What Makes A Campaign SABRE-Worthy

Format

Our guiding belief is that the campaign is your story and you know how to tell it in a way that captures the things that make it special. But over the years—and over the course of many SABRE jury meetings—we have developed considerable insight into what our judges like (and what they don’t).

Much of the advice we give regarding our Gold SABRE Awards is valid for In2 entries too. But many of the In2 categories are focused on the craft of public relations, on the creation of specific forms of content, rather than on broader campaigns, while others recognize agencies and individuals, and so the judging criteria can be quite varied.

Content Creation Categories

If you are entering the Content Creation categories (Experiential, Earned Media, Paid & Owned Media, Social Media & Community Management, Innovative Tools & Tactics, Partnerships & Collaboration) the most important element of the entry is the “product.”

That can mean the event, the media placement, the ad or website, the AI-generated content.

But while the quality of the content is obviously central, the judges will need to be able to put the content in context, which means that we do require a summary document that provides background information: what was the objective, what research or insight led you to choose this particular solution, what impact did the piece have and how did you judge its effectiveness?

Tech-Focused Categories

When it comes to the Data & Analytics and Tech Stack awards, entries need to convey the thinking behind a specific project or product. You will need to explain the challenge for which you were attempting to solve, the research or insight that led you to the specific solution, how the solution was developed, and—critically—evidence that the solution delivered the desired outcome (whether for a single campaign, or more broadly in terms of the client’s go-to-market strategy).

Campaign Awards

The criteria for our In2 SABRE categories are similar to those for the Gold SABRE categories explained here.

Agency and Individual Awards

The criteria for the Agency and Individual Awards are less structured than many of the other categories above.

This is where our central belief that “it’s your story and you know how to tell it” is most relevant. Entrants need to explain what makes the nominated agency or individual special: judges will require an understanding of the vision or mission that motivates the agency or individual as well as specific examples of the work that exemplifies the excellence of the candidate.

Watch our webinar on how to format your entry and what our SABRE judges are looking for

The webinar will help experienced awards entrants understand what makes the SABRE Awards different (and so widely coveted) while those new to awards submissions will learn about formatting, category selection, the judging process, and how best to emphasize the factors that make for a winning campaign.

View the webinar on our YouTube page here