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The new year should be a time for reflection, but often, we’re so focused on setting goals for the year ahead, we forget to acknowledge our successes and accomplishments. When the World Media Group founded the World Media Awards, now its seventh year, I felt there was a genuine need for a platform to celebrate the world’s best content-driven, cross-border advertising campaigns. Of course, the marketing and media industry is full of cynics, and I’ve often had to stand my ground when detractors suggest that awards are nothing more than an excuse for ego-stroking and back-patting.
Being recognized for your achievements should be celebrated, whether you’re a publisher, brand or an agency. Winning an award is good for business on a number of levels – it can boost employees’ morale knowing that they’ve contributed to something that has been acknowledged as exemplary work. It can raise awareness for your company, increase credibility and give you that competitive edge. But perhaps most importantly, awards provide a benchmark to compare the performance of companies within any given industry. They praise the success of innovators, disruptors, those pushing the boundaries – and they deliver a standard for everyone to work towards.
Surfacing the ‘Rising Stars’ of today
It’s important that we celebrate not just the industry stalwarts, but those who are just starting out and already making a significant contribution. That’s why we’ve added a ‘Rising Star’ award this year. We want to reward the very best young talent working for publishers, agencies and brands – those who are demonstrating creativity and effectiveness in content-led advertising.
As a strategic alliance of global publishers, the World Media Group promotes award-winning journalism and the role of international media. Through quality advertising, publishers have the revenue to attract the best editorial talent, who in turn, deliver trusted, impartial coverage to their audience. And by celebrating the very best content-led advertising campaigns through the World Media Awards, we also have an opportunity, as a group, to give something back to journalism. The Awards are not for profit and 75% of the entry fee is donated to Reporters Without Borders. This important charity protects and supports journalism and freedom of speech around the world.
Sharing best practices in the industry
If you find yourself pondering the value of awards, look at it as an opportunity to contribute to setting benchmarks and measurement within your industry. While we always look forward to the ceremony, (and will do so even more now we can celebrate in person again), the real value comes from sharing best practice in creativity, effectiveness and media amongst our peers, so that as an industry, we’re constantly striving to raise the bar even higher.
If you’d like to enter the WMAs, you can find all the details at https://world-media-group.com/awards/. There are ten award categories open for general entry including ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Social Good’. The winning entries are amplified in a worldwide advertising campaign valued at more than €750k running across the World Media Group’s leading international media brands The closing date for entries is 12th May 2022.
Belinda Barker
Chief Executive, The World Media Group
