Look beyond creative awards to boost agency credentials, warn new business experts
Awards are important to help marketers benchmark potential partners, but Agency of the Year and effectiveness awards are more impressive when it comes to winning new business according to a panel of industry experts.
When asked at The Source New Biz breakfast this morning about the recent controversy over creative awards and a series of ‘one-off’ executions which were entered into Cannes Lions, co-founder of business consultancy the Leach Partnership William Leach said marketers need to use them to gauge which agencies are doing well.
“There are not many things you can do which will give you some kind of benchmark,” he added. “You don’t want to reveal your figures, you don’t want to reveal growth, so one of the things is winning new business as clients like to go with a successful company. But how else will they benchmark you.
Well written Alex!
Great question from the audience…
Best Wishes.
Now you know why Singo’s had more commercial success than any other person in Australian advertising. He loved agencies talking about how many awards they’d won.
He used it as proof that agencies were more interested in their own success than their clients.
Well done Julia, I loved the session this morning!
Well done mUmbrella – a nicely timed article to complement the current debate on “scam awards.” Awards are simply recognition of work well done but often winners forget that awards, in themselves, are not the end point rather simply a tick of validation for agencies capabilities. What’s interesting is how they are used in market and to what extent.
Awards should only ever be used for validation purposes, not to lead a conversation with a client or to demonstrate how successful the agency is within the industry. Awards are self-serving and I’m yet to meet a marketing team that give a hoot about the name of the door of their agency over the people they work with and the work that’s comes packaged up in PDF format at EOP on any random day.
Tom Moult’s point that clients aren’t interested in awards is well made and it is also my experience from both sides of the agency relationship. Now as a client, I’m not interested in adding to my bill just so you can enter awards. Its arrogant that agencies treat their clients this way and I won’t use an agency that does
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I’ve worked with Tom and Julia has mentored me. Both have honed their skills globally and understand the value exchange clients are seeking. Most agency employees don’t get it. And when the agency owners are mostly overseas, the result is the mismatch we see locally.
I was part of a screening for a agency pitch for a top 10 spending client.
The criteria was: Relevant category experience of key people-especially creative, tenure of their service and stability of the agency.
No one asked about awards.