{"id":10167,"date":"2020-12-21T10:28:36","date_gmt":"2020-12-21T09:28:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thejournalnigeria.com\/?p=10167"},"modified":"2021-01-18T11:22:09","modified_gmt":"2021-01-18T10:22:09","slug":"awards-productivity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thejournalnigeria.com\/awards-productivity\/","title":{"rendered":"Season of Awards: Do They Really Grow Productivity?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
The season is here. From the world of entertainment to advertising as well as the media, even communities and professional associations, the common song in the last two months of the year is celebrating those they feel should be applauded for performing exceptionally in the last 12 months or so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most times it is just a two or three hour event, sometimes it can be quite an elaborate ceremony. They could even be packaged as conferences or festivals that can last beyond one day, culminating into the presentation of various awards, titles or prizes to deserving selected individuals and organizations identified by the organizers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Few organizers prefer theirs to spill into the first quarter of the new year. These awards are usually tagged or named to reflect the areas the organizers perceive that success have been achieved, while plaques and\/or certificates are usually given out as commemorative items that the recipients can keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even with the ravishing whirlwind of COVID-19 this year, many institutions and organisations have refused to relegate their yearly award or recognition progamme to the background. Virtual awards have become quite popular lately with safety provisions like social distancing built in to protect attendees. Most times the plaques are placed at the podium for recipients to pick by themselves. Offering a hug or congratulatory handshake, which has been an ageless convention during awards, is carefully eliminated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In some countries, there are national awards in virtually every sector imaginable, organized by Stakeholders within each industry. Some of them may be inspired by the successes of some similar foreign ones, while some are organized just for increased relevance or visibility of the sector. For instance in the world of advertising in Nigeria, there is a melting-pot for clients, agencies and creative minds where they all gather most December to celebrate the very best in Nigeria\u2019s creative industry. It is called The LAIF (Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival) awards. In virtually every country with a vibrant creative industry, there is an equivalent of LAIF that brings practitioners together at least once a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With competition getting more intense in the marketplace, brand owners and multinationals are always eager to use any yardstick to stand out of the crowd. Sometimes it can be a respected award or recognition platform. This also explains why sometimes, awards assume a larger than life image among players.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The question in the minds of most curious observers is: how does the simple handing out of some metals over bottles of drinks or dinner plates, plus a pat on the back via some ego- massaging citations translate into an instrument of growth?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Carl Louw, former Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) of Telesure Group in Johannesburg, South Africa, had some explanations for this a few years ago. According to him, \u201c awards are important because they provide a platform for reviews and inspiration, an opportunity to analyse what has worked and to identify trends. When viewed from this standpoint, one might argue that awards are essential because they become the impetus to better work\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n