Epica Awards - Final Winners Announced

I’ve been a judge for the Paris-based Epica Awards for a few years now, and have been sharing updates on LinkedIn during this year’s judging process. The awards are done now, and the final winners have been announced.

This is a very global competition, and the level of creativity is really impressive - it really broadens your view about what good advertising can be - both with a heavy dose of tech, including AI - and just old-fashioned great ideas and execution.

Over the course of this process, I judged about 120 entries, so I’ve seen a lot of great pitches, including one from our space - 8x8. Most entries are consumer-focused - but not all - and being a lifelong marketing guy, a lot of what I see here informs my thinking about what the vendors are doing in my world, mainly enterprise communications, and contact center/CX.

If any of this piques your interest around your company’s go-to-market plans, branding, positioning etc., I’d be happy to chat further. Coming back to Epica, to get a better sense for what the 2025 winners looked like, you can check those out here.

Epica Awards 2024 - Am Judging Again

This is a bit out of the norm, but very fun. Am back for a third year as a jury member to judge the 2024 Epica Awards. The program is Paris-based, so the range of entries is very global - a much different look and feel from a US-based awards program.

There is a wide range of categories for all the entries, with a healthy mix of consumer and B2B brands. As a marketing guy at heart - and a creative person - I really enjoy reviewing these entries, and while most of this is outside my everyday analyst focus, I take inspiration for how many of these brands take a fresh, out-of-the-box approach to get their message across. Not just for consumer brands, btw, but also for some of the tougher issues, like education, climate change, and societal inclusion.

Nothing here about CX, meetings or Gen AI, but a lot of clever use of technology to create images and video that grabs your attention. Another thing that I love is how most entries are very grounded in digital technologies, and the really good ones have figured out ways to break through the clutter we all have with advertisers trying to get our attention. One way or another, I’ll find ways to apply this to my work and it helps bring fresh thinking to my clients.

Talkdesk CX Innovators Awards - Back Again as a Judge

It’s time for the 2024 edition of the Talkdesk Innovators Award. I’m back as a judge, and our group will be evaluating entries after the cutoff date of September 30, with winners announced on October 30. There are 11 categories, so lots to choose from if you’re thinking about entering. Details are here, and good luck if you submit an entry!