Frequently Asked Questions

Why did the categories change this year?

In 2017, a Blacksmiths Task Force, convened to update the contest, decided that we would align our categories with PRSA’s national Silver (campaign) and Bronze (tactics) Awards. Aligning will allow our Blacksmith winners to easily enter these national awards. 

What new categories were added this year?

For 2018, we have quite a few new categories, especially in Tactics. Our Tactic categories are divided into four segments: Paid, Earned, Shared, and Owned, and include Best SEO, Best Use of Social Stories, and Executive Communications. New categories under Campaigns include those based on budgets as well as a Corporate Responsibility category. Our Professional categories stayed the same this year. Make sure you read through our categories page. 

How does the new scoring system work?

The scoring system for campaigns and tactics was developed by the PRSA chapters that originally contracted with Omni. It is imbedded in the Omni system. 

Campaign criteria

Tactics criteria

Professional/Team criteria

For all the entries, it says to upload a minimum of five supporting materials. If I don’t have 5, will I be penalized?

Again, this is because of the standardized template. Follow the judging criteria.

My entries say complete, and I have completed all the requirements, but I don't see a button to submit. Why?

You will not be able to submit your award until you have paid online or indicated offline payment - if the payment status icon is red - the submit button will not appear. Once you have done so (and met the requirements), the submit button will appear. Please note that your award entries are not received until you have clicked the submit button.

What are our payment options?

You can pay online at the time of submission with a credit card, or offline with a check. If you are paying by check, please note the instructions for preparing the check and where to send it.

How do I know you received my payment?

For those paying online, you should receive a confirmation email, which can be used as your receipt. If you are mailing a check, once it has been received, we will process your payment, and you will receive a confirmation by email at that time.

In addition, no matter your payment method, when a payment has been received/processed, on your view/edit entries page, in the payment status column, the $ sign will be in a green circle (those who haven't yet paid will see a red circle (for those indicating online payment), or orange circle (for those indicating offline payment).

I selected pay offline, but have changed my mind and want to pay online - can I?

Yes. If you prefer to pay online, you can, even if you have already indicated offline payment. To do so, simply click the pay online button, and you will be taken through the process to complete your payment.

Is my online payment secure?

Yes. When you go through the payment process, you are directed to PayPal to complete your payment. PayPal uses some of the highest online payment security available. To see more on PayPal payment security for buyers, click here.

How do I know my discounts will be properly applied, and can I see where it was applied?

Omni is set up to automatically apply a 10% discount to every entry beginning with your third entry created. You do not need do anything extra to receive the discount. Note that the discount is calculated based on the regular deadline fee (no matter when you submit), and is applied based on the order in which entries were created.

To see your discounts by entry, in your entry dashboard, you can hover over the "+" sign next to the total entry price, and a bubble will appear showing the itemized list of charges and discounts.

If you feel the system is incorrectly charging you, please email cincyprsa@gmail.com with your concern, and you will receive a detailed response.

Who will be judging the Blacksmiths?

Southern Public Relations Federation.

When will finalists be notified?

Mid to late October.

For questions about your award submission, please email Kathleen Williams, APR at kathleen.williams21@gmail.com. For questions about payments, please email cincyprsa@gmail.com