Creativity meets commercialism with Axis awards

By IRENE CHAPPLE

The advertising industry's annual orgy of self-congratulation has even more icing on the cake this year.

Research shows the industry may be able to convince clients to pay them more.

Awards, prizes, and plaudits will be in evidence at the AXIS Awards tonight.

Advertising is an industry fattened on them. In theory, the more creative accolades won, the more employable you become. New York and London will beckon, the pay packet leaps and drinking champagne becomes a pastime.

Ethics can be put on the line: Just this year, two London Ogilvy & Mather creatives were stripped of Campaign Press Awards after admitting they entered doctored versions of the actual advertisements.

New Zealand's a tad too small to do anything so brazen, and no one has been declined an award.

But AXIS is one of a bunch of international awards - Clio, D&AD and Cannes Lions among others - that celebrates creativity without the need to prove effectiveness. The industry loves them because they're utterly narcissistic - actually proving any commercial success for a client doesn't get a look-in.

The basic AXIS rules are simply that an advertisement entered must be paid for by a client, and published in the media. That leaves open subtle tactics for winning: Placing wildly creative but commercially risky advertisements in an obscure magazine, for example. Or having a client that is so small it is barely a commercial entity.

Indeed, the value of awards celebrating nothing but artistic merit is being questioned in an industry where the client's aim is purely commercial.

Money for interesting but ineffectual campaigns simply isn't floating around anymore. The clients may be impressed by the chunky accolades adorning the reception area of every agency in town, but that's not going to convince them to part with the dosh.

Over the past decade, advertising's creative laissez-faire has been noticeably crunched. Effectiveness is the new it-word - unsurprisingly, the clients want proof the advertisements are working. And, if the agencies can categorically prove it does that, clients are willing to pay them more.

That's according to research done by for the Communication Agencies Association of New Zealand (CAANZ).

At the association's annual meeting today, its president and DDB chief executive Martin O'Halloran will stand up and encourage the industry to brag. Because the one-on-one interviews held with various executives of multinational and local clients offers a major warm fluffy: The clients value the agencies - they just want proof the advertising campaigns are working.

Proving return on investment is the biggest single issue facing the industry today.

Consequently, the Effie Awards, which rewards effectiveness, could be a rising star on the awards calender.

The globally recognised Effies make their debut in New Zealand in August, replacing the Advertising Effectiveness Awards.

No entries have been received yet, but CAANZ's Clare Cassrels says she is getting plenty of phone inquiries.

Proving effectiveness is much harder than simply entering a piece of creative work. Entries for the Advertising Effectiveness Awards generally hovered below 100, compared with more than 1000 entered for this year's AXIS.

O'Halloran says both awards ceremonies are needed. AXIS focuses on the best ideas and concepts, and rewards the craftspeople involved in production. Then the Effies step in to recognise the overall effectiveness of campaigns and how much they move the product. However, he won't rule out effectiveness becoming a judging criteria at AXIS.

But O'Halloran believes creativity and effectiveness are natural partners anyway. He quotes the industry's internationally recognised Gunn Report, which found most creatively successful campaigns also moved the product.

CAANZ intends to gather data from the AXIS winners to discover if the Gunn findings are reflected in New Zealand.

If so, the industry may have the collective power to push for a pay rise.

Pay packets for advertising people have stayed still for at least five years, says O'Halloran. He says average pay sits at US$35,000 to US$40,000 for a junior, US$70,000 to US$80,000 for a middleweight and up to US$200,000 for creative directors.

While New Zealand attracts creatives for lifestyle, it can't compete when pounds or American dollars are offered to talented young creatives.

"We need to stand up a little bit more, and prove to people what we can do for brands and business," says O'Halloran. "More agencies should be promoting themselves."