Judging

Judges
All entries will be judged by professional and distinguished members of a partner PRSA Chapter. Entrants are strongly encouraged to review the judging criteria and scoring when preparing entries. 

Awards
As merited in each category, Gold, Silver and Bronze Excalibur Awards will be awarded to first, second and third place winners, respectively. Judges reserve the right to declare no winners in a category if they determine that no entry has met the minimum qualifications for a professional program or project. Judges will only award up to one Gold winner in each category, but may award up to two Silver or Bronze in a particular category.

Notification
All finalists will be informed that they have met the minimum score to qualify for an Excalibur Award. Whether a finalist has actually won a Gold, Silver or Bronze Excalibur Award will not be disclosed until the night of the gala. It is possible that a qualifying score may not win depending on the number of first, second or third place winners in a given category. The Grand Excalibur will not be announced until the night of the awards gala; however, finalists will be notified if they've met the minimum score to qualify.

Average Minimum Scoring (Campaigns)
Campaigns will be scored on a 100-point scale. The average score by the judges will be used to help determine if an entry qualifies for an Excalibur Award. The average minimum scores for each award level for the campaign categories are as follows:

          Bronze – average minimum score of 70
          Silver – average minimum score of 80
          Gold – average minimum score of 90

Receiving a minimum score does not guarantee a particular level of Excalibur Award. The average minimum score only qualifies the entry to be considered for an award. As merited in each category, Gold, Silver and Bronze Excalibur Awards will be awarded to first, second and third place winners, respectively.

Average Minimum Scoring (Tactics)
Tactics will be scored on a 55-point scale. The average score by the judges will be used to help determine if an entry qualifies for an Excalibur Award. The average minimum scores for each award level for the tactics categories are as follows:

          Bronze – average minimum score of 35
          Silver – average minimum score of 45
          Gold – average minimum score of 50

Receiving a minimum score does not guarantee a particular level of Excalibur Award. The average minimum score only qualifies the entry to be considered for an award. As merited in each category, Gold, Silver and Bronze Excalibur Awards will be awarded to first, second and third place winners, respectively.

The Grand Excalibur Award
Presented to the campaign entry deemed the “Best of Show.” The minimum score needed to be considered by the judges for the Grand Excalibur Award will be 95. If your campaign qualifies for this award, entrants must be prepared to provide a video describing their campaign (not to exceed 2 minutes).

Grounds for Disqualification/Reclassification
Judges retain the right to reject any entry that is either incomplete or improperly prepared according to the guidelines. Entries that are incorrectly classified may be reclassified or disqualified at the discretion of the judges. Entry fees will not be returned in those cases nor will entrants be notified.