Icelandic advertising agencies have been in the news recently for performing well in various international competitions, as well as acquiring new foreign business. This is becoming a regular occurrence at Icelandic advertising agencies and demonstrates that Icelandic agencies are competing on the same level as those producing remarkable work across Europe and North America.
But what does it mean that Icelandic agencies are competing for international awards? Simply contemplating participating in foreign competitions is an important step for Icelandic agencies. It says a lot about Icelanders that we strive to be compared with agencies operating in larger markets, even though those agencies often have deeper pockets and broader access to labor and information, which can strengthen their campaigns.
But winning isn’t everything. In most cases, just being nominated is enough for an agency. Icelandic agencies that have taken part in foreign competitions have been diligent in soliciting nominations, even if they don’t win in every category. The nominations show that the projects submitted to the competition are truly world-class and are comparable to the other projects nominated.
Icelandic agencies can and should feel equal to large foreign agencies. At the European Search Awards 2020, we received 11 nominations– the fourth best percentage of nominations from submissions. In the end, we only won one award, but getting 11 nominations was a great win and should be an incentive to all Icelandic agencies to think big and not hesitate to benchmark themselves against what we consider to be elite agencies. It is only through putting ourselves out there that we too will be seen as elite agencies. Showing up is half the battle!
TIL BAKA