The award season has started in full-force again. For some agencies it's practically an assembly line operation and for other organizations a glorious one-time victory.
No doubt there are different reasons to enter award competitions, with agency marketing topping the list of the annual winners, if their web sites are any indication, and a simple desire for internal recognition of great work by the occasional champ.
But it doesn't seem many organizations actively use the award process to actually create better work. Silver Anvils is one competition that makes an effort "after the fact." Its scoring procedure and judging process helps entrants -- if they ask -- understand how the judges felt their programs rated in different sections compared to the winners. And some agencies that develop a lot of programs hold internal competitions to choose the ones they will eventually enter. Having judged many of those contests, however, there isn't a lot of teaching that goes on about the program elements themselves.
So why not? Probably because we don't organizationally connect training and development to industry award entries. For instance, have you ever seen an Account Supervisor level development session focusing on the four critical elements of program research as explained in the Silver Anvil judges briefing book? Or has the training department used winning awards as part of the curricula for entry level employees? Both are ready-made and can mean better programs and better awards.
The award programs themselves could serve the industry and themselves by developing training around their approach to awards. A robust training package attached to an award program would serve as a revenue stream and as a major differentiator and provide a winning leadership position for the organization that moves aggressively.
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