I’ve never personally won an editorial or marketing award.
There, I said it. The dark admission that comes with a whisp of inferiority. Of being good but maybe not the best. The internal voice that snickers every time I write an awards entry.
And I’ve written many.
I wrote a few this year, too, for The Vetty Awards. And I still didn’t win. Our team won, and that’s even better.
That’s the difference here at S&A. When we enter our work into competitions, we’re not entering any one person’s work. We’re entering our work.
Before the saccharine chokes you, let me explain.
Our work truly is a team effort. Before starting content and creative, we make sure we understand what our partners need to achieve and why. These strategy sessions are orchestrated by leadership and, depending on the project, may include our chief officers, group directors, account directors, creative directors, content directors, senior designers, senior content specialists ....
We conjure our deep expertise in marketing and animal health, putting our unique Brand Whispering™ approach to work building creative that solves the customer’s real problem. And not with the same old same old.
Sure, mobile games aren’t new. But mobile games created specifically to entertain pet owners waiting in their cars during curbside veterinary appointments? That’s new. We infused the games with branded content that helps pet owners get better healthcare for their pets, which boosts the veterinarian’s business as well as our partner’s.
Now that’s special. So much so, in fact, that it netted us a Gold Vetty and a coveted Judge's Award.
We took home a total of 16 Vetty wins this year. That’s no small feat and it took our whole team to make it happen.
No matter which one of us animates the bubble popper or pens the headline or secures the ad space, our whole team works together toward the singular purpose of creating a final product that achieves our partner’s goal. After all, that’s what we do; we build relationships between brands and people.
When we get great results for our partners and their customers, our work has already won.
But winning an award does feel good. Almost as good as squashing that voice in my head with one collective team stomp.