I always feel the award shows give you a good health check on where the industry is going. This year some key things stood out and, unfortunately, did not leave me feeling optimistic about our immediate future.
Firstly, where were all the telecom and financial winners? In a country where we have major players - such as Telekom, TIME, Maxis - where was all the heavy direct marketing? Given that these guys have huge databases and (should have) the ability to profile and segment their existing customers, I did expect to see a few packs. If not with great creative work then with some solid strategy shining through. If it was there then it certainly didn't warrant a merit in the eyes of the judges. And where were the banks?
I can understand that the foreign banks might be tied up with corporate guidelines on what they can and cannot do but the local banks have autonomy in this area. Again, didn't see any of them make it to the winners' board.
I find it worrying when two of the industries, which should be major users of DM, are not featured at all. It raises questions - is the work they are putting out not good enough or are they simply not doing any?
Where is all the DRTV? We entered this category, didn't win and there was no award. Disappointing for us perhaps but even more so as it was the only entry. I find it hard to believe that no one is breaking the barrier in TV. Given that we live in a society dominated by the mobile phone there certainly isn't an aversion about using it for business.
In the past I've cited the reason that credit card ownership is not high hence the reason why a number of products are not sold via TV. However, as growth continues in the area, I think you have to also look at the quality of the call centres. As an agency we have had varying degrees of success with suppliers and our clients who have their own operations have found it difficult. I believe that there is a genuine push to improve this. Perhaps as the skill base increases clients will feel a lot more comfortable putting their call centre at the frontline in customer contact.
What happened to the cutting-edge interactive work? I expect this area to be like one of the car shows where you see the latest aluminium models and new, greener driving modifications. The interactive award should attract genuine breakthrough ideas, not just a rehash of something from the US from two years ago. The Gorillaz SMS campaign that won at DMAsia (yes, I wish we'd done that) showed a great understanding of the target audience in the language and used the technology in a completely relevant way.
Can we see more like that please?
If anyone thinks it's all sour grapes, that's bollocks, I'm afraid. I call upon the industry (okay, I'm being parochial here) to push clients to buy into more direct marketing. And, when they do, and you get that opportunity, challenge yourself to do better. I will.
