Episode 02 — Effie Awards and More Agency Hacks

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Kate Goldsmith — IAPI on the Effie Awards

Daryl (Host): So here we are, and welcome to episode two of the Irish Marketing Podcast, powered by IMJ and Tinpot Productions, with myself as presenter. It is your weekly cruise through the sales and marketing landscape. Before we begin proper, I just wanted to say thanks for all the positive feedback on episode one, which launched last week. It’s very gratifying to know that there are those who have been enjoying what we’re doing so far. We do appreciate your feedback. And now, down to business — on today’s pod, we’ve got Kate Goldsmith from IAPI, who joins us to fill us in on the upcoming Effie Awards, with some insights on how to up your agency awards game.

Kate Goldsmith: …where we were very clear on our strategy to win a Cannes Lion. And then there was deliberate resource and budget put behind that with a multiyear approach, and delighted to say — we won eventually.

Daryl (Host): We’ll also delve into the second part of our interview with Kerrie Sweeney from The Public House. On today’s pod, she’ll be filling us in on hacks four, five and six from her unofficial agency manifesto.

Kerrie Sweeney: And every now and again you’ll go, did they really just ask me that question? Why me? An example — we had this young guy working with us, and I came out of the boardroom and there was a load of biscuits left over from the meeting. He came to me and said, “What will I do with these biscuits left over in the boardroom?” And I said, “Take them home to your friends.” And he’s like, “My friends don’t eat biscuits.”

Daryl (Host): First, we go to the Effie Awards. With entries in and round two judging now complete, the awards will take place on October 17th. Kate Goldsmith is Awards and Performance Director with IAPI, and she joined us in studio recently. Before we get to that interview, though, here’s a flavour from a previous Effie winner — the HSE “Take Back Control” campaign, entered by Publicis and Core.

Daryl (Host): So, Kate, it’s great to have you in studio, thanks for joining us. There are obviously lots of different marketing and advertising awards in Ireland and internationally. What’s the background of the Effies specifically, and where do they sit in the wider awards landscape?

Kate Goldsmith: Yeah, sure. The Effies, as you said, there’s so many awards out there, but the Effies themselves are really the standard for marketing effectiveness. They began 50 years ago in the US, and now they’re in over 50 markets worldwide — it’s a huge global program, a global benchmark. Whereas some awards might be more focused on execution or the creative side, the Effies are all about measurable impact.

Daryl (Host): Can you tell me a little bit about the impact of the Effies outside of the award itself? Are there other industry development resources or best practices that arise from it? It’s a little bit more than just an awards process, isn’t it?

Kate Goldsmith: Yes, definitely. The Effies are way more than one day — it’s a year-long program. There are so many resources. At IAPI, each of the winners to date has granted us access so that we can produce a case study reference guide — we have 2021, 2023, and we’ve just launched the 2024 edition, full of insights. You can see the campaign that was entered, why it won. It’s brilliant to have that. And beyond that, in terms of resources for entrants, we have what we call the clinic — two days of clinics with an expert. This year we had Vera Silva, who’s Global Research Director at Kantar. She gave agencies and brands the opportunity to sit down, look at what categories they want to enter, maybe tweak or refine an angle. We also introduced masterclasses this year, webinars featuring previous winners. And alongside that, we have our winner showcase, which is happening in November.

Daryl (Host): That’s some audio from one of the campaigns featured in the 2024 case study — you mentioned Javelin and PHD, who did some work for the Department of Justice. If we broaden things out a bit — your own background prior to IAPI was working with agencies, both in terms of new business, but also helping agencies to be successful in awards. Can you talk a little bit about, from a business development and marketing strategy point of view, just how important awards are — not just the Effies, but awards in general?

Kate Goldsmith: Hugely important. I think they’re a calling card, in a way, for an agency to stand out and build their own reputation. It’s multifaceted — if you become known as a brilliant creative agency, you’re going to attract the best creative minds, the best planners, who want to solve the best briefs. Equally, clients might be more attracted to come and work with you, because they’ve seen people raise their own profiles through getting awarded or moving up through their careers that way. So it’s hugely important for building the reputation of the agency. But it’s very difficult to do — anyone entering any type of award will know how draining it is in terms of resources, building your case study videos. It can take on a life of its own. If you’re asking for advice, I’d just say: decide exactly what your goal is, what your measure of success is, like you would with anything, before you engage in a project — and then draw a line, maybe you won’t go past this spend, or this much resource — and then after that, just do it.

Daryl (Host): That might require not just an award strategy overall, but a particular strategy for a particular type of award. In other words, every agency wants to make good creative work that has impact — but in order to win awards, there might be certain things you need to do with that work.

Kate Goldsmith: Absolutely. If you can be really clear in your objective — “I want to win an ICAD, a Cannes Lion, a D&AD,” whatever it is — the more focused you can be, the better. I worked at an agency previously where we were very clear, from the top down, on our strategy to win a Cannes Lion. It was no secret — the whole agency was aware this was our strategic objective. There was deliberate resource and budget behind it, with a multiyear approach. It wasn’t done on a whim — there was a core team, clear objectives, and delighted to say we won eventually, a few years ago. An Irish agency winning a Cannes Lion used to be more newsworthy — I think now it’s not unexpected for an Irish agency to win one, or to win on the international stage.

Daryl (Host): Obviously I’m assuming you’ve got to be objective, but are there any standouts from the Effies in recent years that come to mind?

Kate Goldsmith: The ones that objectively stand out, if you want to call it that, would be the ones that have won gold and then gone on to Europe or the global best-of-the-best. Last year, a number of entrants went to Brussels and won at a European level.

Daryl (Host): Okay, thanks Kate. Let’s finish with an example of one of the campaigns that went to Europe, from FNB.

Kerrie Sweeney — Part 2: Hacks Four to Six, The Public House

Daryl (Host): Now, in our first part, Kerrie Sweeney from The Public House was kind enough to talk through some of the lessons she’s learned as MD over the course of the last 12 months or so — but there’s more to come. Before we get into those, we asked her to pick one of her creative highlights from her first year.

Kerrie Sweeney: There’s a few things, actually, that we’ve done this year that we’re really proud of. One that’s been closest to my heart is a radio piece we did for GOAL, to highlight their Gaza appeal.

Daryl (Host): I want to come back to the article you put together for AdWorld, talking about the six things you’ve learned over the course of your first year at The Public House. Number four, you wrote: “When you find yourself in the fortunate position of being able to choose right over wrong, do it.” You’re obviously proudly an independent agency — do you find it’s easier to make those choices because you’re independent?

Kerrie Sweeney: Absolutely. Yeah, it’s a huge bonus, and it’s been amazing — one of the highlights of the year, but also a terrifying thing, because turning away work as an independent agency doesn’t feel amazing. We’ve been approached by two different gambling companies, for example, and we’d decided as an agency we’re not going to promote gambling anymore, because on one hand we work with Movember and mental health charities, and it feels a bit disingenuous to work with gambling companies too.

Daryl (Host): And those moral and ethical decisions aren’t always black and white — there are grey areas and different perspectives. When you’re making those decisions, do you have a strategy or framework, or is it just good instinct — “this doesn’t feel right morally”?

Kerrie Sweeney: It starts off as gut instinct, every time. We obviously talk as a team, the leadership team — we chat about how we can make the decision in a way that’s not detrimental to the business, or that doesn’t go against what everyone else in the business thinks. There’s no strategic framework, it’s really based on a feeling — and then practicalities: can we turn it down, can we stop working with this company? And if we can’t right away, we’ll find a way that eventually we can.

Daryl (Host): Your next hack is “don’t take criticism from someone you wouldn’t take advice from,” which I think is very good general advice. How do you determine valid criticism from criticism that isn’t valid?

Kerrie Sweeney: The people I take advice from are people I respect, that I look up to, that know me and know the role I’m trying to do and what I’m trying to achieve. What they tell me, their observations, I’m generally really appreciative of, and I move on whatever feedback they give me. There are people who are very quick to give you advice who don’t know you, and the advice they give might not be things you’re able to change, or based on anything other than their own feelings.

Daryl (Host): Has that understanding of criticism been refined over the course of the last year at The Public House? In your new role, have you realised more where the good criticism is coming from?

Kerrie Sweeney: Yes, definitely. I look back — maybe I’m not even hearing as much, or not asking for as much feedback now as I was at the start. At the start I was a lot more unsure of myself, kind of looking around every time I did something, to see if somebody would react. I’m a bit more confident in the role now — I’ve done it for over a year, so I trust myself and my own decisions more. I’m not asking people, “what do you think?”

Daryl (Host): Your final hack relates to the fact that it’s all about the people — I think anybody in business will agree with that. You’ve used a phrase, the “pride and perplexity” of the role, which I think encapsulates a lot. Is that best encapsulated in the role of managing people?

Kerrie Sweeney: Yeah, it’s been such a roller coaster — and every day still is, because I don’t think the people piece is ever going to stabilise or get easier or just stop happening. It comes back to that human being thing — we’re literally just creatures coming in to do a job every day, who have emotions, private lives, questions. Some people are coming in and they’re trying to impress you, some people aren’t, some people don’t care, some people care too much — and then those same people are the opposite of themselves a week later, and something else again the week after that, depending on what’s going on in their lives, what projects they’re working on. Some days I sit back and listen to everyone chattering away in the office, and I’m like, “oh my God, what a team, everyone’s worked so hard.” And then, to be fair, the perplexity is always actually a small thing — it’s never the big thing, it’s mostly pride. And every now and again you’ll go, “did they really just ask me that question?” Like the biscuit thing — I was writing a big document, and he could have asked literally anyone else in the office, but he came over to ask me what to do with the biscuits. It’s kind of funny looking back — you’re sitting there puzzled, going, “was there really no one else you could have asked?”

Daryl (Host): And that was Kerrie Sweeney there, finishing with the rarely-discussed agency biscuit dilemma. That’s it for this edition of the Irish Marketing Podcast, recorded, edited and mixed at Tinpot Productions Studios. If you liked the podcast, feel free to leave a positive rating or review — thank you very much. The next pod will land on Friday, wherever you pick your pods. And thanks for listening.