Editor’s note: Submissions are now open for PRSA’s 2026 Women of Impact Awards.
Each year, when PR award submissions open, many of us feel the same mix of excitement and dread. The excitement comes from the possibility of having our work recognized. The dread comes from finding the time to prepare a thoughtful submission amid everything else on our plates.
It’s easy to question whether the effort is worth it, especially in years when the results don’t include a win. After all, submissions can take hours to write, refine, and package. If your entry doesn’t place, it can feel like all that work was a waste. For years, that was my mindset heading into award season. But over time, I realized that crafting award entries was actually making me a better PR practitioner. In fact, it can be one of the most practical professional development exercises in our field.
That shift in mindset changed my approach. Now, once the final “submit” button has been clicked, I know the effort has already delivered value. Reflecting on the past year’s work through the structure of an award entry consistently sharpens my thinking and ultimately makes me a better PR practitioner. If you’re in the thick of drafting submissions or feeling the fatigue that can come with awards season, here are a few lessons I’ve learned along the way (and hopefully a bit of encouragement!).
- It keeps you organized throughout the year
One thing I didn’t expect when I started writing award submissions was how much it would change the way I organize my work during the year. If you’ve ever found yourself digging through old email threads or Slack messages trying to locate a key stat, a media hit, or a campaign asset months after a project wrapped, you know how painful that process can be.
After scrambling to find materials one too many times, I started saving coverage, screenshots, and campaign timelines as they happened, organized in clearly labeled folders. The result is less digging when award season arrives and, as a bonus, faster answers when clients ask for examples or metrics throughout the year.
- It strengthens measurement and evaluation skills
Award writing forces you to confront the question every PR professional faces: Did the campaign actually work? Big numbers look impressive, but judges are looking for something deeper. They want to understand the impact. Did the campaign shift awareness, influence behavior, or support a broader business goal?
Writing submissions pushes me to focus less on activity metrics and more on real impact, and perspective now shapes how I build measurement into campaigns from the start.
- It sharpens storytelling skills
At its core, a strong award submission is a story. You are taking a campaign that may have unfolded over months, with multiple tactics, stakeholders and challenges, and turning it into a clear narrative that someone unfamiliar with the work can understand quickly.
Learning to distill complex campaigns into that narrative has strengthened my storytelling across the board, from internal presentations to client reports and media pitches.
- It prepared me for the APR process
Writing award submissions also helped me strengthen something many PR professionals spend years refining: clearly distinguishing between goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics.
Judges expect those elements to be clearly defined and for the examples to be placed in the right categories. If something that is really a tactic is presented as a strategy, or an objective isn’t measurable, it can quickly undermine the credibility of the submission.
After doing this repeatedly, I realized I had been practicing many of the same skills required for the Accreditation in Public Relations (APR) process. Structuring campaigns clearly in award submissions turned out to be excellent preparation.
- It makes me better at submitting awards for clients
Perhaps the most unexpected benefit is that writing PR award entries has made me much stronger at submitting award nominations on behalf of clients. Many clients pursue recognition through industry honors, leadership awards, or innovation lists. Those submissions require many of the same skills as PR awards: clearly framing the challenge, demonstrating impact and telling a persuasive story about why the nominee stands out.
Understanding how judges evaluate submissions helps me highlight the right details and build stronger cases for recognition.
The real win
Yes, winning is exciting. But even in years when there’s no trophy on the shelf, the process has helped me become a more thoughtful, organized, and strategic communicator. And that’s a win I get to take with me into every campaign that comes next.
Laura DiCaprio, APR, is a PR strategist who loves the challenge of uncovering and shaping stories for leading global brands. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
Illustration credit: ATKWORK888
