6 Feb
Written by Kelly Double, Group Account Director at Ingenuity.
The Grammys, The Oscars, The BAFTAs. The paparazzi have been out in force to plaster the showbiz pages of our tabloids for over a month now as the 2020 entertainment awards season is well underway. Our planet’s biggest stars have been putting their best feet forward on the red carpet in the hope of scooping the ultimate dazzling industry accolade. The eyes of the world are watching. It doesn’t just affirm success; it can catapult winners into the metaphorical stratosphere.
For the marketing industry, awards season (entries kick off in spring) may cater to a different audience and be on a slightly smaller scale, but in industry circles it’s no less important for the reputation of the winners. A Cannes Lions, Campaign, D&AD or Drum award win can pave the way to industry glory for emerging agencies, and continue to keep big-name agencies (who love nothing better than lining their boardrooms with glittering trophies) front of mind for brands looking for new partners.
In a constantly evolving and increasingly competitive agency landscape – there are tens of thousands competing across disciplines now – awards are a crucial way to stand out. They give third party endorsement to your case studies, make your clients love you even more than they already do and help more people hear about your work. Plus, there’s also the added bonus that your team will feel more valued and recognised when their work is celebrated on stage. For any savvy modern agency, awards should be a key part of your business development strategy.
We know how important it is to brands too (they tell us when we’re interviewing them for our BrandTalk videos on our What Brands Want insight platform) which is why executing a finely-tuned and targeted awards strategy is so often a part of the growth-focused PR programmes that we put together for our clients.
We’ve got a pretty good hit rate too. Some 58% of entries we drafted for clients last year were shortlisted, followed by several big wins including George P. Johnson taking home B2B Experience of The Year at The Drum Experience Awards for its work on Cisco Live EMEA.
There’s no better time to put the pedal to the metal and address your approach to awards for 2020 – you’ve still got a couple of months before the deadlines start creeping up on us. And just because tracking awards and writing award-winning entries is no mean feat (and we’re feeling generous) we wanted to share our top tips for refining agency awards strategies and how to draft a standout entry.
One final thing to note is if you’re looking to amplify your awards strategy, judging on awards panels is also a valuable stream of activity to explore. They are a great way to scope out what your competitors are up to and to network. To top it off, awards run by publications – such as Campaign or The Drum – often offer editorial opportunities associated with the judging process.
Remember, just like award-winning work is a team effort, so is putting together the awards entry. If you approach it in a considered way even if you don’t win, you’ll learn a lot along the way and show your support for the industry in the process.
Good luck… and get in touch if you think you need a bit of help: kelly.double@ingenuitylondon.com
At Ingenuity we understand the wider agency and brand relationship. With insights gained from years of experience and having worked with the best-of-the-best on both sides of the brand-agency relationship, we can help facilitate viable partnerships that last. If you’d like to learn more from our insights or want to gain a clearer view of the agency-brand ecosystem, contact Duncan on newbusiness@ingenuitylondon.com for more information.