Media Requirements

Who Should Enter
Strategic communications programmes designed to manage, mitigate, or respond to reputational risk, crises, or sensitive issues.

This is NOT for:
Proactive brand campaigns or standard media outreach without a defined crisis or issue context.

About the Award

This award recognises excellence in crisis and issues management strategy. It celebrates work that demonstrates clarity, speed, and sound judgement in high-pressure situations, protecting trust, managing risk, and guiding organisations through complex reputational challenges.

Judging Criteria (Please note that Strategy Area has the Highest Score Weighting)

1. Executive Summary
Overall quality, clarity, and credibility of the submission. Judges will assess how effectively the issue, response, and outcome are articulated.

2. Strategy
Demonstrates a clear and well-defined crisis strategy. Includes issue identification, risk assessment, objectives, and the approach taken to manage the situation.

3. Innovation
Shows evidence of adaptive or innovative thinking under pressure. Includes new or effective approaches to communication, problem-solving, or stakeholder engagement.

4. Creativity (Design & Communication)
Demonstrates how communication was crafted and delivered. Includes clarity, tone, messaging, and the ability to respond appropriately across channels.

5. Experience
Illustrates how stakeholders experienced the response. Includes transparency, consistency, and the ability to maintain trust and credibility throughout the situation.

6. Leadership
Demonstrates leadership in managing the crisis. Includes decision-making, coordination across teams, and the ability to guide the organisation through uncertainty.

7. Impact & Results
Provides clear, measurable evidence of outcomes. This may include reputation protection, recovery, stakeholder sentiment, or resolution of the issue. Base numbers or credible indicators must be included.