The International Association of Business Communicators (IABC) Philippines announced today (August 1) the call for entries for the 2012 Philippine Quill Awards, the country’s most prestigious and relevant award-giving body in business communication.
Once again, the nation’s biggest corporations, civic organizations, and government agencies are invited to field their best communication programs and campaigns in the annual event that recognizes excellence in categories in external communication, strategic processes, organizational communication, social responsibility, digital communication, photography, writing, audiovisuals, marketing communication, among others. Categories cover programs, projects, collaterals and designs and creative work used by an organization to achieve its goals.
The IABC Philippines also announced the launch of the First Philippine Student Quill Awards to recognize outstanding communication work of university and college students.
This year’s Philippine Quill race is expected to be as tough as last year, wherein only 118 entries passed the stringent screening and won awards.
Emerging as top winners in 2011 were the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s “Inquirer Read Along Program for its 25th anniversary” (Top Award in Communication Management), Insular Life Insurance Company Ltd.’s 100th anniversary coffee table book “190-20120, The Century Past, A Century Past, A Century Past, A Century Forward” (Top Award in Communication Skills), and Adobo Magazine (Top Award in Communication Creative). Smart Communications, on the other hand, was most awarded that night with 20 trophies.
The Philippine Quill judges, all seasoned and multi-awarded communication professional, look into the project’s technical merit, creativity, innovation, adherence to the company’s goals, delivery of measurable results, and its overall success when scoring an entry.
With its high standard of judging, the Philippine Quill is the country’s benchmark for communication work at global levels. Philippine Quill winners have gone on to win the international Gold Quill of IABC, an association of over 16,000 member-communicators around the world.
IABC Philippines President Ritzi Ronquillo, herself an international Gold Quill and a Philippine Quill awardee, exhorts every company or organization to aspire to win a Quill Award.
“The Quill embodies and applies the international standard of communication excellence for which the IABC is known. Winning a Quill is a fulfilling cap to one’s work and track record. Awardees stand tall with colleagues the world over with their work counted among the best,” she said.
Ronquillo shared that they hope to see more Gold Quill winners from the Philippines in the future, and that the advent of the first Philippine Student Quill Awards sets the standard early for future communicators.
The Philippine Student Quill aims to showcase outstanding communication work by the country’s next generation of communication professionals—students of communication, public relations, business, journalism, graphic design, marketing, advertising, and other similar fields in universities and colleges nationwide.
IABC Philippines vice president and the Quill Awards committee chairman Kane Errol Choa said that by joining the Student Quill, these young talents get to be exposed to industry standards with expert communicators evaluating their work.
“These students are going to inherit our roles eventually. Through the Philippine Student Quill Awards, we hope to instill in them a drive for excellence and quality so that as early as now they are aware of and prepared for the demands of the real world,” said Choa, also an international and Philippine Quill awardee.
For a better chance of winning in the Philippine Quill and the Philippine Student Quill, IABC Philippines will be holding workshops on “How to write a Quill” on August 16, 2012 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Unilab Bayanihan Annex in Mandaluyong City (for Philippine Quill) and on August 17, 2012 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the ABS-CBN Studio Tours Office, G/F ELJ Communications Center in Quezon City (for Student Quill).
Submission of entries for both the Philippine Quill and the Student Quill will end on August 31, 2012. The award mechanics and entry form are available online at www.iabc.com.ph or at the IABC Philippines blog www.iabcphilippines.com . For inquiries, contact the IABC Philippines Secretariat at 756-0424 and 756-0441 or email philippinequill@iabc.com.ph for professional entries and studentquill@iabc.com.ph for student entries.
