...and the winner is...

As a child, I always loved watching the Academy Awards. All those celebrities, dressed to the nines, sitting in their seats in anticipation of that magical moment when their name would be announced as the winner.

I liked to believe that they didn't know they had even been nominated until their name was called with the other nominees. And as the winner was announced and the camera focused on their face, they looked so excited and thrilled that they couldn't believe their good fortune.

While I've since learned the truth about the nomination process, the award ceremony itself is still exciting. It takes hard work to enter most awards shows. Writing strategic documents that set up the problem, define the strategy, and then accurately portray all the rationale for the solution require thought, time, and energy. And the work that gets entered is of such a high calibre that you're often left thinking "I wish I'd done that!"

I felt that same excitement at the Philadelphia Direct Marketing Association (PDMA) Benjamin Franklin Awards Dinner last Thursday evening. While I knew we had been nominated in two different categories for our work on two different clients, I didn't know whether or not we had won. As I sat at my table with colleagues, clients and other business associates, I listened intently to the judging process and was surprised to learn that the PDMA sends all of their entries to the Direct Marketing Association of Washington where their members act as independent judges of the work.

So I was both thrilled and delighted when they announced we had won in both of the categories in which we had entered! One was for our B2B direct marketing work for TANDBERG, an industry-leader in the video conferencing space, and the other for our work for independent jazz radio station KCSM-FM. Walking to the podium each time, I was struck by how exciting it was to have all eyes in the room on us. Talk about our 30 seconds of fame!

But the most delightful part of the process was sharing our win with our clients. After all, they're the ones who had the good judgement to hire us in the first place... and they're the ones who worked so hard with us on the strategic planning process, and they're the ones that allowed us to execute the type of work we're proud to showcase. And finally they're the ones who believed in our expertise. And I'm most proud that the work we conceived, designed, and executed achieved the desired objective: to help move their respective businesses forward.

I believe that participation in industry Award Shows are an honor for all of us. And, in the end, we all want to be associated with great work that truly works.

Thank-you to the Academy...