Tips for Preparing Your Excalibur Entry

The 600-word summary is the single most important component of your entry. Judges will be evaluating the campaign based the four criteria: research, planning, execution and evaluation that you share in your summary. Your entry should begin with a brief situation analysis for your campaign.

Use the following questions to help you prepare a competitive entry.

Research
What prompted the research? Was it in response to an existing problem, or does it examine a potential problem?
What type of research did you use primary, secondary or both? Primary research involves original research, including focus groups, interviews and surveys. Secondary research involves searching existing resources for information or data related to a particular need, strategy or goal (e.g., online computer database searches, Web based research, library searches, industry reports and internal market analyses).

• How was the research relevant to shaping the planning process?
• How did the research help define or redefine the audience(s) or the situation?

Planning

• How did the plan correlate to the research findings?
• What was the plan in general terms?
• What were the specific, measurable objectives of the plan?
• Who were the target audiences?
• What was the overall strategy used?
• What was your budget?

Execution

• How was the plan executed, and what was the outcome?
• How did the activities flow in general terms?
• What were the key tactics?
• Were there any difficulties encountered? If so, how were they handled?
• Were other organizations involved?
• Were nontraditional public relations tactics used, such as advertising? (Unless you are entering this program under “Integrated Communications,” advertising costs should not exceed one third of the budget.)

Evaluation

• What methods of evaluation were used?
• What were your results?
• How did the results compare to the specific, measurable objectives you identified in the planning section?
• How well do the results reflect original strategy and planning?