies, tactics and results.

 Recruitment or Employer Branding Video

Your organization would be nothing without good people. How did you use video to attract great candidates for your team? Share the video that touched the hearts and minds of a bright, demanding pool of potential new hires. What was the response?

 Safety Video

You created a safety video that conveyed serious, lifesaving safety tips or procedures in a fun, inviting way. We want to know how you used video to promote a safety campaign in your workplace. How did your video keep your audience attentive? How did your video result in a safer workplace?

 *NEW* Travel, Tourism or Hospitality Video

Your video was a key ingredient in selling an experience to guests. How did your video compel travelers to book with you or your client? Share your goals, how you achieved them and any feedback you received as a result.

 TV Advertising Campaign

TV ads should be unique, memorable and watchable again and again. How did you maximize exposure for your organization, product or service with an innovative, intelligent, witty TV ad campaign? What message did you get across? Please show us results.

 User-Generated Video

Your users add a new perspective to your brand story. User-generated videos can tell you a lot about how your products or services are viewed. Share the user-generated videos you collected and tell us how you used them. What inspired people to create them? Share the videos and the results.

 *NEW* Workplace Culture Video

When it comes to organizational cultures, yours is the cream of the crop. Show us how your video highlights how your organization offers a balance of work and play while encouraging employee growth and achieving results.

VIDEO ATTRIBUTES

 360 Video

You wanted to give your viewers the entire picture, so you created an interactive, 360-degree video they could explore. Were you showing off a product, an event or something else? Share your 360 video with us and tell us how it helped achieve your goals.

 *NEW* Augmented or Virtual Reality Video

Your video helped viewers immerse themselves in an experience. What were the benefits of offering a virtual or augmented reality experience to your audience? Did it make viewers feel as if they were at an event or help them preview a product? Share the details and the outcomes.

 Animated Video

With whimsical yet relatable characters and a fun and engaging storyline, your video attracted a broad audience. We want to see the methods, feedback and results of your outstanding animated video.

 Live Video

Facebook Live and Instagram Stories, among other channels and platforms, allow you to connect and engage with your audience immediately. How did you use live video to drive engagement with your organization, event or campaign? Did you ask for feedback or participation from your audience? Tell us all about it.

 Low-Budget Video (Under $2,500)

It’s easier than ever to create stunning video without breaking the bank. Did you use a smartphone, digital camera or GoPro to make movie magic? Show us how you stretched every dollar and got more video bang for your buck.

 Use of a Celebrity or Personality

You had to create a video concept, but it needed a touch of star power. How did you form a partnership with a celebrity or personality that made sense for your brand? Who did you select and why did it work? We want to know how you employed your celebrity’s influence and reputation to lend credibility to your message.

 Video Series

You told a rich, exciting story in many parts. Why was each video spectacular on its own and even better when put together with others? Tell us how you were able to make these interesting segments add up to more than the sum of their parts. How did your series increase engagement and keep viewers coming back for more? Don’t forget to share the results.

DESIGN

 Digital Signage

Digital signage can be an effective tool for sharing information. Did you create signage for an event, activation or office space? What pain point did the addition of digital signage address for your organization or client? Tell us about the concept behind it and the feedback you got.

 Illustration or Animated Design

Done right, animation and illustration provide straightforward explanations for complicated concepts. Why were animated characters the right medium for your message? Did your illustrations and animations grace a video, infographic or something else? Tell us about the story you created for your characters and how it met your goals.

 Infographic

Did you rise to the challenge when you were asked to turn intimidating data into an elegant infographic? Did you make boring statistics interesting with your creative and interactive design? Tell us how your infographic made overwhelming information engaging and valuable.

 Internal Communications Design

Show us how you inspired your workforce to act. Did you use interactive design to explain a new benefits plan? Did you use gamification to entice employees to complete a boring training session? Show us how you got messages noticed using visual design.

 Marketing Design

The best marketing campaigns would be incomplete without strong design. We want to see how your design gave your campaign staying power. Why were your visuals the most influential part of your campaign? How did design help you execute your vision?

 *NEW* Motion Graphics

You created the perfect blend of animation and graphics to present information to audiences in a captivating medium. How did you pair narration with your graphics to explain something or inform your viewers? Share how you ditched the mundane, step-by-step directions to grab viewers’ attention.

 Photography

Stunning photography displays the human experience from a new perspective. How did you use photography to portray your campaign, project or organizational message? What was your goal? How did photography affect your results?

 Print Design

Show us how you brought your message to life with your design of print materials. Why was print the best medium for your message? How was your print design displayed? Was it for an internal or external audience? We want to recognize your work in the industry’s most traditional design medium.

 Social Impact Design

Your design or infographic did more than generate buzz. It incited social change. Did you target environmental, educational or human rights issues? How did your design bring the issue to the forefront of public consciousness? Why was design essential to educating your community about important issues? Don’t forget the results.

 Social Media Design

How did design set your social media content apart from your competition? Did your visuals generate tons of likes, shares and comments? Why were your profiles the go-to pages for your audience? Show us your visuals and impressive metrics.

 Website Design

Your website sets the digital experience your audience associates with your brand. How did your website design impress people? Was this an initial web launch for a new product or a complete image overhaul for an organization or client? Were you able to turn your website into a digital destination? We want to see proof of a beautiful and functional website that engages and retains visitors.

GRAND PRIZE

 Grand Prize: Best Overall Video

We want to see videos that elicited an extraordinary response from employees, stakeholders and/or consumers. Your video can be about anything. As long as the story is great and the results are impressive, you’re in the running for the grand prize.

 Grand Prize: Visual Design of the Year

Tell us the story behind your stunning visual design. How did you use visual art to communicate an idea, cause or product? Was your design informative, powerful or humorous? Show us your top-tier design. What was the design for? What was its effect? Prove that you possess originality that instantly arrests attention.

HOW TO ENTER

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 500 words (max: 1,250 words) and include the following sub-headings (when applicable):

  • 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 up to five 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:

*NEW ADDRESS*

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 reach him at 312-960-4407 or brendang@ragan.com.

ENTRY FEES

The fee for this program is $425 per entry.

Entry fee for either Grand Prize category is $475.

A late fee of $199 per entry will added to all entries after 11:59 p.m. Central time, Nov. 1, 2019.

Do you have a campaign or project 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, discounted training at Ragan conferences, a custom write-up about your campaign and a trophy.
Who can enter?
Entries may be submitted by individual communications professionals, organizations or agencies worldwide. The only requirement is that entries be submitted in English. This program is open to in-house, agency and 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.
Why are some deadlines extended?
We extend deadlines based on applicant needs and upcoming promotional opportunities.
When will I find out results?
We try to announce a list of finalists six to eight weeks after the close of the program. The announcement of the winners comes about three to four weeks after the announcement of the finalists. Each announcement will be made with a headline on our website, in our daily email newsletter and on our social media platforms. Emails notify entrants in advance of these announcements. As deadlines are extended, so are expected announcement dates.

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 him at brendang@ragan.com.

Sponsorship Opportunities

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