SABRE Awards Africa FAQs
Q: What does SABRE stand for?
SABRE stands for Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation & Engagement.
Q: What are the eligibility requirements?
Any public relations program conducted, at least in part during 2024, in Africa or originating from Africa, is eligible for entry.
Q: Who can enter?
The SABRE competition is open to anyone working in public relations, advertising, digital and social media firms, marketing, corporate communications, investor relations, public affairs, employee communications or any other field related to branding, reputation management and stakeholder engagement. We welcome entries from consulting firms, agencies, corporate departments, not-for-profit organizations, government agencies, or other institutions, without restriction.
Q: How many campaigns or categories can I enter?
You can enter as many campaigns as you like, and there are no restrictions on the number of categories you can enter.
*Advice on entering multiple categories: Many campaigns may be eligible for multiple categories. In such cases, we strongly suggest: (1) If the same summary—including background context, etc—can cover multiple categories, you include a clearly marked section specific to each category you are entering, with the relevant campaign elements for that category; or (2) you consider separate, distinct entries for each category.
Q: Can jury members enter the SABRE competition?
We welcome entries from individuals, companies and agencies on our judging panel. We make every effort to ensure that judges are not assigned to categories in which their own work is in competition, but winners are picked by panels of at least four judges -- all of them senior figures with strong opinions. This makes it difficult -- not to mention embarrassing -- for judges to advocate on behalf of their own work.
Q: What if a judge is assigned to categories in which their own work is in competition?
We do not ask judges to recuse themselves from judging their own agencies’ work. Our experience is that most of our judges are capable to acting with integrity and delivering an honest verdict. The reality is that every campaign is judged by six or more judges, and so the ability of one judge to ‘play favorites’ is limited if none of the other judges agrees with their selection. Similarly, if judges do choose not to evaluate their own company’s work, that work will still rise to the top if the other judges like it.
Q: How should I format my entry?
The ideal entry contains a summary of the assignment as well as a sample of the work. Because there are many ways to tell a good public relations case story, we have relaxed our rules when it comes to summary formatting. Many people will choose to provide the traditional two-page written summary, but others are free to use Powerpoint or similar (we suggest 6-10 slides as an ideal length). You can even provide us with a video if you think that gets your story across in the most compelling fashion.
Whatever format you choose, the summary should include a brief description of the assignment; the challenge it presented; any research and insight that contributed to the creative strategy; details of the creative execution; and the results. The sample of the work will vary from category to category, but can include (but is not limited to) printed materials such as white papers or company publications; links to online content such as websites and videos; sample ads, infographics or web pages; mobile applications. Content may be uploaded via our SABRE Awards website, linked to in the summary, or when hard copy is necessary mailed to our offices.
Q: Do you require budget information?
We do not require budget information and we understand that many clients are sensitive about releasing this information. If budget information is included (and many of our judges find it helpful), it will be treated in strictest confidence.
Q: How much does it cost to enter?
A single entry costs $300 USD, which includes 1 Geographic, 1 Practice Area, 1 Industry Sector, and 1 Diamond category. If different elements of the same overall campaign (for a single client) are being entered in multiple categories, each additional category costs $80.
Q: What are the deadlines?
The early deadline for entries is December 20, 2024
However, late entries (must be accompanied by a late fee) will be accepted until January 27, 2025.
Q: Will our entries remain confidential?
For the most part, only jurors will see your entries.
However, we do have a partnership with WARC wherein they publish our winner's case summaries. In the event that your entry wins and you would prefer the case study remains confidential, we recommend including a note at the top of the document stating that the paper should remain confidential. It also helps to let me know so we don't send it over in the first place.