CAPIO Presents 80 Awards during 2016 Excellence in Communications Awards Gala

The 2016 CAPIO Excellence in Communications Awards Gala on Wednesday, April 13 was the ultimate culmination and celebration of not only the annual conference, but also of the year-long efforts of public information professionals throughout the state. CAPIO honored 80 award winners during the fun-filled gala. The evening opened with an "Olympic March" led by event emcees Krista Noonan, Director of Communications at CalSTRS, and Ted Nguyen, Senior Manager at the Orange County Transportation Authority.  The fun continued as award recipients celebrated their successes and enjoyed post-dinner entertainment and dancing to live music by Northern California's top Southern Rock tribute band, Savannah Blue.

As part of the 2016 awards process, judges at various agencies statewide reviewed 233 entries, a record number of entries. The competition was fierce, with several categories including six or more entries, while a few had over 15-20 entries competing for award honors.

Throughout the entire awards program, one common message prevailed...the work of PIOs throughout the state is absolutely phenomenal and becoming more innovative and creative with each passing year. Within the next few weeks, CAPIO Awards Chair, Krista Noonan, will be releasing a comprehensive presentation including profiles of the winners spanning all entry categories and award levels (merit, distinction and excellence). This presentation will be a valuable resource for everyone to analyze the categories where your agency either competed for an award or is interested in entering in the future. This way, you can gain insight and perspective into the key elements the judges are evaluating as they go through the process.

One word sums it up as part of the judging process...METRICS! So as you continue to implement projects throughout the 2016 calendar year, you are encouraged to focus on

assessing the impact of your efforts and researching metrics to best evaluate the effectiveness and penetration of your program/message with your target audience. Inclusion of metrics is a key component that judges assess when rating award entries, as well as the completeness of the entry, the strategic perspective and how the efforts of the PIO made a difference in the program success/implementation, and the graphical representations and design elements (when applicable).

The Gold Standard:

During the remainder of 2016 we will be including some articles featuring award winners in the CAPIO newsletter, so stay tuned to read about the details and get inspired!

Thank you again for your support of the 2016 CAPIO Annual Conference and Awards Program. Mark your calendars now...The 2017 Excellence in Communications Awards Gala will take place on Wednesday, April 5, 2017, at the CAPIO Annual Conference in beautiful San Diego! Entries can be submitted in early 2017, so watch for more details as they become available.