Pinnacle Awards – Division 4: Communication Skills

Category 34 | Digital Communications Vehicles

This category recognizes computer-based communication vehicles defined as the end product that are produced for internal or external audiences, and rely on a digital communication channel for delivery.
Entries may include electronic newsletters, electronic annual reports, special publications, CDs or DVDs, e-cards, banner ads, buttons, pop-ups and similar material.
Entries generally represent one-way communication that offers published content online.

Category 35 | Digital Communications Channels

This category recognizes electronic and interactive communication channels such as websites, intranets, online stores, blogs, podcasts, social networks such as LinkedIn and Facebook, democratized content networks such as wikis and message boards, micro-blogging sites such as Twitter, content-sharing sites such as YouTube and Flickr, and virtual networking platforms.

Category 36 | Audio Visual

The Audio Visual category refers to communication vehicles produced using sound, images, video, film, slides, CDs or a combination of these elements.
Entries may include video, audio, PowerPoint or other presentations, and films.
This category does not include advertising commercials.

Category 37 | Publications

This category is for publications produced for internal or external audiences in all formats, except electronic.
Entries may include magazines, newspapers, newsletters or tabloids, annual reports, books, special publications and similar material.

Category 38 | Publication Design

This category recognizes design of internal or external publications in all formats, including electronic.
Entries may include magazines, newspapers, newsletters or tabloids, annual reports, books, special publications, brochures and other advertising material, e-newsletters and similar material.

Category 39 | Other Graphic Design

This category recognizes communication projects where design is central to the effectiveness of the vehicle.
Entries may include cartoons, drawings, paintings, collages, montages, posters, displays, bulletin boards, mobiles, invitations and special signs.
Work submitted in this category may have appeared in book and magazine covers, posters, organizational identity (logo), product labels and packaging, direct marketing, 3-D materials and illustrations.

Category 40 | Special Events – Internal

This category recognizes planning and execution of a special event for an internal audience.
Entries may include employee appreciation events, or events that mark a significant occasion such as an anniversary, internal conference or meeting, or a celebration or special retirement.

Category 41 | Special Events – External

This category recognizes planning and execution of a special event for an external audience.
Examples include conferences, workshops, anniversaries, official openings, product launches, road shows and customer events.

Category 42 | Photography Within a Communication Vehicle

This category recognizes original photographs created or commissioned for a communication project that demonstrates strategic use of images to tell a story or connect with the audience in a meaningful way. This includes single or multiple uses of photos.
Examples include conferences, workshops, anniversaries, official openings, product launches, road shows and customer events.

Category 43 | Marketing, Advertising & Sales Vehicle

This category involves the creative concept, writing and production of marketing, advertising and sales vehicles where the emphasis is on the growth of sales through increased customer and consumer awareness.
Radio, television, newspaper and magazine print ads (single or series), and advertorials.
Outdoor advertising including, but not limited to, billboards, murals and public sculpture, posters , wrapped buildings, cars and buses, decorations, neon signs, awnings and street furniture.
Indoor advertising including pillar ads, garbage can ads, mall displays, poster advertising and airport advertising, indoor billboards and similar vehicles.
Online and interactive promotions and activities including banner ads, website ads, advertising on social media sites such as Facebook and YouTube, and other uses of the Internet to reach audiences.
Sales tools such as product information sheets, direct mail, promotional kits and specialty items.

Category 44 | Public Service Announcements

This category recognizes video or audio productions of one minute or less distributed to television or radio stations as unpaid public service announcements.
Includes print ads distributed to newspapers and/or magazines as unpaid public service announcements.

Category 45 | Writing

This category includes writing in traditional and electronic formats.

Journalism

Entries to this category could include material written in a journalistic style, either by a corporate communicator or a journalist in which the news media is the primary communication channel.
Entries may include, but are not limited to, editorials, interpretive/expository articles, news releases and feature stories.

Corporate Writing

This category recognizes material written primarily for use by an organization to inform or educate employees or external stakeholders.
Entries may include recurring features or columns, magazines, newsletters, internal or special publications, stand-alone features, speeches and presentations, executive correspondence, scripts for corporate use, writing for the intranet, internal publications, technical writing, and annual and special reports.

Promotional Writing

This category recognizes material written to persuade customers, consumers, employees or stakeholders to adopt a point of view, or to purchase goods or services.
Entries may include commercials, advertising, marketing or sales promotion material, advertorials and writing for the Web.

Non-Profit Writing

This category recognizes material written to promote non-profit organizations, including IABC regional and chapter events.

Writing – Special Projects

This category recognizes books (fiction and nonfiction), educational material, scripts for theatrical use and other writing projects not covered above.

Category 46 | Communication Skills – Student Entry

This category represents entries to any category in this division submitted by a student.