“Sorry Logies, The B&T Awards Have It All Over You!” Says ADIA President George Zdanowicz

The 2022 B&T Awards in Partnership with YouTube aren’t too far away now!

We have many returning sponsors to thank – including the wonderful people at the Australian Data and Insights Association (ADIA) aka the peak body for the market and social research industry.

ADIA is returning for the sixth year to sponsor our Research Agency of the Year category.

We had the privilege of sitting down with the President of ADIA, George Zdanowicz, to talk all about what the B&T Awards means for ADIA and their members, and what keeps them coming back for more…

B&T: What motivated and continues to motivate ADIA to continue to partner with the B&T Awards?  

GZ: Being involved in the B&T Awards is a no-brainer for ADIA. Now entering our sixth year, the partnership provides a direct member benefit and an Association benefit. 

For our member organisations, it’s the chance to be recognised as one of Australia’s leading, award-winning research agencies in a highly competitive space. There’s obviously a great deal of cred that comes with winning the Research Agency of the Year Award (and being a finalist), but there’s also a distinct commercial advantage.

Our members are an essential part of the advertising, marketing and communications industry, and it’s great to see them recognised as such.   

B&T: And of course, at ADIA you’re no strangers to how important strategic partnerships are to associations and your members…

Partnerships are essential to our strategic focus as we always look for ways to increase our value proposition and give back to members.

Partnering with B&T helps deliver on this, and being one of Australia’s leading trade media platforms, also helps us promote and advocate on behalf of our members and industry about the issue that affect us most. 

B&T: What lessons have you learnt about strategic partnerships such as this one that you believe needs to be shared with ADIA members and B&T readers? 

That it is critical to continue to invest in partnerships that enable members to benefit and the Association to grow; also, the longer you work together, the more substantial the collaboration.

The adage “Stronger Together” is true here. For example, ADIA supports B&T in delivering entries and general awareness and promotes the kudos of winning a B&T Award.

At the same time, ADIA has the advantage of using the platform to help promote our member agencies’ achievements and offer a broader scope of member services. In short, the partnership complements the work of each organisation – it doesn’t get better than that. 

B&T: ADIA has sponsored the Research Agency of The Year award since 2017. What most excites you about this category? 

As part of the professional services sector, research, data and insights play a critical role in identifying and solving problems with our clients – whether it’s related to audience or product testing, brand or customer experience for commercial business decisions or social policy decisions.

The Research Agency of the Year category considers all of that, plus the absolutely vital role that agency staff play in delivering the service.  

B&T: Why is the Research Agency award such a valuable category for ADIA members to participate in? 

Not only does it recognise the incredible value of the research our member organisations conduct, but it also provides agencies with the chance to come together and celebrate as a team. The entry process, including peer review and a live pitch component, win or lose, provide invaluable experience and work to strengthen a team’s bond in their bid to win. 

It’s also a fun night out; the Chaser boys make it possibly the most entertaining awards event ever (sorry, Logies, the B&T Awards have it all over you!); plus, you get the chance to mingle with heaps of existing and potential clients and partners! 

B&T: To snag an award sponsored by ADIA, entries obviously have to be of quality. How do you define the gold standard? What do you think the judges will be on the lookout for this year? 

An agency that continually delivers exceptional, innovative research but does so with the utmost care and consideration of its staff (critical in the wake of the pandemic). Our members focus on delivering the highest quality insights for their clients to help them succeed.

The true test for an award submission revolves around demonstrating excellence in supporting clients while running an agency in which smart people love to work in. 

B&T: Any final words of wisdom? 

Gotta be in it to win it?  If not this year, then next!  

The B&T Awards gala awards night will be held on Friday 4th November 2022 at Moore Park’s Hordern Pavilion.

Have you got your tickets? No? Well, here’s a timely reminder to secure your seat at the industry’s biggest EOY shindig. Pronto! 

A HUGE thanks to all of our sponsors for this year’s B&T Awards. We wouldn’t be able to put on the industry’s favourite event without your support.