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IPA response to August's letter from the chair, by Tim Broadbent, Bates Text of the letter from the IPA Value of Advertising Committee. Signed by Tim Broadbent (Bates) Convenor of Judges, Marco Rimini (JWT), Deputy Convenor, Stephen Woodford (WCRS), Chair, Value of Advertising Committee. "Many thanks for giving the IPA Value of Advertising Committee an opportunity to respond to your editorial on the Effective-ness Awards in the August issue. We would very much like to work with the APG to help resolve the issues you highlight, and we welcome feedback from APG members. We have a lot of sympathy for planners who feel that writing an IPA paper is too much extra work on top of everything else they have to do - their 'day jobs', as you put it. We are only too aware how stretched many planners are. However, we have less sympathy for agency CEOs who appear to place low value on evaluation as part of the planning process. We hope the APG will join us in lobbying them about the value of entering the awards. This is not just a matter of resource. We find it rather sad that some large agencies did not enter a single paper this year, while smaller agencies managed multiple entries. For example, BDH TBWA entered six papers, as many as BMP DDB. Well done them. But managers of larger agencies can hardly moan about scarce resource if smaller agencies show what can be done when the spirit is willing. Writing a paper is certainly hard work but the training benefits are profound. Every author we know of became closer to the consumer data, the client's business, and the relation between the two, as a result of preparing an entry. They acquired new skills, knowledge and confidence to take forward in their 'day jobs'. It is a popular misconception that only a 'select group' of agencies enter the Awards. This year we received papers from 11 agencies that had not entered before, so the Awards are becoming more inclusive, not less. Nor have the Awards become too hard to win. This year there are more winners than ever before. And the star system means that more authors will win top prizes than was possible under the previous system. Your point about client support for the Awards, or rather the lack of it, is well made. We are about to go into the field to repeat research amongst ISBA members to gauge their knowledge of and support for the Awards, but there is a lot of anecdotal evidence that more clients declined to enter this year. We need to find out why and to develop a strategy for next time. After all, pressure to demonstrate accountability has never been greater, so one would expect clients to be more enthusiastic. Feedback from APG members would be very helpful, on this and on the Awards' future, so if anyone would like to comment, please let us know." (c) Account Planning Group 1995-2002 |
