Brands at Work won the coveted C&IT UK Agency of the Year Award last year and so Karen Kadin, managing partner was invited to judge the awards this year. We discuss the importance of awards; the impact winning has had on her agency and her advice for hopefuls next year:
Why do you think that industry awards are important?
‘I never used to place great importance on industry accolades – preferring to quietly crack on with our work ‘under the radar’, but we fairly ambivalently entered our first awards last year and after an impressive sweep I somewhat regret not entering sooner. I now realise how important industry recognition is for the agency’s sense of pride and staff morale; it’s had a positive impact on talent attraction and retention, helped solidify existing client relationships and gives instant credibility with prospects.
It is important for us to continue to elevate the standard of creativity and innovation and the impact of the events industry. At a challenging time in the global economy, being able to demonstrate the value of live communications for both internal and external audiences and the measurable direct impact and benefit to corporates is more important than ever.’
What did you personally look for in an entry?
‘Clever creative first and foremost; was there a guiding insight, a killer creative hook, and a unifying red thread that connected all of the touchpoints into a clear narrative and an awesome live experience? Did the entrant try something bold, brave and unprecedented or did they reimagine previously proven approaches?
Did they create genuine audience engagement with beautifully presented content and imaginative storytelling rather than big, brash, brazen, gratuitous production gimmicks for the sake of them – although there is definitely a time and place for that too.’
How are disagreements between judges dealt with? Were there any entries this year that the judges didn’t agree on (without naming names of course!)
‘There were some good, healthy debates between the judges, but it was beneficial that we were a truly diverse group because we all brought our own experiences and perspectives to the process. When it was truly neck and neck between entries, any demonstrable ROI or other metrics of event success gave a submission the extra edge.’
You and your fellow judges have the task of choosing the winners, what would be your top tips to potential awards entrants?
‘Share the glorious details! Rather than spend the majority of your submission’s limited word count on unimportant box ticking ‘event hygiene’ items that don’t stand out – use vivid descriptions and supporting imagery to detail the delegate journey, bring to life the creative stories and the clever nuances. Demonstrate how you went beyond the traditional ‘bums in seats’ approach to engage and immerse your audience in innovative and theatrical ways.’
BaW won the C&IT Agency of the Year last year – how did that feel and what impact has it had on the agency?
‘There has been an undeniable lift in the Brands at Work herd’s pride which had a positive knock on effect on our creative work and strengthened our client relationships. It has been hugely beneficial in attracting new talent – from having to pitch our relatively unknown agency to recruits in the past to now having a flooded inbox of inquiries from top industry talent. We’ve even had some new business inquiries from our raised profile.
Winning the Agency of the Year award was a watershed moment for us. I am blown away by how far we have come – from our very humble beginnings as a start-up, the ensuing years of hard graft to now getting the recognition of our peers in the industry – it has made the years of hard work and sacrifice feel well worth it!’
https://www.citmagazine.com/article/1616870/win-c-it-award
