How to Craft a Winning Anvil Award Submission
Posted by adminbridgette on Jan. 26, 2026 / Blog, Thought Leadership / Subscribe 0
By Alexis Keith, APR – Public Relations Director, The Abbi Agency
As PR professionals, we’re used to being the silent champions working in the background. We find the stories worth telling, drive our organization’s messages and navigate crisis situations to protect brand reputations. This work doesn’t happen overnight – it takes strategic thinking, meticulous planning and careful execution. Often, recognition comes in the form of a pat on the back or a shoutout in the team Slack channel, but there is no better praise than earning a little extra hardware for your desk. Yes, I’m talking trophies!
With the national PRSA Anvil Awards submissions now open, now is the time to begin thinking about the recent work you’re most proud of so you can earn the kudos you deserve. Having been on both sides of the process – submitting awards and judging – I’ve seen firsthand what separates a strong submission from a winning one. Below are a few tips on how to prepare your entry, the common pitfalls, and how to give your work the best chance of winning.
Understanding RPIE
All Anvil Award submissions are judged against a detailed rubric that aligns with the RPIE (Research, Planning, Implementation and Evaluation) process. When writing your submission, not only must you identify all elements of the RPIE process, but you also must know what each part contains.
Did you specify the primary or secondary research? Do you know the difference between a goal and an objective? Did your evaluation measure the objectives set at the beginning of the campaign?
If you’re submitting for an award, chances are you know your work is worthy. Don’t risk losing out on points because you missed identifying your strategies, or because your objectives weren’t measurable. Check out PRSA’s handy online guide to learn more about what to include in your submission.
Gather supplemental documents
While the Anvil Awards limit your write-up to only two pages for campaigns and one page for tactics, you have the opportunity to showcase your work through supplemental documents. This is a critical, but often overlooked, part of the submission process. This is an opportunity to really show what you did and not just how you did it.
As a judge, I’ve seen submissions with everything from screenshots of email chains to campaign images/videos to full press kits. There’s no limit here so add any relevant documents that will help support the content in your two-page summary. Just make sure all of your documents are labeled in a way that makes your work easy to identify. Judges are often scoring 10-15 other submissions, so make sure the extra documents are clearly labeled.
Start early
This sounds like a given, but let’s face it, as PR pros, we’re used to fire drills and quick deadlines — in fact, we thrive on it. But what I most commonly hear from my colleagues in PRSA is how surprised they are by how long it took them to draft their submissions.
When done right, submissions can take several hours to complete. Give yourself more time than you think you’ll need!
Stand out
At the end of the day, Anvil-winning work isn’t about flashy tactics or the most media coverage; it’s about proving that your work solved a real problem and delivered measurable results. Judges are looking for clear strategy, disciplined execution and outcomes that connect directly back to your objectives.
If your campaign made an impact, changed behavior or solved a problem in a meaningful way, don’t undersell it. Take the time to tell the full story, ground it in the RPIE process, and support it with strong documentation and data.
You’ve already done the hard part. Now make sure it gets the recognition it deserves.
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