ESI Media, Initiative and We Are Pi offer tips on entering The Drum Content Awards 2018: "Brevity is your friend, bull s**t is not"
Senior players from ESI Media and Initiative have joined the judging panel for The Drum Content Awards 2018.
2017 Grand Prix winner We Are Pi
Content marketing and branded entertainment focuses on creating and distributing valuable, relevant, and consistent content to attract and retain a clearly-defined audience — and, ultimately, to drive profitable customer action. These awards celebrate and honour the best in modern marketing.
"Brevity is your friend, bull s**t is not. If you don’t believe in your entry nor will the judges," said judge and trade marketing and insight director, ESI Media, Katie Ingram. "I want to see campaigns that are exciting, that mean something to the consumer and have made a difference to the fortunes of the brand. For me, a cookie cutter campaign that could be picked up and rehashed for someone else isn’t going to be good enough to win."
Claire Elsworth, innovation director at Initiative, is excited to see how this year’s work has used content to start a dialogue with their audience, taking their messages beyond one-way conversations. "I’m looking for brands who have genuinely engaged people in ways which are genuinely culturally relevant, with genuinely demonstrable business results to prove it."
We Are Pi won the coveted Grand Prix in 2017 for their work with Desperados.
Patrick Garvey, founding partner and chief marketing officer said: "Winning the Grand Prix and Best Branded Content campaigns not only was a fantastic moment for the agency but most importantly validated all the incredibly hard work that the team at Pi and our clients had put in over the last year.
"Creating world class content is one thing, but ensuring that our work also delivers tangible commercial results is another, so it was great to be recognised for this as much as creating something so fun. I definitely encourage all agencies to enter these awards especially if your content is moving the needle on behalf of your clients."
Elsworth wants entrants to be as proud of their entry as they are of their work. "You’ve already worked so hard to deliver amazing results for your brand, make sure you’re telling us judges just how brilliant a job you did. The best entries ooze passion through great storytelling that bring the work to life."
Former judge Andrew Canter, chief executive officer, BCMA believes that entrants should try to be succinct when writing your entries. He said: "An ‘Executive Summary’ is greatly appreciated. Focus on the ‘outcomes’ rather than the ‘outputs’. Wherever possible state the budget and always use the template provided."
The entry deadline is Friday 24 August, download your entry pack now and show the industry the outstanding work you have been producing.
These awards are sponsored by Tubular Labs.