Bateman Updates

April 23, 2012

The results of the first round of the Bateman Case Study Competition judging are posted online.

Thank you to all teams for participating. Although this is a competition, the main purpose is to provide a learning opportunity. PRSSA Headquarters hopes all teams gained valuable experience from their hard work. Score sheets will be mailed to all teams by Monday, April 30.

March 6, 2012

As we approach Thursday, March 29, 2012 – the deadline for PRSSA headquarters to receive four completed copies of your Bateman Case Study Competition entry – below is information regarding the judging process and awards. Also note several tips for creating a successful entry. Do not forget: Websites, including social media accounts, associated with a team’s campaign should no longer be active in accordance with the Bateman rules and regulations.

• Judging Process
  The judging process takes place in two phases.
  
  Phase 1 — On April 21-22, several judging teams composed of PRSA members will convene at PRSSA Headquarters in New York City to select the honorable mention and three finalist teams. The finalist teams advance to Phase 2 of judging and will be notified by April 23. These teams must make their hotel and travel arrangements through PRSSA shortly after.
  
  Phase 2 — Teams, with their Faculty Adviser, will arrive in Minneapolis early on May 17 for a welcome reception that evening. On May 18, the three finalist teams will present their campaigns to a panel of client and sponsor representatives. Teams will depart Minneapolis on May 20. PRSSA will pay travel and hotel costs (not including incidentals) for the finalist teams and one adviser from each team.
• Awards
  Finalist teams receive a certificate of recognition at the PRSSA 2021 National Conference in San Francisco. The first-place team will receive $2,500 and a trophy; the second-place team will receive $1,500 and a plaque; and the third-place team will receive $1,000 and a plaque.
• Tips for Success
  • Proofread and organize. Judges look to see a team’s professionalism reflected in an entry that is well structured and thoroughly proofread. Judges regularly deduct points for entries with grammar and spelling errors, poor formatting or a disorganized structure. Your Adviser can be instrumental in reviewing your entry when given in a timely fashion.
  • Use your research. Your entry needs to clearly show the judges how you used your research to make your decisions.
  • Know the client. You must know the client’s specific expectations for the incorporation of its brand and messaging.
  • Understand the terms. Strong entries outline important campaign elements such as the situation analysis, goals and objectives, strategies, tactics and evaluation. Understand the definition of each element. In the past, for example, some teams lost points because their objectives were not actually objectives or they confused tactics and strategies.
  • Measure your results. Judges may deduct points if the objectives are not measureable, or if the reported results are not relevant to the stated goals and objectives.
  • Follow the rules. Entries will lose points or be disqualified for not complying with the rules, which maintain a fair competition. Commonly missed rules include failing to include a ten-page summary or budget, not implementing the campaign and not providing justification for rule violations. The front of your entry binder should include the names of all participants.
  • Keep online tactics on schedule. Any websites you create — including social media pages — should not have been public before Feb. 1 and hidden, removed or deleted after Feb. 29.
  • Examine campaign summaries from previous years. Review the winning campaign summaries from 2009, 2010 and 2011. Note: the campaign summary cannot be more than 10 pages in length. Typically, winning summaries use all 10 pages.

January 5, 2012

Please note the following update:

• The judging criteria for the 2012 Bateman Case Study Competition was shared with all Bateman team contacts. If you are the contact for your Bateman team and did not receive this information, contact Amy Ovsiew (amy.ovsiew@prsa.org).

December 20, 2011

Please note the following updates:

• For the list of United Way affiliates local to the participating Bateman teams, email amy.ovsiew@prsa.org.
• Do not contact anyone on this list that is not your local contact and do not share the list beyond the Bateman Competition. Advisers: please ensure teams follow these rules.
• If your local United Way is not on the list, or you aren’t sure which United Way affiliate is your local connection, contact Amy Ovsiew (amy.ovsiew@prsa.org).

December 16, 2011

Please note the following updates:

• For the playback link for Tuesday’s webinar with United Way and General Mills, email amy.ovsiew@prsa.org.
• The list of United Ways local to the participating Bateman teams and the Bateman scoring sheet will be shared with teams next week.
• As requested during the webinar, you may review research provided by General Mills on the Champions for Healthy Kids here on the General Mills website.

December 7, 2011

Please note the following update:

• The dial-in information and URL for the United Way Worldwide and General Mills webinar was shared with all Bateman team contacts. If you are the contact for your Bateman team and did not receive this information, contact Amy Ovsiew (amy.ovsiew@prsa.org).The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, December 13 from 2-3 p.m. ET/1-2 p.m. CT/12-1 p.m. MST/11 a.m.-12 p.m. PST.

December 5, 2011

Please note the following update:

• All Bateman team members must be dues-paying members by Friday, December 16. Teams with members who did not pay dues in the spring 2011 or fall 2011 semester will be removed from the Competition. If you are unsure of your team's dues status, contact Amy Ovsiew (amy.ovsiew@prsa.org).

December 5, 2011

Please note the following updates:

• United Way Worldwide and General Mills have scheduled a webinar for participating teams for Tuesday, December 13 from 2-3 p.m. ET. During the webinar, representatives from the client and sponsor respectively will review the Competition brief, provide background and answer questions about the Competition. The URL for the webinar will be shared with teams by this Friday, December 9. Teams are encouraged to attend
• Teams may select to target children at any age within the given 2-19 range.
• Teams are encouraged to begin the research and planning aspects of the campaign before February. However, the execution/implementation phase cannot begin earlier than February 1 or end later than February 29.  Websites, including social media, associated with a team’s campaign cannot be accessible before or after these dates.

November 22, 2011

Please note the following updates:

• Email amy.ovsiew@prsa.org for the United Way logo. You may use it in your Campaign for branding purposes, but do not manipulate the artwork.
• Reminder: United Way is the client of record for this Competition. General Mills is the sponsor, and will provide insight and informational resources for the Competition; however, your team should not promote General Mills or its brands during the Competition. For this reason, General Mills will not have product samples or promotional materials available.
• For questions about the competition’s target audience, please see the “Stakeholder” section of the project brief.
• As stated in the Competition rules and guidelines, “an in-kind donation is any service or product that normally has a cost, but is being offered ‘free of charge.’” This would include the donated services of a graphic designer or video editor (who is not a member of your four or five person team). Teams are allowed up to $1,000 for in-kind donations.
• College students (not part of the four or five person team) are allowed to volunteer at events that are part of the Bateman campaign – however, they cannot be involved in the Campaign’s research, planning, evaluation or core decisions/parts of the execution.
• If you have questions directly for the client, please contact del.galloway@unitedway.org or stacey.knight@unitedway.org. If you have questions directly for the sponsor, please contact bateman.competition@genmills.com. Please copy amy.ovsiew@prsa.org on your email.

November 14, 2011

Please note the following updates:

• This year’s project brief was recently updated to reflect content from General Mills and United Way Worldwide. Please review the content, as it includes information critical for your campaign.
• Remember: The Bateman Case Study Competition is to be created and implemented only by the members of the Bateman team (this cannot exceed five students or be less than four). This year, judges will be advised to monitor this rule very closely. Please do not jeopardize your hard work by including any other students or professionals unless explicitly explained in your campaign. This rule includes student volunteers or PRSSA Chapter members and is mandated to allow fairness to all teams. (Advisers, please ensure that teams understand this rule.)
• Also remember: The Bateman Case Study Competition rules state that “the role of the Advisers is to stimulate creativity and give direction, but they may not contribute to the actual creation of the campaign.” Advisers are not to assist in creation or implementation.
• If you must change team members or Advisers, contact Amy Ovsiew (amy.ovsiew@prsa.org) as soon as possible.
• A specific contact for General Mills and United Way will be provided soon.

November 4, 2011

Please note the following updates:

• All teams were sent confirmation that their team is registered for the 2012 Bateman Case Study Competition.
• PRSSA recently announced its partnership with United Way Worldwide and General Mills as the client and sponsor (respectively) for the 2012 Competition. For more information about this partnership, review the corresponding press release on the PRSSA website.
• A slightly revised project brief and additional supporting materials will be distributed to teams electronically and via mail within the next 10 days. This content will also be posted to the PRSSA website.
• If your team supplied its intent-to-enter form with missing information (such as the name of your Professional Adviser), please submit this information to Amy Ovsiew as soon as possible (amy.ovsiew@prsa.org).
• Frequently monitor the Bateman page of the PRSSA website for all updates.

September 16, 2011

Please note the following updates:

• The project brief states that one of the 2012 Bateman Competition’s goals is “to increase awareness among children, teenagers and their parents of the serious short and long-term consequences of obesity.” For this Competition, children and teenagers are defined as 12 to 18 years of age.
• Competing teams may have no less than four and no more than five members. In all aspects of the campaign, only team members may participate. However, Chapters may have multiple teams. Chapters with more than one team should create unique team names to use throughout to help distinguish different teams.
• If a sponsor is secured by PRSSA Headquarters, the overall subject matter will not change.

August 23, 2011

Intent-to-enter forms are due Oct. 28. If you have questions after reviewing the Competition documents, contact PRSSA Headquarters.

Questions?

If you have any additional questions about the 2012 Bateman Case Study Competition, contact Amy Ovsiew (amy.ovsiew@prsa.org).