Ever since they hauled in 127 Tampa Addys back in 2006, I’ve been keeping track of Tampa agency Pyper Paul + Kenney’s metallurgic sweepage.
This year, I’m happy to report an uptick in ADDY wins as compared to last year. From the Tampa Bay Business Journal:
Pyper Paul + Kenney won 62 Addys, including four “Best of Bay” awards, in the recently completed district competition through the Tampa Bay Advertising Federation.
PP+K’s winnings include 18 Gold awards and 44 Silver awards for clients ranging from Metropolitan Ministries, Jailhouse Fire, Operation Helping Hand and Lowry Park Zoo.
“Our clients could care less about awards,” said Tom Kenney, executive creative director for PP+K, in a release. “Their only concern is bottom-line business results. And while an award is a nice thing to place on a shelf somewhere in your office only to live a lonely and meaningless existence and never to be spoken of again, it’s our clients’ record results in 2008 that our creative work helped to produce that we like to spend our time chatting about.”
The story notes that PP+K spent at least $3500 in entry fees based on the number of winning ones. Which means the Tampa Addy’s cost less to enter than the ones here in Atlanta, for example.
So let me get this straight: PP+K spent a minimum of $3500 to win a bunch of awards that they themselves admit have no real significance and that are “meaningless” compared to the “record results” they have achieved for their clients? Yeah, right. . .
That’s why we find this story worth reporting year after year. It’s a great insight into the agency business.
I always like to know how many the agency entered myself, so thanks for reporting the $$ they spent. In other words, I think the RATIO of what they entered to what they won is more significant than the number of things they won.
Just to help alleviate the hate. PP+K has averaged 77% wins of their total entries. Including averaging 8 of the 12 “Best of Bays” for the last four years. Including winning 3 of the 4 “Best of Shows” handed out over the last four years. Kudos to Tampa Digital’s excellent work for the Salvador Museum this year that took the “Best of Show” honors…it deserved it. PP+K, out of 120 agenies winning awards in the final chapter of the competition at the national level in 2008 finished 6th in the United States with 7 total national ADDYs last year. The five agencies finishing with more awards were BBDO, GSD&M, Leo Burnett, Arnold and DDB. So the only question PP+K is probably asking themselves is “why all the hate?” What did they do to piss everyone off? Well, if the stupid ADDYs piss people off, what is everyone going to be thinking when they find out that PP+K’s (27 and under age creative team) beat out Crispin, Chiat, Goodby, Fallon, etc…to be Team USA for Cannes Young Lions for the Film category? Goodby won print and media and another interactive firm in San Francisco won online. So I guess you could call it the battle of the bays. Is PP+K full of crap…or is it everyone who spends all of their time ripping them apart that is full of crap. Lastly, PP+K started their agency because they thought all of the agencies in Tampa were crap (with the exception of 22squared, Michael Peters agency called Spark and Troy Dunn’s agency call Dunn&Co.). Was PP+K wrong? Ask Michael Peters or Troy Dunn if they think PP+K has played the game right. Ask them if they’ve ever heard one word of slander from anyone at PP+K about them or their agencies. Then go ask the other 50 “so-called” agencies in Tampa where they got their experience, ask them for their resumes, what brands they’ve helped to develop (ask them for case studies), and what their philosophies are regarding award shows and why they enter them. I will guarantee they’ll say the same thing that PP+K would say…the awards allow the agency to attract better creative talent to grow their businesses and the services and products they deliver to their Clients to grow their businesses. Spark and Dunn, while keeping it to themselves, know that there is no talent in Tampa to take their excellent businesses to the next level (i.e. not being identified as a local-Tampa agency and getting into larger reviews). I guarantee you five years from now, that not only will PP+K be the largest agency in Florida outside of Miami, but that Spark and Dunn will be on similar paths towards greatness. The fundamental similarities between these agencies is passion and vision that is shared from the top down. And all three of the agencies look at their work and look at it and go…”damn’t, if the Clients here had a little more budget, and gave us a litte more time, and opened up their trust to the talent that live in our agencies….that the big marketers would stay here. They’d only been leaving town (before the recent inception of PP+K, Spark and Dunn) because the other agencies were made up of ex-media reps with no national agency expierience and were selling this thing called branding with no real world experience in doing it with anything other than a local car dealer. You don’t see Spark, Dunn or PP+K spewing out trademaked branding processes…because they know that’s all dog and pony and it’s not a simple static process with some kind of formula. The agency websites in Tampa that have trademarked branding techniques have either ripped them off from something they’ve read in an article or book…or plagerized a brand strategy methodology they found online from a big national agency. As painful as this must be for “so called” Tampa ad agencies or ad people to read…the bottom line is that this is the truth. And the agencies who get it, just leave it alone and let the hate and venom spew. Just like the venom spew on Crispin as it broke away from Miami, and The Martin Agency from Richmond, and Wieden from Portland, and GSD&M from Austin. Tampa’s time has come…and let’s all thank heaven for Michael Peters, Troy Dunn, Tom Kenney…and the talented creative team led by Scott Schienberg at 22quared for keeping the dream alive for Tampa. Because until now, these other “so-called” tampa ad agencies have been working in a field that requires passion, brilliance and a never ending commitment and accountability to their Clients success. They’ve been selling lies…and wasting marketers budgets…and putting companies out of business. And I for one believe that it’s been criminal, and that jail time is deserved for falsely representing themselves as ad agencies. So to all the haters…keep on hating. And to all the players, we know who you are…keeping on slaving away striving for greatness and know that there are a couple other agencies around the area that know what you’re going through…and that your not wearing your souls on your sleeves, but in your hearts. Again, Kudos to Spark,Dunn, 22squared and even Tampa Digital and Sound Asylum. There is greateness in Tampa…but they’ve already found there homes in these agencies. Let’s go Tampa.
Just to help alleviate the hate. PP+K has averaged 77% wins of their total entries. Including averaging 8 of the 12 “Best of Bays” for the last four years. Including winning 3 of the 4 “Best of Shows” handed out over the last four years. Kudos to Tampa Digital’s excellent work for the Salvador Museum this year that took the “Best of Show” honors…it deserved it. PP+K, out of 120 agenies winning awards in the final chapter of the competition at the national level in 2008 finished 6th in the United States with 7 total national ADDYs last year. The five agencies finishing with more awards were BBDO, GSD&M, Leo Burnett, Arnold and DDB. So the only question PP+K is probably asking themselves is “why all the hate?” What did they do to piss everyone off? Well, if the stupid ADDYs piss people off, what is everyone going to be thinking when they find out that PP+K’s (27 and under age creative team) beat out Crispin, Chiat, Goodby, Fallon, etc…to be Team USA for Cannes Young Lions for the Film category? Goodby won print and media and another interactive firm in San Francisco won online. So I guess you could call it the battle of the bays. Is PP+K full of crap…or is it everyone who spends all of their time ripping them apart that is full of crap. Lastly, PP+K started their agency because they thought all of the agencies in Tampa were crap (with the exception of 22squared, Michael Peters agency called Spark and Troy Dunn’s agency call Dunn&Co.). Was PP+K wrong? Ask Michael Peters or Troy Dunn if they think PP+K has played the game right. Ask them if they’ve ever heard one word of slander from anyone at PP+K about them or their agencies. Then go ask the other 50 “so-called” agencies in Tampa where they got their experience, ask them for their resumes, what brands they’ve helped to develop (ask them for case studies), and what their philosophies are regarding award shows and why they enter them. I will guarantee they’ll say the same thing that PP+K would say…the awards allow the agency to attract better creative talent to grow their businesses and the services and products they deliver to their Clients to grow their businesses. Spark and Dunn, while keeping it to themselves, know that there is no talent in Tampa to take their excellent businesses to the next level (i.e. not being identified as a local-Tampa agency and getting into larger reviews). I guarantee you five years from now, that not only will PP+K be the largest agency in Florida outside of Miami, but that Spark and Dunn will be on similar paths towards greatness. The fundamental similarities between these agencies is passion and vision that is shared from the top down. And all three of the agencies look at their work and look at it and go…”damn’t, if the Clients here had a little more budget, and gave us a litte more time, and opened up their trust to the talent that live in our agencies….that the big marketers would stay here. They’d only been leaving town (before the recent inception of PP+K, Spark and Dunn) because the other agencies were made up of ex-media reps with no national agency expierience and were selling this thing called branding with no real world experience in doing it with anything other than a local car dealer. You don’t see Spark, Dunn or PP+K spewing out trademaked branding processes…because they know that’s all dog and pony and it’s not a simple static process with some kind of formula. The agency websites in Tampa that have trademarked branding techniques have either ripped them off from something they’ve read in an article or book…or plagerized a brand strategy methodology they found online from a big national agency. As painful as this must be for “so called” Tampa ad agencies or ad people to read…the bottom line is that this is the truth. And the agencies who get it, just leave it alone and let the hate and venom spew. Just like the venom spew on Crispin as it broke away from Miami, and The Martin Agency from Richmond, and Wieden from Portland, and GSD&M from Austin. Tampa’s time has come…and let’s all thank heaven for Michael Peters, Troy Dunn, Tom Kenney…and the talented creative team led by Scott Schienberg at 22quared for keeping the dream alive for Tampa. Because until now, these other “so-called” tampa ad agencies have been working in a field that requires passion, brilliance and a never ending commitment and accountability to their Clients success. They’ve been selling lies…and wasting marketers budgets…and putting companies out of business. And I for one believe that it’s been criminal, and that jail time is deserved for falsely representing themselves as ad agencies. So to all the haters…keep on hating. And to all the players, we know who you are…keeping on slaving away striving for greatness and know that there are a couple other agencies around the area that know what you’re going through…and that your not wearing your souls on your sleeves, but in your hearts. Again, Kudos to Spark,Dunn, 22squared and even Tampa Digital and Sound Asylum. There is greateness in Tampa…but they’ve already found there homes in these agencies. Let’s go Tampa.