Last weekend I experienced my second turn at being a juror for the SMPS Marketing & Communication Awards. I’m bound by a confidentiality agreement to not reveal any awards recipients (or non-recipients), but I can talk about my experience. My first year I was on the category of jurors that turned out to be the last category to finish judging - it was very long and grueling. This year I requested a different category.
This year I was asked to be the Team Leader for our category. We sat down at our station with 11 entries and knew it was going to be a long day. We weren’t the last group, but we were not done early.
The whole event is quite interesting as a participating juror. It’s more than just looking at the entries and picking the one we like. Each entry was judged on the same criteria:
It’s a valuable learning experience volunteering as a juror. I had the opportunity to view content from a wide variety of firms from across the United States, and had a first-hand look at some of the things that work really well, and some of the things that don’t work so well.
MCA Judging is a great opportunity for networking. A nice reception started off the evening on Friday, followed by groups heading out for a bite to eat. Saturday evening included a dinner at the Brazilian Steakhouse. I would guess about two-thirds of the jurors attended the dinner, which was organized by the Cincinnati Chapter of SMPS. Then after dinner it was time for drinks at the Cadillac Ranch.
If you ever have the opportunity to judge awards for an organization, try it at least once. The learning experience and networking are well worth the effort of judging.
Big thank you to Melissa Lutz at Champlin Architecture and the Cincinnati Chapter of SMPS for the tremendous job organizing and hosting the MCA Judging weekend.
We’ve had the good fortune to be short-listed for a few projects recently. Some we’ve been selected for, others we haven’t. As we continue to move forward, we are making a diligent effort to debrief. Not only for non-selections, but also the projects we were selected to complete. Let me tell you, it’s been eye opening!
One interview was for a very large project with a public entity. We put together what we thought was a strong team, including a nationally renowned expert. We thought we were thorough and followed guidelines presented. It hurts to get knocked down, we were ranked last of the short-list participants. We know the team is technically capable - it didn’t shine through in our interview. The panel was underwhelmed, and at times confused. What we learned: a non-local expert was not necessary, the project manager is the key speaker - they don’t need to meet everyone at the interview. Key in on the owner’s concerns.
Recently we were selected to complete a project, after a successful interview. Although we were successful, I’m sure we weren’t perfect. And after debriefing, I found out we weren’t. We certainly did some things well. And the things that were not great, were also not terrible.
Unfortunately, what works well for one potential client, may not work with another. The big key is knowing ahead of time, what to prepare for. My advice, if you’re not already doing it, ask to debrief with the head of the interview panel or project manager - whoever will provide you with honest feedback. Listen to what they have to say and work to apply it when appropriate.