Tipy pro napsání úspěšné přihlášky na ČD&P 2015

V předvečer vyhlášení loňské soutěže jsme poprosili předsedu poroty Graema Murrayho, aby se s námi a hlavně s vámi podělil o to, jak napsat přihlášku tak, aby jí porota hodnotila co nejlépe. Letos vám tento text dáváme opět k dispozici, protože jeho aktuálnost ještě zdaleka nevyčichla. Těch několik tipů vypadá docela nenáročně, ale na každé přihlášce je obvykle dobře vidět, kolik času a úsilí její autorský tým věnoval nejen přípravě popisované aktivity, ale i přihlášce samotné. Nepodceňte tedy její přípravu a naplánujte si dostatek času na její napsání i několikeré přepsání. Text jsme záměrně nepřekládali, abyste si užili Graemovu plannerskou angličtinu.

Tips for success at Český Direkt & Promo

As Český Direkt & Promo is about recognizing the whole picture of a campaign’s success – from the strategy, through to the creative execution, implementation to the final results – special care and attention is needed to write a winning entry. All winners need to ideally show a combination of the following factors: (1) powerful strategic thinking; (2) a potent creative idea; (3) an idea rooted in some sort of consumer insight/understanding; (4) inspiring use of channels; (5) excellent execution; (6) an idea that worked and delivered hard business results; and, last but not least, (7) a beautifully written but convincingly made case.

Be transparent  - judges are not clairvoyants! Cases must include sufficient background and details to allow clear understanding. Business background, clear objectives, the target audience, the strategy, the solution, the results are critical components.

Background  - the jury have not necessarily worked in the market you describe. Make it easy for them to grasp the fundamentals of the market and brand, the challenges and key issues it faces.

Objectives  - what were the business, marketing and communications objectives that lay behind the communication investment? What problems were you trying to solve? What opportunities were you attempting to exploit?

Target audience  - who is the intended target audience? How do they currently think/feel/behave towards the brand? What change in behaviour does the brand want to elicit? What understanding and insights were leveraged?

The Solution  - what was the strategic solution? How did you get there and why? What was the final brief to creative and/or media? What was the idea? What were its virtues? How did it manifest itself? Describe the channel(s) deployed.

The Activity  - be clear about how much was spent, on what and when.

The Results  - what happened as a result of the communication activity? Include intermediate measures (e.g. shifts in awareness, brand attitudes and/or consideration) and commercial results ‚proper‘ (extra revenues and/or profits) where possible.

Be crystal clear  – the jury are intelligent human beings. But they are unimpressed by waffle. They are short of time and appreciate a well-written, well-structured entry. So avoid jargon, techno-speak and especially vagueness.

Make it a good read  - the judges have to read a huge number of entries. You are much more likely to win if your argument is clear and your entry is easy and fun to read.

Bring the work to life  – using a video to bring the campaign to life definitely gives an entry an advantage. It gives the jury much more sense/feeling and a clearer idea of the campaign if they can see/hear it in action.

Use real data  - good data = good entry. Bad, inconclusive or missing data = bad entry. Data is needed especially to highlight campaign results.

Involve the client as partner  - involve clients. Client support will ensure access to data and results.

Know the rules  - the Český Direkt & Promo awards are a competition with specific criteria for all entrants (i.e. word count, format, deadlines, etc). Make sure you are aware of these to avoid any last-minute panic and stress.