My colleague and I had the opportunity to attend the PRCA and Cannes Lions hosted ‘How to Win a Gold at Cannes PR Lions 2010’ event, last night.  Reviewing some of the submissions for campaigns that were honoured in the first PR Lions and gaining insight into what turned the judges on in each case was really insightful – here’s what we took away from the evening:

Presentation is key: Do submit a video clip that tells the story of the campaign – go all out with this as it’s what’s reviewed first.

Showcase creativity:  It sounds obvious, but winning campaigns really need to demonstrate a unique and original approach and/or an intelligent insight

Demonstrate results: The results should illustrate how the campaign met the organisation’s objectives and not just talk about how much media coverage was secured.

Show longevity: If the campaign has been designed to be sustainable and to build over time, illustrate how this is likely to happen.

And my favourite tip, from Lord Tim Bell: Submit campaigns that have real ‘texture’ (I love that analogy and I have used it myself several times already today) by showing the different layers to a campaign and how they all fit together.  The Grand Prix winner last year, by the Tourism Queensland ‘Best Job in the World’ was a perfect case in point here… but did you know it was developed by a copywriter?

After last night I’m certainly determined to be there in 2010 with one of my own clients.