There’s no point winning an award if it’s not a respected and robust programme, so this year we spent extra time looking at the criteria for the AdNews Agency of the Year Awards programme to give everyone that enters even more confidence.
We’ve always stood by the robust nature of our awards. We rely on senior execs from across client side and agencies to interrogate the entries in front of them and we investigate if something doesn’t stack up.
As the industry gets more complex, so does judging.
With the nature of the industry shifting, we look at our categories and criteria every year to make sure that they reflect the industry. This year we’ve added a few more T&Cs to our Agency of the Year Awards criteria.
We’ve found in recent years, as there is a shift towards more project work, it can be hard for judges to know whether an agency has won a full client account or a major piece of project work.
As agencies offer more diversified services, the scope of work an agency does for its clients can also be unclear.
This year, we require agencies to be more specific on the type of work they do for clients, and if they work with those clients on a project or a retainer basis.
While an agency can claim to legitimately work on that client's business, and every agency deserves to have all their work and client wins counted and recognised, we’re asking for a little more clarity on the nature of the work, its value and the scope of work.
For example, many agencies may perform search, or email, marketing duties for a client rather than hold the entire media planning and buying business. Or an agency may win a substantial project for a client, but not take on duties as its lead agency. All we’re asking is that it’s made clear so that there is no doubt over the legitimacy of the claims.
We’re also addressing duplicate entries so that they address the specific criteria in each category, and asking that for specialist categories, for example PR Agency of the Year, entries outline how much of an agency’s business is in that particular field.
You can read the full entry kit, guidelines and criteria here, with full details of the criteria on page six of the Entry Kit PDF.
New categories this year include The AdNews Effectiveness Awards, Media Campaign of the Year - small budget, and The Best Use of Technology.
We’ll also be giving judges a few more guidelines this year. Think you’ve got what it takes to be a judge or want to nominate a client-side marketer? Email AdNews editor Rosie Baker at Rosiebaker@yaffa.com.au
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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