Seven Teams Set to Battle in 2014 PR Students’ Grand Prix Competition

The Public Relations Society of the Philippines (PRSP) recently announced that seven teams of communications students from top universities made it to the final round and are set to battle it out at the 2014 PR Students’ Congress and Grand Prix Competition on September 21.

The annual competition showcases public relations programs developed by communications and public relations students for a given case study. While in the previous years, PRSP has challenged the students with case studies that center on news and public affairs, this year the challenge was to develop PR programs for the PR profession, using a mix of new and traditional media.

PRSP Board Director and Youth & Education Committee Chairman Rochelle Hilario explained: “We want our future communication professionals to understand that PR practice is more than just about ‘spin’, ‘praise release’ or simply being ‘image builders’ or publicists. So, for this year’s Grand Prix Competition, we asked the students to develop a campaign about PRSP demonstrating what the public relations profession in the country is really about today: performance and results, people and relationships, and, more importantly, purpose and resonance.”

Hilario added that, contrary to the emerging theories that PR tactics have become antiquated and irrelevant in the age of social media, “The reality is that it is public relations people who increasingly get directed to develop the marketing narratives and corporate stories, and who initiate, engage, and host dialogues.”

PRSP’s Youth and Education Committee has required students to include a viral campaign in their PR program, a must in today’s communication strategies whether the product is consumer, industrial, corporate or political. The viral campaign will run for one week prior to the event proper on September 21 and will comprise 20% of the criteria for the competition.

The 2014 PR Students’ and Grand Prix Competition is presented by Metro Pacific Investments Corp.(MPIC) and Ortigas & Co. It is also sponsored by Ayala Corporation, CGK Printing, Coca-Cola, Colgate-Palmolive, Convergys, Eon, Greenbulb PR, Greenwich, HSBC, Land Bank of the Philippines, Lopez Holdings, RCBC, Total Corporation and Wyeth Philippines.