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Awards celebrate the craft, not the effectiveness of an ad. It’s an appeal to why creatives joined the business, and quite possibly the only way to negotiate higher salaries
We work in a creative business and creativity is subjective.
Business impacts do not tell the whole story and so we need a way of ranking creativity.
In order to know which creatives are the best (and deserving of promotions, raises, etc), you need a means of making the subjective objective.
Awards are exactly that.
It's the same way that the Oscars award the best movies of the year, regardless of their box office impacts
Pro
Awards are important for a couple of reasons - the foremost being that we as an industry have decided as much. But if we step outside the cynicism, awards wins SHOULD represent that the winner is a top-tier creative. And that shorthand SHOULD mean those folks are great hires and trustworthy stewards. Also, in an industry where we toil over very temporary creation - there are few opportunities to give the effort longer consideration.
The issue now is that there are more awards and categories than ever, the holding cos essentially have the awards in a stranglehold and it’s largely pay to win, and most clients see our fetishizing of awards the same way your question does. All of which has had a net negative effect on our industry perception.
As such, unfortunately, awards have never meant less to career Trajectory than they do now.
That said, they are something to aim for, because the industry is still built around them, and if you want to work certain places, they’re mandatory. And regardless, why not try and be the best at the job as you can, since you inevitably sacrifice so much time to it? At least you get a shiny piece of tin!
Agree. There are so many awards (seems like everyone won a Clio nowadays) that only the main ones and top prizes still count.
Pro
You have just asked the same question most clients themselves ask.
Pro
It’s a known industry phenomenon.
Rising Star
It’s one side of the clout coin. Appealing to marketers and peers is 50% effectiveness and 50% craft. Nailing both gets an agency access to the maximum amount of industry events, press coverage, and potential clients.
Clients like going to Cannes too.
Well. The point is: we’re on the verge of a massive merger that will trigger a ton of layoffs, and I’m one of the people who doesn’t have to worry.
So yes, I prefer to have them over not having them.
Yes I will make it clearer next time. They’re for ideas.
Most brand marketers surprisingly aren’t familiar with many agencies. They use awards as a way to find them.
You don’t understand the business you’re in?
If you have nothing helpful to share, please refrain from making a comment. I’m too old for pettiness.
"It's not creative unless it sells."
My former boss, Al Hampel
The trick is to win awards for creative and effectiveness. That's why Adam & Eve did so well in the UK. Good clients see the importance of awards. At least they show that someone appreciates their work and spend.