Mike Evans Award for PR Communications

A word from our award sponsor: Oxtale

Public relations communications differ from journalism in terms of purpose. They must be newsworthy or of value in their own right, and in the agricultural world they must also be technically credible.

However, to be effective, they must also create a desired response within a specific audience—for example, increase informed decision-making, stimulate sales or drive engagement in a new activity. The skill involved in PR communications was very much promoted by Mike Evans, founder of Agrafax/Mistral, one of the predominant agricultural communications consultancies throughout the 80s, 90s and beyond.

For that reason, this award is being given in Mike’s memory.

Oxtale is proud to support this award and encourage a continued focus within the Guild on excellence in communications which are specifically for public relations purposes.

Amy Jackson, Oxtale

Award Details

Open date

29 July

Deadline date

22 August

Notification date

9 October

Description

The Mike Evans Award for PR Communications, formerly the Guild’s PR Writer of the Year Award, is open to all PR professionals who work in or with the agricultural sector.

The award celebrates agricultural communicators who can demonstrate a clear and strategic aim for their clients, then deliver this in a submitted item of communication. The communication is most likely to be a written press release or article, but could also be a briefing pitch or an item of broadcast or other digital media.

Please submit your article or other piece of media using the form below with information which states, in no more than 350 words, the background to the submitted item (which client it was for or your employer if generated in-house, the rationale behind its creation, the intended audience, and the desired purpose for or outcome from the communication), how you approached its creation to maintain high technical and creative quality, and any outcomes you are able to identify. All items submitted should be capable of being reviewed within 20 minutes of reading, watching or listening time.

Entry conditions:

Entries must be from a full member of British Guild of Agricultural Journalists
Entries should have been published or broadcast in Great Britain between 1 August 2024 and 31 July 2025
Entries are limited to one entry per Guild member per category

Prizes

The winner will take the award and £250 first prize.

Judging criteria

Entries for the award are judged on how well the content creator:

i) delivers newsworthiness or topical interest despite the PR purpose of the piece

ii) maintains technical accuracy and credibility

iii) exhibits conciseness and consistency of quality, clarity and style throughout the communication

iv) delivers on a stated PR purpose for the items in terms of the approach and content

v) can demonstrate an outcome for the item in terms of its publication or broadcast and any change in the understanding or actions of an identified target audience.