It’s wintertime, which means it’s Oscar, Grammy and Golden Globe season. Let’s think about that. What happens if Leonardo DiCaprio wins an award or two? His “stock” rises. He gains greater popularity. He starts dating yet another beautiful swimsuit model. His asking “quote” increases. And perhaps, he’s offered an amazing new project. Life is good.
Like the world of entertainment, in advertising you can’t seem to turn the corner without running into an award competition. There are Addy’s, Clio’s, One Show’s, MarCom’s, and others. The list can be daunting. Rumor has it there are more than 30 competitions. The question of the day – Are awards important to an agency?
Awards for agencies small and large
For huge national agencies, awards can be almost as important as bonuses, expensive sports cars, and European vacations. The awards are displayed in company lobbies. Grand presentations are made to the winning clients. Full page ads are taken out in the trades announcing the news. Agencies even trot the awards out to every new business prospect. Some big agencies have staff that spends a great deal of time submitting award entries. Those at smaller agencies enjoy awards with a little less fanfare. For folks personally involved in the winning entry, awards are true recognition of hard work and dedication. It’s kind of like their Oscar.
Inside an agency, there are two camps – those who love awards and those who can’t be bothered (but, they still love it when they win). Those who love awards tend to be creative folks and younger support staffers who get excited about the chance of winning. Those who really can’t be bothered tend, to be those who won awards earlier in their careers and don’t need the validation or adulation. Awards keep the creative departments happy and motivated. Agencies that win awards tend to keep the best creative people on staff. This, in turn, benefits clients by having top-notch advertising professionals tending to their business.
Clients get on board with awards
How do clients feel about awards? This varies by client. Over the years, we have had some clients who really enjoy winning them and some who don’t, preferring to remain more anonymous. Awards keep the marketing team excited, energized and driven. Awards look great in corporate boardrooms. Senior management is able to tout this news to their clients and peers. And, they can potentially garner some public relations and social media coverage.
Effectiveness of winning an advertising award
Do awards help “registers ring” or increase the overall effectiveness of a campaign? In most cases, the answer is no. Awards provide both clients and agencies nice internal and external goodwill among peers. Awards recognize the strategic and creative contributions made from both the client and their agency.
You may not get the beautiful swimsuit model like Leonardo DiCaprio, but Leonardo can’t create, write and produce an award-winning TV spot in the $55,000 and under category, can he?
Channel Communications has the answers
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