Bringing back meaningfulness – the 2018 Golden Thumb Awards

You know when someone says to you out-of-the-blue and in a truly meaningful way:

“Thank you – that work you did was utterly superb.”

That the delivery. The sincerity,. The unexpected and voluntary nature of the message means it is genuinely meant and sincerely appreciated on the giver’s part?

That’s the feeling we want to give with the Golden Thumb Awards.

Watch Me Think’s spontaneous, wholly unasked for, and genuinely meant pinnacle of our appreciation for the work we do with our clients.

There’s currently only 4 Golden Thumbs – crafted in true Watch Me Think style

Greatest Escape from an Echo Chamber 2018
For getting themselves and others out of the bubble.

Best Use of a Customer’s Shoe 2018
For clever use of video research methodology.

Palm d’Awesomeness 2018
For best distribution of research films within their company.

Driving Empathy (and not touching the brakes) 2018
For the continuously championing empathy to the consumer within their organisation

And we’re giving them for 3 reasons that we firmly believe in:

1. Because Clients don’t get enough recognition for making their agencies look good.
2. Because we genuinely appreciate the boundaries that our clients help us test and break.
3. And because our perception is that the feeling of “genuine” and “deeply meant” are slightly lacking in today’s plethora of ritzy MRX awards.

But it’s a tough job being an agency and choosing who should win which award for what Project.  With a Pantheon of bold clients and work before us from 2018 – it’s no easy decision. So we turned it over to our entire cohort of colleagues.

Every single employee of Watch Me Think was free to nominate any client they wished for any of the 4 awards, giving the reasons why.

We had a long short-list.

We all had our favourites.

Every nomination a winner in their own right.

Animated discussions were had and some teacups put down more firmly than normal.

So the winners were decided through thumbs-up voting by our senior qualitative researchers around the world. And their close-thing winners?

Bronwyn Thompson
Coca Cola South Pacific
The Greatest Escape from an Echo Chamber 2018
For getting out of the bubble, and shaking internal stakeholders out of their slumber. Recently causing uproar during a debrief when the team was “shooshed” by their colleagues next door for being too loud as they laughed, shouted and answered back at the videos of shoppers.

Quincy Long
General Mills
Best Use of a Customer’s Shoe 2018
For the clever use of video research methodology in going all-out to capture the entire in-home customer experience in using dough products – fridge to oven, and all in-between.

Jing Mertoglu
Coty Inc
Palm d’Awesomeness 2018
For the best distribution of films within their own company, creating an internal consumer awareness program bringing consumers to a much wider audience in an engaging and thought-provoking way.

Rebecca Lowenthal-Bell
PepsiCo
Driving Empathy (and not touching the brakes) 2018
For the continuous championing of empathy within their organisation … “combined with a desire to make it work and grow internal capabilities, all the while challenging Watch Me Think to consistently enhance and improve as a trusted partner.”

Big Thumbs Up to the 4 winners.

And while we’re not going to claim these awards are prestigious.

Nor is there going to be a gala dinner with glitter and glam.

We can proclaim they are sincerely given and genuinely meant. Destined for just a few of the many clients who we feel have walked the talk in 2018 in getting closer to their consumers and spreading that critical viewpoint.

Here’s to 2019, and the pushing of boundaries, cracking of chambers and increasing the presence of the customer in more and more offices around the world.