It’s the Awards Season

As I dust off my dinner suit for another outing it got me thinking about Awards in general. They say it’s an honour just to be nominated, although, that’s usually said through clenched teeth.

So what’s the point of submitting your work for awards? All that hard work completing the entries, not to mention the expense. Well, for me, there are a number of important elements. Awards allow us to publicly recognise our clients and colleagues for their great work. They give us a chance to celebrate the things we do well, and acknowledge those magic moments when it all comes together. But more importantly, the submissions process itself is a great opportunity for us to brush up on our storytelling skills.

In the end, it all comes down to what we say and how we say it. Awards enable us to bring out the anecdotes and the inside scoop. They force us to be compelling because we want to win.

And remember, there’s no such thing as a loser, when it comes to awards. You might not go home with the trophy, but if you play it right, you could still walk away with a contacts book full of new names and number. People who’ve seen your work and want to know more.

Now, there’s another side to awards that not everyone gets to experience. And it’s just as valuable. I’m talking about being asked to judge them.

I’ve done it many times, and it’s always an honour. I’ve spent many happy weeks sitting on all manner of judging panels for a wide variety of industry awards. The only downside, is that every time I’m asked, I seem to forget how much hard work is involved. Trust me, those guys on the X-factor don’t know the half of it.

Judging other people’s work is a tough job. I guess all those years on the other side of the process have given me an appreciation for where the entries are coming from.

I’ve slaved over those entry forms. I’ve gathered the data. And I’ve written the summaries. So I feel an obligation to every entrant to afford them the time they clearly deserve. And when the standard is so very high (and it really is) judging becomes even more difficult.

So, in the interest of full disclosure, here are some top tips for standing out when submitting work for consideration. This is advise from both sides of the table:

Read the criteria carefully, to be excluded on a technicality (and you will be) is annoying

You need to stand out, be memorable.

Tell a story, but make it short, because wading through an ocean of text is hard.

Make the key take-outs immediately obvious.

Don’t underestimate the value of a great client endorsement.

Think about what is background information, and what was key to your success.

Videos and images all help tell your story.

Results, results, results – the bigger the better.

And don’t be put off by the fact that there’s a form to fill in. There are ways around that. Some of the best submissions I’ve ever seen have simply attached an appendix, full of the stories they didn’t get to tell in the formal document.

And finally…

Sorry to be that guy, but check your spelling, punctuation and grammar.

Individually, it’s not vital, but when reading entry after entry it can become wearying.

So good luck.

Be brilliant.

And remember my shout-out in your acceptance speech – somewhere between God and your drama teacher, ideally. 

The Wrong Way Round

Did anybody see the banner at the Olympic park entrance and on advertising sites all over the place that read:......“There would be no goosebumps, gasps, pounding hearts, tears of joy, records smashed, strangers hugged, or a whole world brought together without…………..  followed by the logos of McDonald’s, Adidas and Procter & Gamble and all of the other sponsors .

Of course I get that the sponsors are important but at the heart of this claim is a fundamental misunderstanding of the value exchange.

Brands sponsor the Olympics for a whole raft of reasons, indeed the role of brands at the Olympics has been one of moving from passive brand awareness to active brand engagement.

Today’s sponsors need to do much more than just show up and advertise their logo – they need to actively participate in the spirit of the event – provide a useful product or service – provide support for the community – be relevant, stand for something bigger than just selling more product – be engaged and give back to the community in a way that demonstrates core brand values that are aligned to the values of the modern Olympic games – respect, excellence and friendship.  Through this kind of active brand engagement brands are the beneficiaries of the awareness, sales and loyalty they want to achieve.

But make no mistake, awareness, sales and loyalty are at the top of the brands objectives, sponsorship is the way they get to have the right, the money is the table stakes.

If I could provoke a little further, if the brands didn’t pay, would the Olympics happen anyway?

Of course they would, perhaps not on the scale, but athletes, runners, jumpers, throwers and sports people of all disciplines will always compete, they will always want to know who is fastest, can jump the highest, throw the farthest and people will always want to watch that.

So the sponsors don’t create those moments, but they sure as heck help, as long as we don’t lose sight of why athletes compete, why people watch and why sponsors sponsor, it will be a happy and healthy relationship for a long long time.