Why enter The Innovation SABRE Awards?

The Innovation SABREs were created as the In2 (Insight and Innovation) SABREs in 2013 as a vehicle for recognizing the expanding scope of the public relations profession, from content creation across multiple channels—paid, earned, shared and owned—to the increasing use of data and analytics to inform, enhance, and evaluate campaign success.

In the decade since then, the range of content created by public relations agencies and in-house professionals has only increased, taking advantage of new digital and social platforms and developments in technology—from articifical intelligence to augmented reality to the emergence of the metaverse—to help their clients engage with employees, consumers, shareholders and every conceivable stakeholder group.

The Innovation SABREs serve two primary purposes: (1) to celebrate the full breadth and scope of the creative content produced by modern public relations professionals and (2) to recognize innovation—and innovators—in a wide range of categories essential to the future development and direction of the public relations profession. 

Winners from the Innovation SABRE Awards competitions are automatically entered into consideration for the Global SABRE Awards, which countdown the 40 best public relations programs in the world. The global awards will be presented at the Global PR Summit each October. And winning  Innovation SABRE Awards also helps agencies earn a place in our Global Creative Index.

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