Yesterday, I was one of four judges tasked with reviewing the Society for Marketing Professional Services (SMPS) Marketing Communications Awards to determine the “Best of Show.”
There are hundreds of entries, but our task was a little easier because we were only asked to review some 22 “First Place” entries in the different categories. We had access to the entry submission documents, but not a whole lot of time for any detailed analysis or research.
We decided we liked Professional Engineering Consultants (PEC),’s recruitment video ?Come Work At PEC!? The Wichita, KS company’s entry delivered a compelling message with a light, humorous touch. It had superb writing, good camera work, and generated measurable results. The two-minute video required an investment of about $15,000 — a not insignificant sum, but certainly not a budget-breaker for a 270-employee, multi-state practice.
There were many worthy entries and in fact we had initially reached a “tie” decision with another one. However, since there is only one physical award, SMPS staff insisted we make a final decision. We also realized that giving an “honourable mention” to the now-second place organization would not fairly respect its own quality; so that organization must remain nameless. Fortunately there will be other opportunities in the future for it to shine.
