V. Budrienė, last year’s “Communicator of the Year”, will judge this year’s applications: she will take into account the company’s context
The organisers of the “PR Impact Awards” are once again looking for the most outstanding communicators of the year. Communication managers or specialists of a company or an institution whose professional activity over the past year could be considered exemplary in the fields of reputation management, raising the profile of the company or its services, internal communication, crisis management, and other communication areas are invited to apply and participate in the “Communicator of the Year” election.
Last year, the title went to Vaida Budrienė, then Communications Manager at “IKI Lietuva” and now Marketing and Communications Manager at the news portal “Delfi”. This year, she is one of the members of the “Communicator of the Year” election committee.
She reveals that she will take into account the communication and image achievements of the organisations in which the communicator has worked in order to assess this year’s entries.
“I believe that our profession’s ambition is not to become a star itself, but to make companies or organisations stars. The main goal of a good communicator is to get the company you work for noticed, to get ahead and outperform the competition. And once you have achieved that, you need to keep your head down and remember that you are part of the company, not the company itself,” says V. Budrienė.
She goes on to say that she is also afraid of sleeping on her success: “Last year’s “Communicator of the Year” title was my first professional award. It was my first ever award, although it was very special for me personally, I enjoyed it for just a couple of days, and now it’s like an engine that keeps me going.”
The communication expert admits that it can be a bit strange to fill in an application form about yourself, as communicators usually talk about others, but it is definitely worth entering. “It’s your professional evaluation. And it’s the only one in Lithuania. So, take the plunge and take part – if you don’t succeed this year, you will succeed next year. If you think you deserve it, go for it,” encourages V. Budrienė.
The tradition continues successfully
Akvilė Adomaitytė, a member of the Council of the Lithuanian Communication Association (LTKA) and one of the organisers of the “PR Impact Awards”, is pleased that the tradition of electing the Communicator of the Year every year is continuing successfully and attracting more and more interest.
“Communicators are becoming more and more appreciated and their work more and more visible. This election is another opportunity to celebrate the work and projects that we and our team have done. I have no doubt that their authors deserve the attention they deserve, so I invite you to not only be brave enough to apply yourself, but also to encourage a timid colleague who you think deserves the title of “Communicator of the Year”,” says Adomaitytė.
She notes that objectivity is one of the most important criteria for this election, and that the media company “Mediaskopas” will, as it does every year, provide an analysis of the dynamics of the candidate’s and the company’s visibility, which will be taken into account in the assessment of the candidate’s application.
Election process
The procedure of the competition remains unchanged, it will take place in two stages: a special “Communicator of the Year 2024” jury, composed of communication professionals and journalists, will evaluate the candidates’ applications and select the finalists for a public vote on the “Delfi” news portal, “M360”. The winner will be chosen by combining the votes of the jury and the public, and by evaluating the analysis of the press visibility of the candidate and the company he/she represents, provided by the media company “Mediaskopas”.
This year’s jury is made up of 15 members – media representatives and communication professionals. The chairman of the “Communicator of the Year” election is journalist and producer Edmundas Jakilaitis. Rūta Balčiūnienė, Marketing and Communications Media Correspondent at “Verslo žinios”, Darius Matas, Host of “LRT Radio”, Edgaras Savickas, Business Journalist at “LRT.lt”, and Jūratė Žuolytė, Editor of “M360” and “DELFI” Culture.
The Commission also includes Vilūnė Kairienė, Head of Analysis and Data Solutions at “Mediaskopas”, a media analysis company, as well as 9 communication professionals: Vaida Budrienė, Head of Marketing and Communications at “Delfi”, Neringa Čeponė, freelance marketing manager and member of the Board of “LiMA”, Laura Dabulytė, founder of the PR agency “Budinti komunikacija”, Artūras Jonkus, Head of the communications agency “Salve Agency” and member of the Board of the Communications Industry Association KIA, Luka Lesauskaitė, Head of Communications of the “Lithuanian Red Cross”, Juozas Ruzgys, Head of “Bernardinai.lt” and LTKA Council Member, Raminta Stanaitytė-Česnulienė, “INSYNERGY4” Strategic Management Partner, Strategy and Communication Consultant, Indrė Vareikytė, Communication Expert, Lina Venskaitytė, Independent Communication Consultant.
The deadline for applications is 2 May
To apply for the “Communicator of the Year” award, please fill in the easy-to-use form on the “PR Impact Awards” website www.primpactawards.com by 23:59 on 2nd of May. At the time of submission, the nominee must be responsible for the organisation’s communication performance between June 2023 and May 2024.
This year’s winner will be announced at the PR Impact Awards 2024 on 7th of June, with the theme “Crises happen on Fridays: the role of communication in a world of uncertainty”. The conference will bring together experts from a wide range of fields to discuss the year’s highlights, the importance of trust and reputation in a world of crises, the changing role of the communicator, and how new technologies and tools are transforming communication.
Tickets for the event are now available on the PR Impact Awards website.
The conference and the PR Impact Awards are organised for the 11th time by the Lithuanian Communication Association (LTKA) together with the Communication Industry Association (KIA). The partners of the event are the media analysis company “Mediaskopas”, the marketing and communication news portal “M360” and the sociological research company “Spinter tyrimai”. For more information visit www.primpactawards.com.