It being that time of year again (ie. three days after the official deadline for entering the ISP Awards), I find myself tapping away on the merits of some of our love's labours (hopefully not lost). But with the sun glinting enticingly off the snow outside my studio window, I also find myself thinking, is it worth it? Actually, this is a subject on which the answer for me comes quickly. It's a bit like that old chestnut, the speculative pitch. People tend to hate it, but acquiesce nevertheless. In my case, I have to say, down the years I've only ever undertaken free pitches when I've got nothing better to do (so Spring and Autumn are out, most of summer, and much of the footie season), or when I really have believed that between the harsh lines of the brief I've detected a softly spoken hidden message. (Sometimes misguidedly so!)
But, for me, awards are a different matter. They might be highly speculative, with odds of winning stretching way beyond those of even the most outrageously lengthy pitch-list... yet still I do 'em. Unquestioningly. Even though I want to be outdoors on this majestic day. And I realise why as soon as I get my teeth into the data kindly provided by client and account team, and force myself to sit and - for once in the year - actually digest the results. Then it hits me... Hey! This stuff works! And it doesn't just work a bit... it REALLY works!! This isn't a pre-sell in case you're an ISP judge, but right now I'm writing about a promotional campaign (where the client could lazily have opted to spend the money on advertising) which has achieved on a national scale a gross return on investment of £287 for every single £1 spent. Now what kind of advertising can do that?
And so - yes - it is worth it, all this effort - and not for the winning of gongs (great though that can be), but because every 12 months it provides a much-needed triple-ABC-jag of Assurance, Belief and Conviction. SP might be the discipline that requires most perspiration, but in return it delivers - probably better than any other form of marketing communication. I think the clue's in the name... it's the bit about SALES.
