Davos Communications Awards

Watch the Awarding Ceremony here.

On behalf of the World Communications Forum Association, we invite you to enter the great Davos Communications Awards 2022. The communications business, one of the most dynamic and most transparent these days, really needs constant comparison with the competition, but also the highest recognition not only from the side of the clients but also by the international community. This is the most important mission of Davos Communications Awards. If you just take a brief look at the international jury you will find some of the world’s foremost public relations and communications professionals that you can be confident your entries will be judged absolutely professionally and independently. They bring a truly global perspective to ensure the awards genuinely represent the diversity of the public relations and communications profession. We look forward to seeing your entries and celebrating the contribution we all make to improving our environment, economy, and society.

Apply now and - we hope - win the most deserved award in your professional career. Make your clients and your team happy!

Amanda Coleman

Jury Chair, Davos Communications Awards

Maxim Behar

President,
World Communications Forum Association

Why Enter

Modern business is highly competitive. Public communicators are everywhere, from one-person shops and boutique agencies to in-house teams and global agencies. Companies and individuals want a benchmark to see whether their projects and achievements are really competitive.

There are many reasons to participate in the Davos Communications Awards. Some of the most important are:
First - recognition of your creative efforts to achieve the best impact on businesses and organizations. Your participation and winning will be appreciated by clients and employers and will increase your profile enormously.
Second – your work will be judged by a highly professional international jury with representatives from all over the world, with different experiences and different cultures, so your work will be benchmarked and rewarded on a global scale.
Third - in these difficult times when we rarely meet in person, it will be an enormous boost of the teamwork in your companies. It will unite your colleagues and give them an excellent opportunity to show what they achieved through the unpredictable and unusual 2020.

Welcome to the 2022 Davos Communications Awards, best of luck with your scores, and may the best entries win!

Award categories

The Davos Communication Awards recognize exceptional professional work by public relations and communications professionals from around the world. They are open to agencies, in-house teams and individuals from any sector to help celebrate and showcase professional excellence during a challenging year.

Campaigns Awards

These awards recognize the best public relations and communications campaigns in any sector, anywhere in the world.

Best Public Relations Campaign

This award recognizes outstanding achievement in developing and implementing a public relations campaign. Tasks, developments, strategies, ideas, implementation, and results will be important to be mentioned as the main points of the overall application.

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Best Marketing Communications Campaign

This award recognizes an outstanding marketing communications campaign that clearly demonstrates an integrated approach with integrated paid, earned, shared, or owned (PESO) media elements. Tasks, developments, strategies, ideas, implementation, and results will be important to be mentioned as the main points of the overall application.

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Best Digital or Social Media Campaign

This award recognizes the effective use of digital and social media for public relations and communications. All social media might be included, innovative messages, integrations, storytelling, influencers’ activities must be described in detail.

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Best Global Communications Campaign

This award is presented to a campaign led from one country but implemented in 10 or more markets around the world.

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Best Inclusive Marketing Campaign

This award recognizes campaigns that make a conscious effort to include diverse audiences, including multicultural, LGBTQ+, and differently-abled consumers.

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Best Engage for Change Campaign

A campaign designed to improve public health or drive awareness of an issue with important societal implications.

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Best Internal Communications Campaign

This award recognizes campaigns that best exemplify excellence in internal communications that supported the organization in creating a great employee experience. The campaign should demonstrate clear objectives, a creative-strategic approach, and well-defined results.

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Best Small-Budget Campaign

This award gives those working with tighter budgets the chance to shine with their outstanding achievements. It honors the best campaign with a maximum budget of 10,000 Euro per year.

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Best Influencer Marketing Campaign

This award recognizes campaigns that were executed across multiple platforms which successfully increased brand awareness and/or engagement, by working with big-name celebrities and/or micro-influencers to social media networks.

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Best Content Marketing Campaign

This award recognizes award-worthy content that clicks with bloggers, brand ambassadors, influencers and inspires them to spread it by word-of-mouth.

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Strategies and Programmes Awards

These awards recognize that much of the best public relations and communications work isn’t for one-off campaigns, but for long-term implementation of successful strategies and programs.

Organizations and Individuals Awards

These awards recognize the best public relations and communications professionals and companies anywhere in the world.

PR Consultancy of the Year

This award recognizes a public relations consultancy for its achievements, performance, values, and excellent work over the last year. It is not dependent on size but celebrates excellence in clients, employees, and society.

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Marketing Agency of the Year

This award recognizes a marketing agency for its achievements, performance, values, and excellent work over the last year. It is not dependent on size but celebrates excellence in clients, employees, and society.

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Digital Agency of the Year

This award recognizes a digital agency for its achievements, performance, values, and excellent work over the last year. It is not dependent on size but celebrates excellence in clients, employees, and society.

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In-house Team of the Year

This award recognizes any in-house private, not-for-profit, or public sector public relations and communications team, demonstrating effective communications and use of resources, and general contribution to the organization’s objectives.

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Outstanding Freelancer of the Year

This award recognizes and celebrates the innovation and excellence of the best and brightest freelancers in the field of Public Relations and communications around the world. The category is for professionals who are not committed to a particular employer and organization.

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Rising Star – for practitioners under the age of 30

*For practitioners under the age of 30 on January 31, 2022
This award recognizes the achievements and performance of young professionals who are making a contribution to the success of their organization and showing potential for future leadership.

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Silver Star – for practitioners over the age of 50

*For practitioners over the age of 50 on January 31, 2022
This award recognizes those who have made and continue to make significant contributions to public relations and communications practice. It celebrates those who share their knowledge and experience to help spread and develop best practices throughout the profession.

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Best Leader in Public Relations and Communications

This award recognizes a global leader in public relations. It is open to leaders of PR, communications, and public affairs consultancies and leaders of in-house communications teams.

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Best Crisis Communications Leader

This award recognizes a Professional who demonstrated extraordinary success in leading a team during an economic, social, and/or reputational crisis.

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Best Student in Public Relations or Communications

This award recognizes the best public relations or communications student studying for a full-time academic qualification. It celebrates excellence in not only academic achievement but also voluntary activity and an active digital and social media presence within PR and communication.

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Best Woman in Public Relations

The entry should describe specific measurable achievements and/or examples of the nominee’s impact within her department and beyond. We are not looking for women who are just doing their job; we are looking for women who go above and beyond, and have challenged the status quo.

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Judging Criteria

*Scale from 1 to 10

How To Write A Good Award Winning Entry

Winning awards is a great way to keep your team, clients, and employers happy and proud. It demonstrates that your peers recognize that you are delivering great results with business impact.
For agencies, it is a great tool to attract new clients and keep your brand well recognized and respected. For in-house teams, it provides recognition and benchmarks you against best practices.

Winning awards isn’t just about doing excellent work, it’s also about producing a well-presented and logical entry.

These are some of our tips on how to make your entry a possible winner of the Davos Communications Awards.
Good luck to all the applicants!

Carefully read the criteria for applying. Meet the deadlines and stick to the rules. Start to prepare your entry early as it takes time to craft the perfect entry. Make sure you get your employer’s or client’s approval or agreement if needed.
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Present the right projects, persons, and campaigns. Focus on the objectives and the results. You should also emphasize creativity, innovation, and problem-solving. Explain your teamwork and ensure you credit everyone who contributed. You must convince not only the jury, but first of all yourself and then also your team, colleagues, clients, and even friends that your entry really deserves a win.
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Select the best person to write the entry. If you think you are the one, then do it. But think very carefully on that issue as writing and presenting is of great importance to your possible win.
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Tell the judges your great story in a great way. Short, clear, and convincing. Watch spelling and grammar. Avoid exclamation marks! Avoid marketing jargon and hyperbole. Proof, proof, and proof again for typos.
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Keep the story clear and logically structured. Start with the objectives, research, ideas, innovation, implementation, and then stress on the results.
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Judges have dozens of entries to review for each category. Make sure yours really spells out why your project must win. Don’t expect the judges to read between the lines. Don’t be modest, do be truthful.
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Results, results, results. Include as much evaluation data and evidence of the impact of the campaign on the client business or organization as possible, from an increase in sales to higher levels of engagement with audiences. Don’t just report on inputs and outputs, but focus on outtakes, outcomes, and above all impact. Entries using advertising equivalents (AVEs) will be eliminated.
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Be absolutely clear about the measurement policy you implement and convince the jury that it was the right and most objective one.
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Remember the simple truth: clear objectives, matched to proven results, plus great storytelling, equals your best chance of winning.