“We have a perception that we are not hot, and that perception keeps us from being hot…We have to get a couple of [big] wins, and that perception will go away.” -Pat Fallon speaking to the WSJ
Marc Babej thinks the standard for “hot” should be rooted in the only thing that really matters about advertising: its ability to generate sales and/or justify margins.
Even though there’s way too much emphasis placed on awards shows, there is one that addresses Marc’s concerns–The Effies. Interestingly, many Effie winners also regualrly win One Show pencils, Lions and the like. This fact suggests that creativity does indeed drive sales.
As to Mr. Fallon’s assertion, I’m glad to see the man is humble after all these years of stupefying success. Yet, his worry that his shop is no longer “hot” seems laughable to me. If Fallon’s not hot, the rest of us must live in an igloo of our making.
I think Pat summed up the way it works across the board in the ad biz–for individuals as well as agencies. If people think you’re good, or hot, or on a roll, then you are. If people think you’re not, then you’re not. Or, to paraphrase an old campaign of his, perception is reality.
DOES THE “EFFIE” REALLY AWARD ADVERTISING AND MARKETING EFFECTIVENESS?
The major problem with award shows is that they worship the wrong god – creativity rather than effectiveness. David Burns
Smock’s Rule of Thumb: Generally speaking an agency’s potential effectiveness (their ability to generate sales, margin, share) is inversely related to how many creative awards they’ve won.