How does one agency sweep up at The Drum Recommends Awards?
For four consecutive years, strategic communications company, TMC Communications has won the Grand Prix (among other awards) at The Drum Recommends Awards.
In this video interview, Tim McCloud, managing director at TMC , talks about the legacy of TMC and how 13 years later they can boast an award-winning team.
TMC was founded in 2006 to focus on medical societies, brands and organizations that are really interested in building member-centric strategies. Having just sold a share in a previous business and learning a few tough lessons along the way, McCloud decided to create TMC. Was he prepared to start again? Yes. But it wasn't about him, it was about building a team of talented people.
"We've encouraged an atmosphere to ask the question why? And when they ask why, all of a sudden we create some amazing, brilliant things."
How have they done so well when it comes to The Drum Recommends Awards? Well, they go out and ask their clients directly for recommendations.
"We ask the question of why to our clients," says McCloud. "If we're not prepared to ask our clients for a recommendation then clearly the relationships not strong enough. If the relationship is strong enough, it's a very simple question to ask. And at that point, our clients are happy to recommend us in the way that they have done to date. We use it as a barometer within our organisation."
Winning for the agency means visibility. "What we've seen is increased exposure, and increased visibility through The Drum Recommends website," he says. "Those increased inbound inquiries means that we can now look at that as part of our marketing strategy as we move the agency forward.
It's also about pride, he adds. "It's about validation. Seeing the team upon stage having such a great time, being together and joined up together, that's what makes it a successful agency. These awards are absolutely essential within the industry.
"They've got a unique place because fundamentally what they do, they create an independent audit of your performance of your agency, and that is a significant benchmark. If you use that properly, you can measure the performance of your agency and the relationships you have with your clients.
"This is not something that a successful agency should shy away from and this surely should be a continued priority for agencies in such a busy and loud industry."
The Drum Recommends Awards 2019 has been and gone, but you can still be recommended for The Drum Recommends Digital Awards. If you're apart of The Drum Recommends, why not ask your clients "why" you're the best agency around?