Streamlining award programme excellence

Overview

The Commercial Communications Council – the Comms Council for short – is the peak body for advertising & communications agencies in Aotearoa New Zealand. They are dedicated to the long-term prosperity of the advertising and communications industry by working on behalf of their huge membership which collectively represents 95 percent of the agency billings.  Members cover creative, media, digital and marketing communication disciplines.

Challenge

There are four award programmes all that target different areas of the advertising industry: The Axis, Beacon, Effie and Pressies awards.

Submissions are made via a secure portal in electronic format, depending on each Awards programme’s requirements.  Every entry must be carefully checked to ensure it meets the guidelines before it is allocated to the judging panel.

The programmes run to extremely tight timeframes, with judges gathering remotely and in person to review large numbers of entries over a two or three stage judging process.  They are organised in strict confidentiality to maintain the credibility of the Awards and process.

Solution

Our role is to ensure that we provide a system and process that is flexible and can fit the differing needs of the four awards so that the Comms Council can focus on other areas such as the awards nights. 

Attention to detail is key to ensuring the submissions meet the appropriate Award guidelines.  Checks throughout the process means nothing gets missed and every deadline is met.  

Security and confidentiality is key. Processes are in place to ensure the finalists and winners remain a tightly guarded secret. Only key people have access to confidential information to prevent details leaking before the correct dates.  

If a last-minute change in plan is required, as it did with Covid19 lockdowns, the TCC team were able to take action fast, by switching in-person judging to online judging in a matter of days.  Since we have first started working with Comms Council in 2008 we have seen many changes and challenges but we have subsequently innovated to ensure the needs of the client are met.

Results

We have worked well as a team with The Comms Council due to our flexibility and the ability to take the admin and process off their hands. We deliver a consistent level of friendly service and a smooth process which makes these annual award processes simple and seamless.  The Awards are in good hands, deadlines are met, confidentiality is maintained and entrants and judges will have a great experience from start to finish.

Delivering that extra level of service to entrants, judges and the client has always been TCC’s point of difference.  Whether someone is a new entrant or a return winner, TCC ensures that everyone has the same great experience.

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*Note - images are the property of The Commercial Communications Council. TCC provides an awards management service not the event itself.