The AdNews Agency of the Year Awards deadline is 19 January. If you're still working on your submission, here's some tips from former judges. WIll Lavender, CEO and founder of Lavender, both a former judge and winner of an AdNews Agency of the Year award, has just one bit of advice: "Treat the judges like the chairman: write less and be convincing."
1. Tailor the entry to the category and the program
Read the entry guidelines! There are a lot of award programs out there, but they're not all looking for the same things. Make sure you read the AdNews Agency of the Year guidelines. We know many agencies will be entering multiple awards and we encourage it – but the reason there are different categories is that each is looking for something different. The judges assess entries for multiple categories and will know if the same blanket entry has been submitted into different awards. If you fancy your chances for a number of awards – spell out why for each one.
Matt James, CEO ZenithOptimedia, says: “Be very tough on the judging criteria, the number of entries in some categories can be prolific and overwhelming. It is easy to lose sight of what you are judging therefore one piece of navigation that helped me sort the wheat from the chaff, and who was telling the truth, came down to three things: Does the submission set out clear objectives? Does it therefore have clear strategic actions to deliver those objectives? And are the KPI outcomes absolutely aligned and are a result of these strategic actions?”
“It was amazing to see so many submissions that did not make the effort to tie the aforementioned together, and you get blind-sided by puffery.”
2. What’s YOUR culture?
All agencies have a culture – we’re interested in yours specifically. Make it sound personal, not as though you could replace the agency name with any other and it could work just as well. Company and culture accounts for 20% of the scores – so make it count.
Richard Riboni, executive manager of GIO marketing at Suncorp, says: “The best advice I can offer is to tell the story of the agency, who it stands for, what makes it different and how its unique approach delivers successful work for clients.”
3. Don’t try to fudge it
Commercial growth accounts for 30% of the points in the judging. We're looking at income, income growth (whether organic, by acquisition or new business) and profit. This stuff is required and it needs to be verified by the CEO or finance director. If you can't provide actual figures, provide percentages, but don’t gloss over the numbers. All our judges are senior marketers, marketing directors, CEOs and senior execs from agency side – they can see through a set of flimsy numbers a mile off.
Louise Eyres, group general manager of marketing at ANZ Bank, says: “Bring the culture and personality of the agency to life – who you are and what you stand for – and ensure metrics demonstrate business impact for the client as well as campaign/marketing outcomes”
4. The work, the work, the work
To borrow Clemenger BBDO’s slogan for a moment – if you’re entering work categories – make it about the work. Half of the score comes from assessing the work in agency categories. We're looking for originality, use of media and results. As much information about the idea, the planning, the concept and how it came to be – as well as how effective it was – the more likely it is to catch the judges attention.
Andy Pontin, Clemenger BBDO Sydney CEO, says: “People in agency’s sell creative work every day of the week. Yet when it comes to AOTY entries too many agencies undersell their work and making it too hard for the judges to understand the genius of the idea. Don’t just show the work, sell it; explain the thinking, explain the idea, explain its brilliance, explain its results. Anything else is not doing the work justice.”
Stuart Tucker, GM of brand, sponsorship and marketing services at Commonwealth Bank had this to add: "Great ideas do not have to be all about the mass market. A truly innovative concept that is well targeted to a niche audience or customer segment is just as good as a huge campaign. Big is not always better!"
5: Attention to detail
Don’t get sidetracked by style over substance. Presentation of the awards is important but it’s what it says that will win the award – not the paper stock and the graphics. Make sure whatever design elements you go for are there for clarity, and make your entry is as clear and easy to read as possible. You might not think a typo is important, but an entry with typos and badly written copy doesn’t give the judges a lot of hope for how your agency operates.
Nikki Lawson, CMO of Yum! Brands says: "Simplicity and storytelling is key, just like a great piece of communication, make it a simple story, well told.
It’s crazy how many submissions you need to read over and over to look to connect various bits of information or how easily vital pieces of information are missing when the story telling gets too complicated."
John Batistich, director of marketing at Scentre Group (Westfield), also adds: “Make it easy for the judges to assess the entry against the criteria. Make it concise, simple, relevant and visually compelling.”
Want to enter? You'll need an entry kit.
Have something to say on this? Share your views in the comments section below. Or if you have a news story or tip-off, drop me a line at rosiebaker@yaffa.com.au
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