Tomorrow I’m going to grab lunch with David Meerman Scott, he’s had a lot going on in the past month including the best marketing and PR book of 2007. I just swung by his blog and he has a post about an upcoming show about Madison Ave. advertising in the 60’s called Mad Men. I’m interested in this because a former President of Ogilvy is in the lovely Carin’s hometown and I’m going to try and get him on the mic.

Last time I talked with David he dealt me a brain buster about awards. I used to think that awards were a lottery ticket, I’ve sent in many applications for software products, marketing projects, etc. and the goal was to try and win for the PR lift. If you take this approach you have a slim chance of scoring.

The real benefit is the access to the judges. These are often well known and connected individuals within your industry. Many times they are Mavens, who spread knowledge across huge groups of people. Even if you are in the wrong category and determined ineligible, you’ve still had an opportunity to showcase your product/service to a group of people who have more influence than the general public.