Industry awards should and can matter. Here’s why…
As a marketing agency, we enter our work into awards shows when we believe that our agency (and our people) deserve outside recognition for our accomplishments. Whether it’s for one particularly creative idea, a brilliant marketing strategy, or the performance of a marketing campaign, we all like it when others acknowledge our brilliance and hand over that coveted trophy.
After we win, we bask in the press coverage, emails from colleagues and friends, and the satisfaction of knowing “We won!” And, let’s not forget bragging rights.
Agencies and clients alike line their bookshelves with hardware, and more than one winner I’ve known has been seen polishing the trophy when they think no one is looking.
As a Creative Director, I get invited to enter our work into lots of industry awards shows — and we do choose to enter many of them. From the Addy Awards (sponsored by the American Advertising Federation) to the Davey Awards (Honoring creative excellence from smaller agencies and companies worldwide), our agency enters 6 or 7 different shows a year. But there’s only one award that we truly covet… and I mean really, really covet.
And that’s the ECHO Award, from the Direct Marketing Association.
The ECHO represents what, in my mind, is what marketing is all about: 30% brilliant strategy, 30% breakthrough creative, 30% superlative results, and 10% of that little thing we call “Mojo.”
The ECHO judging process is rigorous. There are 3 rounds and in each round, a minimum of 3 judges review the entry. At each round of judging, the scores for the entry are tabulated and only those with the highest scores make it through to the next round. After the 3rd round, entries with the highest scores are awarded Gold, then Silver, then Bronze Awards. And then, from among the Gold winners, the ECHO Board of Governors determines the “best of the best” by reviewing and awarding the Diamond ECHO and USPS Gold Mailbox Award.
Since these are International Awards, judging takes place around the globe, and by experienced marketers who have “been there” and “done that” across a host of industries. So when an entry stands out as a winner, you know there’s very something special about it.
I’ve been an ECHO Judge and I can promise that it’s a well thought-out process that leverages the talents of many of the best marketing minds in the industry. I started as a 1st round judge over 15 years ago, and slowly worked my way up the food chain.
I’m proud to say I now serve on the Echo Board of Governors and delight in the meeting where we evaluate all of the about-to-be-awarded Gold winners to determine the Diamond and USPS Gold Mailbox ECHO awards. The debate is lively and I’m always fascinated how entries are evaluated by others during this judging process. I can promise you that no stone is left unturned as entries are dissected and analyzed to identify the “best of the best.”
In October, when ECHO winners are announced at the annual conference of the DMA, I’m always thrilled if our work is part of the winner’s circle. Because I know that means that those long strategic planning sessions, rounds and rounds of creative revisions, and the time-consuming process of setting up and tracking results — all spent to help a client drive their business forward — has now been recognized as exceptional work by our industry and our peers.
The 2012 ECHO Call For Entries is now open. If you’re reading this, I hope you’ll consider submitting your work. The awards show will be held in Las Vegas this year and,as we all know, there’s nothing like leaving Vegas a winner.
Showing posts with label Echo awards. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Echo awards. Show all posts
Tuesday, April 3, 2012
Friday, July 24, 2009
It's good enough. But is it award winning?
After spending the last several days as a 3rd Round Judge at the Direct Marketing Association International Echo Awards, I am beginning to wonder if I expect too much from my colleagues and peers in the industry.
I reviewed nearly 100 entries across 4 categories, and I'm disappointed that I only found a handful of truly brilliant entries that, in my humble opinion, deserve to be recognized with an Echo Award.
The Echo's are awarded based on a combination of 3 key factors: strategy, creativity, and results. Considering today's business climate and marketing challenges, I firmly believe that if a marketing effort doesn't move the sales needle even to generate more interest and awareness in your product or service, then the marketing expenditure may have been wasted.
Brilliant direct marketing solutions start by digging deep into the client's business problem. Asking lots of questions and conducting research to fill in any gaps, it is imperative that you understand what's going on in the marketplace, and how the client's particular product or service solves a problem experienced by the target (even if they don't realize they have that problem!).
Determining the most innovative way to position the solution and how, where and when to communicate it to the target efficiently so it drives the desired action is the biggest challenge. This is the strategic part of the marketing equation and the step that seems to be missing from most of the entries I judged.
The execution of that solution is the creative itself. Superior creative seamlessly leverages both words and visuals. It brings them together in perfect harmony in a way that will be most attractive to the target, cause an emotional or visceral reaction, and entice them to learn more/purchase/visit a web site.
The proof of a brilliant strategy and flawless creative are the results. Did the marketing do what it was supposed to do?
It seems that many direct marketers took a problem and applied the most obvious solution. Whether it was a new segmentation strategy, or leveraged a previously tested idea, what I witnessed was rarely breakthrough and certainly did not have the “wow!” factor.
Am I wrong to make this one of my benchmarks?
We all have work we’re proud of – work that has achieved or exceeded a client’s objective. But is it worthy of an Echo award, one of the most prestigious awards in our industry?
Personally, I’m looking for campaigns that make me think “I wish I’d thought of that!”. Or that demonstrate such a new and innovative way of solving a problem that it puts the rest of us to shame.
Sid Liebenson of Draft/FCB delivered a “Lunch and Learn” presentation on how the U.S. has seemingly fallen behind in the creative competitive arena proven by the fewer and fewer awards held by domestic agencies. I must admit I was a little incensed during the discussion, but now that I’ve seen the work for myself I have to wonder: “Is good enough, good enough?”
I hope not. I hope I’ll continue to push my own team to rise to every business and creative challenge because without exceeding the edges of the envelope, we’re destined to become obscure.
I reviewed nearly 100 entries across 4 categories, and I'm disappointed that I only found a handful of truly brilliant entries that, in my humble opinion, deserve to be recognized with an Echo Award.
The Echo's are awarded based on a combination of 3 key factors: strategy, creativity, and results. Considering today's business climate and marketing challenges, I firmly believe that if a marketing effort doesn't move the sales needle even to generate more interest and awareness in your product or service, then the marketing expenditure may have been wasted.
Brilliant direct marketing solutions start by digging deep into the client's business problem. Asking lots of questions and conducting research to fill in any gaps, it is imperative that you understand what's going on in the marketplace, and how the client's particular product or service solves a problem experienced by the target (even if they don't realize they have that problem!).
Determining the most innovative way to position the solution and how, where and when to communicate it to the target efficiently so it drives the desired action is the biggest challenge. This is the strategic part of the marketing equation and the step that seems to be missing from most of the entries I judged.
The execution of that solution is the creative itself. Superior creative seamlessly leverages both words and visuals. It brings them together in perfect harmony in a way that will be most attractive to the target, cause an emotional or visceral reaction, and entice them to learn more/purchase/visit a web site.
The proof of a brilliant strategy and flawless creative are the results. Did the marketing do what it was supposed to do?
It seems that many direct marketers took a problem and applied the most obvious solution. Whether it was a new segmentation strategy, or leveraged a previously tested idea, what I witnessed was rarely breakthrough and certainly did not have the “wow!” factor.
Am I wrong to make this one of my benchmarks?
We all have work we’re proud of – work that has achieved or exceeded a client’s objective. But is it worthy of an Echo award, one of the most prestigious awards in our industry?
Personally, I’m looking for campaigns that make me think “I wish I’d thought of that!”. Or that demonstrate such a new and innovative way of solving a problem that it puts the rest of us to shame.
Sid Liebenson of Draft/FCB delivered a “Lunch and Learn” presentation on how the U.S. has seemingly fallen behind in the creative competitive arena proven by the fewer and fewer awards held by domestic agencies. I must admit I was a little incensed during the discussion, but now that I’ve seen the work for myself I have to wonder: “Is good enough, good enough?”
I hope not. I hope I’ll continue to push my own team to rise to every business and creative challenge because without exceeding the edges of the envelope, we’re destined to become obscure.
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