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Is there less work or is it just moving around? Are the nature of projects changing? What’s your experience of direct marketing and creative in a recession?

On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday last week, I judged 3 categories for the 2008 DMA Awards. Sworn to secrecy on pain of death, I can’t mention a thing about the work I judged suffice to say that I saw some truly outstanding work. Every year, I join fellow members of judging panels from agency and client side and we tear into every entry like a pack of wolves. How anything survives is sometimes amazing. If outsiders really saw how brutal the process is and how many flaming hoops each piece has to jump through, I think there’d be a few shocked faces and a real genuine pride in the work that wins. It is one hell of an achievement to win a DMA and I’m not sure everyone really understands this.

When the shortlist is made, around 7 to 10 entries are cast on the floor in front of the hungry panel eager to see if their chosen ones made it through. I like to think that I know the great from the good/average and I generally have about a 90% success rate of choosing the shortlisted few. But when it comes to the debate, boy is it passionate. Only the strongest survive. Only the ones who really do tick those three boxes – strategy, creativity and results. I was due to enter a radio and DM campaign in three categories this year but results-wise, it just wasn’t up to it. And you knew full well that some bugger would see straight through my wishy-washy words in the ROI bit.

Many a mind has been changed for or against an entry after an empassioned plea by a juror. No one in the room knows the final result but everyone is sure of one thing – whatever is voted Gold, Silver or Bronze, it bloody well deserves it.

This year more than any other, I think I was re-energised about our industry by some great workand subtley warned that I had to raise the bar yet again!

It really is a privilege judging awards – one I would recommend to anyone but not perhaps the faint-hearted…

Chris Catchpole, Creative Consultant, Chairman of the DMA Creative Forum

P.S. Don’t forget 9 December – Awards night at the glorious Grosvenor House.

Months in planning, production and sign-off, we’re away.

From an initial throwaway comment from Mike Cavers at one of our Creative Forum meetings in the early part of this year – ‘Why don’t we do a Blog?’ – to this, our new baby. At the time, the question was met with a load of nodding heads and the same thought in everyone’s mind – ‘Why haven’t we done this before?’ Well it’s here now thanks to the extraordinary perseverance of Dave Russell and Damien Parsonage (well done guys).

Thoughts on anything Direct, this is an industry mouthpiece sponsored by The DMA. Data, awards, Green issues, planning, digital, word of mouth, clients, brands, pitching, CRM, random inspiration – all have their place and that place is here.

So, let the debate begin.

Chris Catchpole
Creative Partner
catchpole&friends

Chair of The DMA Creative Forum