On Friday 12th November 2010, at the DADI’s (The Drum Awards for Digital Industries) at The Royal Armouries in Leeds, we won our first award for adidas – become the 12th Man.
OK we might be milking this a bit, but it’s our first award and we’re proud to have won it. And I thought I should probably write a bit about why awards matter to creative agencies.
If you combine research, insight and brand message, it can lead to great creative. The gap between brand message and great creative is the challenge. For that, you need exceptional people. And it’s not just in Exstatik that we have exceptional people. As part of the Intermarketing & Communications Group of companies, we (Exstatik) have access to some of the industry’s brightest talents from creative and production to account and support teams. Now that we’ve won the award, you’ll know that it wasn’t just us digital folk that made it possible.
So why does it matter that we win industry awards? Personally, I feel winning awards is more about agency feel-good than anything else. It’s an affirmation that the agency is doing creative work that resonates with the target audience. And it’s not about awards at the expense of results. No, absolutely not. The creative has to work and we just want our efforts to work harder than our competitor’s. Oh, and we get another excuse to celebrate and catch up with clients, friends and peers over a glass or two of bubbly; only if you win of course! 
Congratulations on the award! Totally agree that it is a great feel good factor. Would you not also agree from a client perspective that awards are a differentiator and a sign of excellence – which will boost the company’s credibility and will hence boost their profile?
Absolutely yes. Some of the ITTs and RFPs we submit ask specifically for recent awards, so it matters to clients too!