I spent last week in the winter wonderland of Madison, WI, judging the Golden Mirror Awards. First things first: I should never, ever be allowed to drive in the snow. Apologies to the three or four drivers I almost ruined on Loop 12.
Second: Here are a few things I noticed while judging -
Solvent Green
2008 was a big year for "going green." Here's a small but tasty sample:
What do you think about the Green Fever™?
Small to mid-sized credit unions (assets under $700 million) are consistently doing better creative work than bigger shops.
I wrote about this earlier in the week on Open Source CU, and asked "Why is that?" Here are few of the comments:
"I’m guessing marketers at larger CU’s simply have too many masters to serve…and perhaps a more heterogeneous field of membership."
- Matt Davis, Director of Public Relations, Members Credit Union
" It is much easier to tap into one group of folks that make up your membership.
This could be one huge set back that CUs with community charters would need to think about?"
- Eric Fisher, Jwaala
"The bigger you get the safer you get. Too many cooks have to put their seal of approval on everything which ultimately waters it down"
- Tim McAlpine, Creative Director, Currency Marketing
"Who knows your business best? Your or an outsider? Others can give you a view from a broader perspective and give you a shot of reality when you are delusional, but the lens you view your business from is a key component. Sometimes outsiders discount that component and you end up with the cold porridge look."
- Gene Blishen, General Manager, Mt. Lehman Credit Union
"The question, for any organization becomes, 'how do we get our best ideas out of people and still maintain some sort of organization structure?' In my view, advertising and marketing should have the same channel to the top that the CFO does."
- Ed Steenman, Owner, Steenman & Associates
To summarize - the bigger you are:
- ...the more bureaucracy can break down creativity.
- ...the more diluted your message can become as you're forced to appeal to a broader membership.
There's nothing wrong with being big, it just presents new problems to address as you grow. Smaller, specific shops are more nimble, and - due to limited resources - are often forced to think outside of the box.
The puns....oh, the puns
Or as Denise dubbed it, "The Punundrum." As I tallied points for Results, Creativity, Planning, and Production Quality...I also secretly tallied puns. At the end of day two, I had counted 73 puns. And that's only in the categories I judged.
This is a purely personal request, but dear marketers: please relax with the puns in 2009.
And some bonus bits
- There was some really impressive brand design work and brand standards books. Again, a lot of this was by mid-sized CUs. And two of my absolute favorites were done entirely in-house.
- There are loads of credit unions that, in lieu of a proper name, roll with their acronym. Which ends up being a string of letters. Which tends to be about as easy to remember as a phone number.
- Dinnertime conversation revolved around the truly brilliant and truly awful pieces.
- I learned a ton from this experience. If you're ever presented the opportunity, I highly recommend going through the judging process. Thanks, CUES, for having me out.
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Brent Dixon is the Founder and Principal of The Haberdashery, a New York-based design and new media studio. He plays editor at credit union blog Open Source CU, and writes about whatever tickles his fancy at ItsJustBrent.com.
And if you run into him in Denver at this year's CUES Experience, he'd like to buy you a drink.
