Chris Cradduck’s Post

Meaningful work is the essence of our industry. It means it matters. It is significant, relevant, material, telling, weighty, and worthwhile. It makes the audience think, feel, and act. It drives market share and feeds the salaries of the brand's employees and everyone within the supply chain. The opposite is inconsequential. It doesn't matter. For over a decade, even longer, I have challenged the advertising agency's obsession with chasing glass. Here is an article from 2014, as I am leaving the advertising world, with a call out to clients and advertisers. https://lnkd.in/d8n9Y8vY I have always said that this sector would be revered if even half the time and money their internal teams invested in competing for the thousands of gold awards were diverted to solving society's biggest problems. They would have clients banging on the door and looking for real solutions. Many associations and magazines depend on profits from awards shows, but a healthier industry would lead to healthier businesses. In my upcoming interview with Frank Palmer for the American Marketing Association (AMA), Toronto, he voiced a similar sentiment. in a few seconds, Zulu Alpha Kilo Inc., in this brilliant parody, said what I had felt for years. Enough is enough. Please take a look at this fantastic ad and share it. Now, let's get the top minds of their agencies focused on affordable housing, the growing social divide, keeping young males in schools, donating organs, eliminating food waste, and so much more. Those working on these initiatives will feel much better by improving our world. The owners of agencies can move the millions they spend into hiring and training staff. And for the brilliant creative talent in Canada, is this not the purposeful work you got into the industry for, the work that truly matters? Thoughts? https://lnkd.in/gWYGr2-8 #chatterthatmatters #awards #whatmatters #humanity Mike Sutton Canadian Marketing Association Brunico Communications Millennial Award Show Brick Award Creative Circle Awards Creative Retail Awards American Advertising Awards - Los Angeles etc. Broken Heart Love Affair Rethink FCB Canada Bob's Your Uncle Cossette Bensimon Byrne Leo Burnett LG2 Sid Lee john st. Anomaly No Fixed Address Inc. Fuse Scott Knox ICA - Institute of Canadian Agencies Alison Simpson Mary Maddever The Clio Awards Midfield mike power Arron Brailsford Nick Dean Facebook Marketing & Ads Christina Martucci

Our brilliant Strategy Director, Sarah Clarke, is sharing the key insights picked up from her recent experience as a judge at the #MediaWeekAwards. Discover Sarah's key learnings and takeaways below 👇 #AwardsJudge #MediaInsights

Are you sick of seeing competitors win awards that should be yours? Have you always wanted to win an award but don’t know where to start? Have you tried entering awards and found the process to be too time consuming and difficult? Green Door Co can help. By partnering with Green Door Co you get to leave the hard work to us, giving you the peace of mind that you’re putting your very best foot forward and that you’ll never miss an awards deadline. We handle the process end-to-end from matching you with the right awards through to writing captivating awards submissions, allowing you to stay focussed on what you do best. ➡️ https://lnkd.in/g-NTDygi

📣For all members who value creativity… We saved you a seat. As the 2024 awards season comes to a close we invite you to behind-the-scenes straight from the judging room – where creativity without confines is celebrated – witness the deliberations that defined the future of advertising and creative excellence this season. ➖Learn from the Best: Hear directly from top creatives and industry pioneers as they share their thoughts, critiques, and insights. ➖Inspire Your Own Work: Understand what sets winning ideas apart and apply these lessons to your own creative projects. ➖Stay Ahead of Trends: Get a sneak peek into the trends and innovations shaping the future of advertising and creativity. Don’t miss this look inside the judging process. It’s more than just an awards show; it’s a celebration of creativity, ideas, and the relentless pursuit of excellence. Discussions coming June 10th.

Just for some fun, and because I’m not a big prankster on April 1st, here are my 1st quarter Most Likely Awards (maybe I should create actual prizes for the next round. Most likely to include Disney in a LI post? KELLY IANNONE Most likely to provide a message that motivates me? Maurice Philogene Most likely to banter about NCAA college football rivals? Amy Sylvis (USC) vs Brian Briscoe (Utah) Most likely to provide thought provoking quotes? Andrew Rosenberg Most likely to talk about one think passionately? Tzvi 'LLC' Weiser (LLC’s), and Bill Fanter (Options Trading) (Tie) Most likely to be the quickest to reply to a question I have? Elijah Brown Add your own most likely award in the comments.

I recently had the fun task of putting these fabulous people into teams Judging teams, that is It's not quite award season, but behind the scenes, it never stops With the help of our judging committee Mayokun - Mac Alonge, Sope Agbelusi, Demi S. and the wider BTA team we have: - recruited and onboarded new judges - look out for announcements 🎉 - refined the entry forms to make sure all of the nominees shine ✨ - rebuilt the judging system and tested it to destruction 🤯 Awards aren't everyone's cup of tea, but... At the BTAs, we do our utmost to make sure the process is fair and efficient - We offer feedback to everyone who enters who doesn't get shortlisted - All finalists are interviewed before the winners are chosen - The judging process is rigorous, but it's also fun BTAs recognise people who just get their heads down and do a good job - People who often don't like to blow their own trumpet 🎺 - People who may not even be on Linkedin 😳 - People who shun the spotlight 🙈 Nominations are open - employees, solopreneurs, small and large businesses Head to Black Talent Awards and nominate - give someone their flowers 💐 #Inclusion #BlackTalentAwards

This is allyship in action.

This time last year, I was staring down the barrel of 2023 with a strange mix of excitement and trepidation. A new post-pandemic era had dawned, and with it came big ideas, and big world changes, like the advent of AI being implemented everywhere we looked. No one knew what hopes (or fears) might be realised in the year to come. And when the media is filled with both personal and economic devastation around the world, it’s hard for anyone to know how to prepare for tomorrow. Do you ramp up and recruit, or do you batten down and be careful? Do you be sensible and play safe? Or be brave and play to win? Well, the awards industry has been pivoting and rallying year-on-year to provide what companies need to recognise their teams. This has included changing their format time and time again, moving from live, to online, back to live, and then back to online again! Awards deadlines have moved to account for new calendar events, like celebration bank holidays, and to give people the time they needed to get prepared, because people are more stretched than ever in their roles. For me, continuing our growth has been about listening to my intuition about what to do and when to do it, making sure everything we do is worthwhile in one way or another, building relationships and supporting our business partners, and creating a firm strategy so that the whole team knows where we are going, and how we are going to get there! So as we move into another new year (and because I always bang on about measuring impact) here’s our year in numbers...and why we’ll be enjoying a jolly good rest over Christmas! 👋 800+ awards entrants educated 📚 650 WIN! Books gifted 🏆 243 Unique awards projects 💪 120 Hours team training 🎬 48 Promotional videos 🍽️ 34 Awards dinners 🥂 32 Awards events hosted 👫 6 New team members 🏣 2 New offices 🖥️ 1 Snazzy new website 🤖 1 Fully trained August AI Awards assistant (Give it a try on the website!) 🚀 1 New Awards Accelerator programme ❤️ Plus many hours volunteering Phew! We’ve got so much more planned for next year, we’d love you to join us and make 2024 the year you stand out. If you'd like to find out how to amplify your brand in 2023, and discover why our Brooke Gwynne's been hanging out in our local wine shop, watch the short video below and get your new year off to a bang! 💥 Thank you for all your support over the last year. We wish you health and happiness this Christmas season and look forward to taking care of your winning brand in 2024🎄

Back in 2020, many of the more senior briefs we worked on specifically requested people of colour. Our advice then was that this would just be moving the few senior black/brown folk available between agencies. Your agency would be that little bit more diverse but it was a zero-sum game for the industry as a whole. More sustainable change would come from making Adland more open to a wider pool of talent and it is admirable that various schemes were developed to help improve diversity at the bottom of the pyramid. Four years is clearly too soon to see these cohorts in decision-making roles. However, It's disappointing that so many feel that any success seems not to have yet translated to significant opportunities for POCs to even make it to these more senior positions.

As we bid farewell to 2023, take a trip down memory lane with our PR events and office shenanigans. Here's to a year of success and camaraderie! #YearInReview #PRFamily 🌟 #YearInReview #NewBeginnings"