Why Winning A Cannes Lion Will Soon be Irrelevant

There is an article over on the HubSpot blog written by your truly that you really should read. It's well understood that most, if not all, of us who have toiled in the world of marketing and advertising understand that what we do is supposed to sell stuff, not win awards. Alas, sitting on the Carlton Terrace in Cannes sipping rose is hard to pass up if one is lucky enough to have that experience.

Winning awards is all well and good and can greatly benefit one's career and an agency's ability to win new business. We won't dispute that but too much emphasis is placed on the glamour of advertising rather than its intended purpose; to create a smooth, gentle pathway that moves people along to a point at which they decide to open their wallets and hand over their hard earned cash for your (or your client's) products or services.

In the article, I argue why function should always trump form when it comes to developing creative. And, yes, since it is a HubSpot article, I relate it to inbound marketing which, by the way, you would do well to learn. It's absolutely where the puck is headed.

What, pray tell is inbound marketing? The premise of inbound marketing is based on the fact that the buyer can ask the internet anything they want and get an answer. That's really it. It's that simple. They don't need a silly TV commercial that they're going to skip over anyway. In today's Google-fueled world, it's about creating fantastically useful content and imagery that informs, educates, enlightens, and concisely addresses a particular interest.

Whether or not you buy into inbound marketing doesn't really matter (actually it does but we're going to take it one step at a time). The eight points I make in the article are relevant no matter what kind of advertising you are creating.