Like most award shows, the Lotus Awards are not immune to criticism. But this year the people behind the show, which is held every November in Vancouver, thought it was time for that to change.
People complain about the predictability of the show, that the same people win all the time or that they do a lot of work behind the scenes but never get any recognition.
“We decided to meet these [criticisms] head on with a new show format and campaign to get everybody involved,” said Michael Mayes, creative director at Taxi Vancouver and a judging co-chair. The brief to promote this year’s Lotus Award was to get the community interacting with the show in a way they hadn’t in the past and “spread the love around.”
Taxi came up with an online game called the Lotus Stock Exchange (LotusStockExchange.com), which gives anyone the opportunity to buy stock in creative talent for the chance to win an HTC Touch Diamond smartphone from Telus. The LSX was introduced with a video from “creative analyst Stephen Howard” at the Judges Evening on Sept. 18. The actual awards gala is Nov. 13 with the theme “Prove your worth.”
“ ‘Prove your worth’ came from this idea that award shows in general are stock value,” said Mayes. “Your stock value rises and falls based on how you did at whatever award show.”
The LSX was created by assigning a value to any credit an any award submission. The values, which range from $2 to hundreds of dollars, came from data entered by Taxi staff from the last five years of shows. For instance a merit award adds $3 to a stock, a Lotus Award adds $5 and $10 ups the value with a Best of Show.
Players then build a portfolio of stock picks, ranging from agency juniors (penny stocks) to senior producers (blue chip). The person with the portfolio that gains the most after the Lotus awards are handed out wins the phone and $500 cash.
Mayes expects he’ll improve on his own stock value of $11.
“If we do well this year, my stock might triple,” he said. “If you have done well and your stock is high, it may only go up a percentage, but if you are at $2 and you win two Lotus Awards your stock could go up 10-fold, so it’s almost better to bet on people who have the greatest chances of making gains.”
The awards will have 50 categories this year, up from 42 with most additions in the design and interactive areas.
As well as a video update from “Howard” every two weeks online and in-person visits to agency offices, Taxi produced a four-page “Report on creative.”
Ads will also run in Marketing up until the show at the Westin Bayshore in Vancouver.
