Skills Contest Everyone’s a winner! Transcomm 2013 Connie Rus Multimedia Communications Manager May 15, 2012

Planning ahead The entry form Read through the Transcomm Skills Contest categories and review the entry profile information. 2

Enter your best work Creativity is not the only criteria for a winning entry The work might include many tasks, require a variety of resources and involve one person or multiple staff members. 3

Easy to forget Looking back at the year Once the release has been sent… The event is over… The press run is complete… The tweet has been tweeted…. How many of you remember the work you created last month… or more importantly last year? 4

The key to success Document media coverage, track measures… Keep a list of activities, save work samples or files Collect supporting materials ­Screen captures ­News coverage ­Photographs ­Analytics ­Customer comments ­Social media posts 5

Other tips The emotional quotient Testimonies, customer comments, postings can make entries stronger by demonstrating the impact to the reader, stakeholder or general public… 6

Produce a professional product Take time preparing your entry… It is worth the effort to make your skills contest entry look polished and professional. 7

You are not done yet! Before you submit your entry… Review the criteria that will be used for judging. Are there any pieces you missed? 8

Choose quality over quantity If you don’t have time to prepare six entries, choose your best work and focus on preparing those entries. Review the work of past winners This will give you an idea of the type and quality of work that wins. Look for the unexpected Sometimes the work of others might be worth submitting. If you have communicators around the state, solicit their ideas and work. Volunteer to serve as a coordinator for the effort to ensure you have the strongest entries. Have someone else review and edit your entry to make sure it is complete. 9 You can’t win if you don’t play Other tips to consider…