INTRODUCTION
The competition was judged by a field of communications professionals affiliated with LACP. Their expertise spans a broad spectrum of PR functions ranging from corporate, executive, and internal communications for Fortune 500 organizations to product, service, and non-profit publicity expertise. Judges are screened to ensure that there are no conflicts of interest.
COMPETITION CLASSES
Award results are based on the judging of submissions within peer-level competition classes. Competition classes are established to create the most level playing field possible between entries. They are determined according to company size, annual revenue, and other pertinent factors included on the entry form.
SCORING
Scoring is derived according to a proprietary judging system developed by LACP, which assigns point values to various criteria of an entry. The Competition Scorecard provides further details on these criteria as well as the scores earned. A composite score, based on a 100-point scale, is then determined by summing the results of all judging criteria. Narrative descriptions can be correlated to an entrys scores according to the following chart: Point Scale»»»
0-10 | »»»
0-20 | »»»
0-30 | »»»
0-100 | Narrative Description | | 10 | 19-20 | 28-30 | 91-100 | Superb Among the Very Best Judged | | 9 | 17-18 | 25-27 | 81-90 | Excellent Outstanding, Strong Performance | | 8 | 15-16 | 22-24 | 71-80 | Very Good Positive Feedback from Judging Staff | | 7 | 13-14 | 19-21 | 61-70 | Good Acceptable with Room to Improve | | 6 | 11-12 | 16-18 | 51-60 | Fair Good Qualities But Problems as Well | | 5 | 9-10 | 13-15 | 41-50 | Mediocre Weaknesses Dampen Efforts | | 0-4 | 0-8 | 0-12 | 0-40 | Poor Re-Evaluation Strongly Recommended |
The entry with the highest total score within its competition class is presented with the Platinum Award. The entries with the second-, third-, and fourth-highest total scores within their competition class garner the Gold, Silver, and Bronze Awards, respectively. In the event of a tie, multiple awards are distributed per award level. Honorable Mentions are earned by entries not scoring within the top four award levels of any given competition class but achieving a minimum score of 90.
TOP 50
Top 50 awards are given to the highest-scoring entries regardless of competition class. Ties are broken by weighting various judging criteria according to overall importance. LEGAL NOTICE
Fortune 500 and Fortune 1000 are registered trademarks of Fortune Magazine. Forbes Global 2000 is a registered trademark of Forbes Magazine. | 
