Cindy

Droog

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March 31, 2008

Turn March Madness into Corporate Combat

I love when March Madness turns into April Ado.

Long eliminated from my own NCAA pool this year, I still believe nothing beats watching stars in the making putting it all on the line, or seeing lower-seeded teams give it their all, coming within – and even overcoming – those viewed by the experts as the toughest talent. 

Call me old-fashioned, but I still believe competition is healthy. That every kid doesn’t need to make the team. That the occasional loss makes you stronger.

I don’t play competitive sports these days, but I do compete professionally. I guess we all do. For annual awards. For new business. For the best employees.

I know I’m not afraid of contests. They’re motivating. Fun. In fact, I think the corporate world could use a few more of them – all in the good spirit of achieving the very best results.

I’m not alone in thinking this. Last year, an internal creative team I work with was asked to compete with an outside advertising agency to design and write a two-page spread. I was charged up. I don’t like to lose. And while others were complaining, asking “Why do we have to do this?”, I was too busy strategizing, sketching and sparking ideas to care.

In this case, I know we were the underdogs. We were small-town Davidson College playing against Kansas, only Kansas was a New York City-based ad agency with top creative dawgs who get paid $250 an hour. Including us in the competition was more of an afterthought, but it was done, and we won. And it’s not like we shot a three-pointer at the buzzer, either. According to our internal clients, and I have the e-mail to prove it, we won by the basketball equivalent of 20 points.

This year, of course, we’re using a different outside agency. One that designed a brand new national advertising campaign that kicked off this past weekend. In fact, the first ad ran the very same day that Davidson beat the Big Ten’s Wisconsin.

Only this time, Davidson – meaning the creative team I work on – wasn’t even invited to the Big Dance. Overlooked like Syracuse in 2007.

Rather than whining that we could’ve done a better job than they did on the campaign (and I do believe that), or asking leadership for some sort of apology (it wouldn’t be heartfelt even if they did give it), I figure I’ll propose an NCAA-style elimination tournament for next year’s campaign.

The only caveat is that our internal staff has to be one of the 64, 32 or 16 teams invited. We get as much access to company leadership – the coaches if you will – as the outside agencies. We get as much practice time, meaning time to create before we present. We get a playbook, too, comprised of all the research the outside agencies have.

And finally we get impartial judges, referees that will tell us how we stack up in the match up. I’ll even buy them black-and-white striped ties and blouses to wear with their uniform suits.

Give us all that, and you just might see Davidson College – the underdogs that live right under your nose, and work there every day – rise right to the top. Again.

I know I’d put my money on it.

© 2008 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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