CK's Blog

Clever, creative thinking: the stuff that Awards are made of.

Back in May when I began this blog I decided in addition to using it as a tool for connecting with top marketers, I would also use it as a channel to honor great thinking--or at least what I thought was great.

This is nothing out of the ordinary since we all celebrate and critique programs everyday through our posts. But sometimes innovation and ingenuity deserve a bit more recognition. And that's how the Smart Marketing Award came into being. I think of it like so:

Hollywood hails Oscar. Broadway guns for Tony. Mad Ave covets Clio. This blog boasts the smart guy on the right.

It's more recognition than reward--there's no door prize, glitzy ceremony or fancy statuette--but the award makes it special. I can't tell you how often I'll recognize an entity with an award because I can't predict how often brilliance will strike. But looking back on this past year, there's one initiative in particular that continues to impress upon me since I covered it back in September.

Before I get into the "who' let me elaborate on "why" this entity is award-worthy:

• Changing Behavior: The most challenging goal in existence is change, be it prodding your audience to adopt a new practice, knocking an old habit or switching brands.
• Show vs. Tell: The program is based on "show" not "tell": As you'll learn below, people are more likely to act when you show them the problem vs. when you merely tell them the ramifications (especially if the issue is invisible to the naked eye).
• Meaningful Difference: This program saves lives...money is great folks, but saving lives is the supreme ROI.
• Personal Favorite: The program was created by non-marketers. My money was on some non-marketers winning the awards (we're hardly the only people with marketing savvy).

Sans further ado, I present to you the first recipient of a Smart Marketing Award: Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, California for their hand-hygiene program...

Ideas aren't limited to one person...why should awards be?

Hollywood hails Oscar. Broadway guns for Tony. Mad Ave covets Clio. This blog boasts the smart guy on the right.

Why are you giving awards? It's more recognition than award, but the award makes it special. I'm giving them because working in this wonderful profession I know how much a thank you, a nod and a note of recognition means after slaving over complicated strategies and tedious tactics.

What are the awards for? A wide range of achievements: smart marketing spans brilliant ideas, clever strategies, successful programs and ingenious tactics.

What's the criteria? It's an unscientific, completely subjective award system. There really are no rules. No that's not true, I just instituted two: you can't nominate yourself and I can't give one to myself (but I do want one).

What do winners receive? Recipients get a write-up, the opportunity to be profiled in my interview series and a "That was some smart marketing!" e-mail from yours truly. No statuette or door prize at this time.

Who can participate? Everyone. I can only be in so many places and brilliance is in so many more. If you want to nominate someone for the smart marketing they've done, please send me a note detailing who's worthy, why so and what remarkable idea, strategy, practice or tactic they've accomplished. If I agree, you'll receive full and complete recognition for recognizing them.

How often do you grant these? Well, how often does brilliance strike? I assume there will be months with a few winners and months without any. That's just the ebb and flow of ideas.

Thanks for making this profession so dynamic--and now, more rewarding,

- ck

p.s.: Stay tuned: my money is on some non-marketers winning awards, too (we marketers aren't the only ones with marketing savvy).