I Used To Hate Awards But Not Anymore
From Effies, Markies, Kancils, MEAs, to even Cannes, the Advertising Industry is filled with awards for all kinds of work and types of categories. From those that using Gaming elements to those that help the environment, you can pretty much find one to fit your campaign.
With these awards, agencies are constantly on the chase to find and submit work to win these awards to gain the ‘necessary’ prestige for corporate branding to attract clients and talent alike.
When I just started my career, I had to get familiar with identifying, writing, and submitting awards in conjuction with creatives, servicing, and any other teams. At the time, I had 20 other things on my plate that needed to be done and these awards seemed like such a waste of time and effort.
’Why would anyone care about us winning awards?’
But as I started to go and see industry colleagues win awards and the fame and recognition they got, it was just plainly intoxicating. The jealously and envy was palpable.
With experience and maturity, one sees the importance of awards.
1. Winning Campaigns Sharpens & Inspires
With these campaigns being published online, it can be a great source of learnings as these awards are a global occurence. You can learn how a European brand used digital to drive growth or a African brand on how they connected with Gen Z. Who knows what you will learn!
2. Understanding An Advertising Reality
No matter how hard you try or how much you hate them, awards aren’t going anywhere. Just like so many parts of the industry, if you don’t like them, it will make your life a 100x harder. Realising that this is a part that you need to, not only be proficient, but a success it will deliver great returns to your career.
3. Seniors Drive Awards
Usually the more senior you are, the more responsibility to have in driving awards. It signals to management that you are responsible and driven enough to construct a great case study. Taking it seriously is a great way to climb the ladder and become a senior within the agency.
I know awards can be a marmite topic but these are just my thoughts.
