Coming home from an award ceremony a winner feels nice, but the impact outlasts the glow (and, thankfully, the hangover).

Three 2021 AADC Award winners reveal how their awards have affected their team, their business, and their work.

TBWA Gold Chair — The TBWA\Adelaide team's 'Get The Full Picture' campaign for National Parks & Wildlife Services SA won The Gold Chair in 2021.

Erin Phillips - Business Director, TBWA\Adelaide

What tangible impact did the award have for your business? Did you get client feedback? More inquiries? More trust from clients?

National Parks was thrilled with the win and all our other clients were very happy for us (and a little jealous), they were all keen to understand the brief and the work that got us there.

The award has stood proudly in our agency for the past two years as a mark of excellent creative work for our clients and new business opportunities, plus it is a great conversation piece.

How did the award affect your team and their perception of their work?

The award was a great reminder for our team that awards can come from any brief, you don’t need a big budget to make an impact.

We are also so proud that TBWA is now a part of the rich history of the Adelaide advertising industry.

Parallax Rita Siow Chair — Parallax's Gemtree Small Batch packaging design secured the agency the Rita Siow Chair at the 2021 AADC Awards.

Matt Remphrey - Managing & Creative Director, Parallax

What tangible impact did the award have for your business? Did you get client feedback? More inquiries? More trust from clients?

Our client was really pumped to have their work awarded. This particular project was the culmination of a pretty radical rebrand of Gemtree that had rejuvenated the business. The Rita Siow Design Award was icing on the cake. Aa far as impact on our business it's a little hard to say. The wine industry is very aware of the Gemtree rebrand and the impact it has had on Gemtree’s business. We certainly pushed the award through our own marketing channels. Did we get more inquiries because of it? Don’t know, but it definitely didn’t hurt business!

How did the award affect your team and their perception of their work?

This is where awards have the most impact, I feel. Awards are really the only avenue to benchmark your work against your peers and winning them definitely lifts the team. Awards programs in general, whether you’re winning or not, inspire everyone to strive for better. And winning awards helps staff retention and attracting the best talent.

Fumie Barnett poster — Fumie Barnett's campaign design for Tasting Australia won a student award for Craft at the 2021 AADC Awards.

Fumie Barnett - Design Student, TAFE SA

What tangible impact did the award have for you? Did you get positive feedback? More inquiries? More trust from clients?

Up until now, I've been professionally working in a different field from design, so I was often wondering if I could go on this path of design or if my designs were good enough.

By receiving this wonderful award from industry professionals, I felt that I was not wrong in my new direction, and that I was right to follow my heart and passion.

Little by little, I've been receiving design requests from clients. I want to gain more experience as a graphic designer, I would like to get a job in the graphic design industry.

I like to create, so I want to keep trying without stopping and giving up on my dreams.

How did the award affect your perception of your work?

Without the support of many, I would not have received this award. I am grateful to everyone who supported me.

This award gives me confidence and belief in the quality of my work. I haven't had much experience as a graphic designer yet, so I would like to step into the field of graphic design and have many different experiences.

I hope that this award will help me to enter the graphic design industry.

Enter now for the 2022 AADC Awards. Submissions close August 1.