D&AD
Background
Yes, there are Cannes Lions. And of course, the DMAs. But every purist creative knows that D&AD is the toughest creative awards show to win. Everything that wins a coveted D&AD pencil has to be flawless. Perfection is expected.
Unlike most other awards shows, D&AD is not for profit. So how does it survive? Masterclasses. Masterclasses are D&AD's lifeblood – they also teach the perfection that is expected. Pencil winners are invited to teach the next generation of pencil winners to acquire the skills and mindset they needed to attain creative excellence. To ensure sign up to the classes D&AD needed to reach the creative training budget holders. These were the creative leaders, ECDs and CCOs, who had more than likely won a D&AD award themselves. But they had a massive problem. The budget to promote D&AD Masterclasses wasn't just small. It was tiny.
Solution
D&AD needed to grab these creative leaders’ attention in a dramatic, creative way. Well, they would expect no less, right? But it was vital any idea fitted into the tiny budget.
So, the D&AD committed sacrilege. The physical D&AD winners' annual is cherished by creatives. So, they ripped it apart and sent those creative leaders the torn page of their own winning work with the message: ‘You know where great work ends up. But does the rest of your agency know where it begins?’
That is how the masterclass helped. The call to action was to release some of the training budget and sign their staff up today.
Results
The ripped up annual ripped through the D&AD’s expectations.
D&AD sent the direct mail two weeks before lockdown. Two weeks before budgets started being slashed; training budgets being amongst the first to go. Despite that, they managed to get a whopping 9.1% response.
Source: DMA Awards 2020
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