My most recent experience was judging at the 4As Interactive & Direct Awards. The actual experience was very enjoyable - by the end, I felt I had actually made some new friends.
My social life aside, now down to the work - the 'creative', the 'ideas' or whatever you may call it. Well, actually, I would call it 'executions' because generally the work was just that, execution. There were some incredibly great executions and some good ideas, but rarely did the two meet. This is a multi-faceted issue and the blame doesn't rest on just one group.
I could say clients and their lack of vision, but isn't it our job to push back on the clients and help them define ground-breaking strategy?
It could be the agencies' fault for not driving the ideas forward or not even coming up with the great ideas. But I'll blame the creatives, for two reasons - I am one, and it is the best place to start.
If the creatives don't go beyond the brief and are not agents for change, then we will sit in the same place we are right now and someone else will be saying the same thing next year.
The work also seemed to lack integration. We all seem to be stuck in this mindset of 'only doing what I know'. This again comes back to the lack of a big idea or on an even higher level, a sound and a multi-platform strategy. On this one, I feel the agencies and the clients need to share the blame. Many clients do have regional strategies, but when decimated down to the business units, it turns into a cash grab with budgets going here, there and who knows where.
Agencies are just as guilty with their definitions of different marketing channels - above-the-line, below-the-line, online - where is the line that the idea sits on? A few companies did have good integrated campaigns and, I'm happy to say, most were Asian companies with a regional reach.
Alas, the work still seems to lack the real 'oomph' that puts it over the top.
We also must ensure we are rewarding the right people. On a regional and local level, we should be recognising work that was conceptualised and delivered in Asia. Many submissions and winners were international work that was localised for Asia. I realise that it is a very big part of many agencies' business and is not easy to pull off, but it should be rewarded for what it is - a great job of localisation!
We, and by 'we' I mean creatives, agencies and the clients, need to work together in creating award-winning work. Plus, we need to understand that award-winning work in Asia should be able to compete on an international level, not just once in a while, but everyday. Let's step it up a level.
