In the marketing industry, agency people pretend that award shows don’t matter. That’s the party line they like to tell themselves, and clients, until they don’t win. Then the truth quickly reveals itself.
That was me last week at the Promo! Awards.
Despite going into the event knowing that none of our several nominations had won, I still invested heavily in tickets for my team. I felt amply prepared to deal with the fact that work I knew was great, and had the business results to prove it, was trumped by work others had deemed greater. But I was wrong.
Losing, even when understood in advance, fundamentally sucks. As professional as I should be given my role in the industry, the outcome still triggered a significant and negative reaction in me. The winners in our categories did not appear to be better than our candidates, or generate more meaningful business impacts. Some of the winners I felt were not appropriately qualified to be entered. My frustration was compounded by various judges sequestering me to apologize that this entry or that didn’t reach the podium, despite their personal advocacy for our submission.
All that adds up to a serious case of award show envy.
It didn’t stop me from congratulating the winners. It didn’t stop me from being impressed by the Best in Show and several other medalists. It didn’t stop me from being so inspired by the creativity of the work that all I wanted to do was start writing our next project brief. It didn’t stop me from wanting to do better for my clients and walk the stage with them in future years.
Win or lose, there is tremendous value in award shows. The right shows. Those that award winners based on business results. Those that showcase your industry to participants, clients, suppliers, talent, and media alike. Those that are well attend, curated, and produced.
Award show entries are expensive, time consuming, and contentious. Yet the exercise of seeing your work through the eyes of others is an invaluable payoff for the investment. There is no greater motivator than pain. So watch out award shows, we are on a mission to do even better work. Not just because trophies matter, but because of what they represent.