Let’s end the awards obsession and stop putting our dollars in the hands of publishers
In this guest post, Ian Perrin, CEO of media agency ZO, calls for the industry to boycott trade press awards in favour of a single night organised by the agencies themselves
We are in the business of promoting companies through the brands that we represent.
It’s a brilliant job and we should all be proud of what we do. However, I wonder if we should be proud of the image that our own industry has in the eyes of our clients. I say this based on a conversation I recently had with a prominent and influential CMO.
His contention was that his agencies are not totally focused on what they should be focused on; his brand. While he was comfortable that his partner agencies were doing a good job, he lamented their commitment to their core responsibility.
“I am so sick to death of being asked to submit our work into bloody award festivals that nobody has ever heard of, or cares about. If I went into a board presentation and declared that we had won a bronze in a Tasmanian advertising awards festival, I would be fired on the spot. And yet all my agencies seem to care about is entering these awards” he said. “Who cares if the Tasmanian’s loved my print ad, when I still have stock on the shelf at Coles?”
He wasn’t against awards and agreed that it was good that his agency aspired to be the very best at what they do, but it was the absolute volume that concerned him. And it was genuinely difficult to disagree. Not only do we have millions of craft awards festivals, but then we use those as a basis to substantiate the end of year agency of the year awards.
And not being done there, we even have rankings that collate all of the awards that have already been given.
What he didn’t know, (fortunately!) was the cost of doing this. Entry involves huge head hour outlays, creative development costs, award entry fees, and the obligatory table at the awards dinner.
So here is my solution. We all agree as the communications industry to stop entering ALL local awards shows. (I say local because in my humble view, benchmarking yourself against the best in the world at Cannes is actually a good thing) We agree on one Über award night that is run by the Communications Council and the MFA, with awards for the best craft work, the most effective solutions and recognize which agencies are deserving of “the best title”.
We should award these ourselves and be proud of those who we believe were better than us that year. And perhaps most importantly we should make it really expensive, allowing us to re-invest the entry fees into development and training. We will, after all, be saving money by not entering so many awards.
I think this is a solution that gives us one big night to celebrate the best of what we do, and also put the dollars we invest in awards back into our own pockets, rather than those of the publishers. We’ll have more time to focus on our core responsibility, the brands, and it might make the prominent CMO happy too.
Tim Burrowes founded Mumbrella in 2008. He worked on Mumbrella until 2021. At various points he was editor, content director and editor-at-large.
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If Zenith Optimedia struggles to get any PR out of the trade press in the next few months, I think I know why.
And if they do get shortlsted in the B&T Awards, they should probably expect their table to be out near the toilets.
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A fine idea. And probably the only way out of this hellish cycle.
And while we’re at it maybe we could also agree as an industry to not tolerate the ridiculous and unfair process that is the new business pitch. CMO’s should select a shortlist, look at the work by each agency, meet them, talk about their approach, maybe even have a workshop. But stop treating our ideas like common, off the shelf shit. The whole process is a waste of everyone’s time, but mainly ours. Stop ruining people’s weekends and family life. No other industry tolerates such excessive tyre-kicking.
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What a surprise – a Mumbrella comment thread started by someone bitching rather than actually making a valid & valuable contribution to the conversation.
Pez I think you’re absolutely right. Along with new business wins, awards are an important barometer for agency performance but there is a growing sense that so many awards nights in Australia, with too many categories [state agency of the year? please] are actually devaluing the very best work in the market.
Not only are they expensive [c. $250/entry for Mumbrella awards from my recollection] but suck-up time that could be spent doing things like, I don’t know, solving our clients actual business problems maybe?
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Award are just a fancy marketing tool for those who enter. The downside being that you have more chance of looking average than a winner.
Given the time, money and effort needed to enter (and the odds to win) all our industry awards, you would have thought that all these creative, media, PR and comms agencies would have come up with a better way to sell themselves.
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“put the dollars we invest in awards back into our own pockets, rather than those of the publishers”
a telling comment and one that should be considered next time ZO is looking for media coverage of
– a new hire
– a new client
– some new ‘technology’
– a new office
– a promotion
– an international/regional person out here on a junket who wants some press
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If you guys didn’t enter any awards perhaps you could use that as a point of difference when attracting clients. That you were focused on the ideas that would sell the most product not the ideas that will win awards and enhance your own careers within the advertising bubble. Advertising is such a self congratulating industry where everyone thinks they are creative geniuses whereas all the creative people outside of the industry think you’re a bunch of corporate shils. The truth is no doubt somewhere in between but the constant back patting is hilarious.
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Ahh, there it is. Complete with Tassie bashing. Did you leave the Eastern Suburbs on the weekend?
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Hi Ian,
So you’re all in favour of putting the money in a European publisher (Emap, who own Cannes).
But you don’t want to do the same for the local players:
Who include B&T, who’ve just gone monthly because they’re not making enough money to stay fortnightly.
And AdNews who’ve just had to resize to save money.
That’ll be B&T who’ve written about you at least 34 times: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=site%3Abandt.com.au+%22ian+perrin%22&oq=site%3Abandt.com.au+%22ian+perrin%22
And AdNews who’ve written about you 113 times: https://www.google.com.au/search?q=site%3Aadnews.com.au+%22ian+perrin%22&oq=site%3Aadnews.com.au+%22ian+perrin%22
Who do you think will pay for them to carry on writing about you, if you don’t even want to buy a table from them?
Let’s say a table costs $3,000. That’s about 30 bucks a writeup. Which is a lot cheaper than hiring a PR agency.
Still, I think you might need one, next time you try to get something in…
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David Ogilvy had it right, and we’ve all lost track of the truth.
We are in the business of selling, moving stock off our customers shelves.
That is our primary and sole goal as agencies – anything else is floundering around on th edges.
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I’ve seen Pez’s next article it’s a ripper titled ‘why journalists are overpaid’ should go down well too. Pez between us and quietly, I’m with you. One local award show for work, and one for agencies doing good would be ideal. + I guess the Effie’s too kind of do their own thing.
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Interesting point Ian.
Through MediaScope I keep a close eye on specific media related training courses, events and awards and have noticed the same thing. The trade publications, industry organisations and various other businesses host numerous of each, every year. As a small market is this sustainable?
With the awards – winners are taken from a small pool of nominees who have the resources, time and money to enter and participate. Recognition is not necessarily offered to the best work in market – but to those who entered.
Our market is a lot deeper than those who have the ability to go through the not insignificant awards admission process.
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Imagine how long you’d last in Hollywood if your films kept winning awards but no-one went to see them.
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Had to lol at this op-ed published just yesterday on one of those pesky publishers Ian doesn’t want his agency “investing in”
http://www.adnews.com.au/news/.....ng-insight
I imagine ZO’s clients marketing teams would kill for this sort of trade promotion – can’t really remember the last time a client of ZO got this much trade press … but the CEO is everywhere with his odd Abe Simpson confessional/op-ed/rambles.
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I’ve worked with Ian, and I like Ian. He’s a very smart operator.
I agree with him, and his client, that there are probably too many awards in this market (if you think entering them is onerous, try judging them!).
I disagree with his proposed solution, however.
If part of an agency’s marketing strategy is to showcase its work through local (and international) awards, and if successful then to push that barrrow, and it makes good commercial sense for them, then so be it. It’s their decision, no one else’s.
There are some agencies in Australia who have been very successful without entering a single industry award.
Equally if any industry body, or associated media publisher believes that part of it’s strategy is to create, organize and host an awards programme also makes good commercial sense for them, then so be it. It’s their decision, no one else’s.
Ultimately it will be the market that decides how many awards programmes it can sustain, and unless I’m missing something I’m not seeing anyone twisting anyone’s arms here to make a poor commercial decision.
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…the 5 minutes it took to read this article. What a pointless whinge.
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nice one Ian
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Easy to opt out of awards when you’re not winning any
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