Industry veteran Drayton Bird has picked up the prestigious Andi Emerson Award at this year’s John Caples International Awards ceremony in New York, which also saw UK agencies scoop eight gongs, including two golds.
Bird, whose publication ‘Commonsense Direct Marketing’ was described as ‘pure gold’ by David Ogilvy, scooped the award for decades of service to the industry, in which he continues to work today at Drayton Bird Associates.
Back in 1977, when he joined forces with John Watson and Glenmore Trenear-Harvey they set up one of the UK’s first direct marketing agencies, Trenear-Harvey, Bird & Watson. This not only paved the way for scores of others, including WWAV (now Rapp), it helped transform DM from a cottage industry into a major marketing force.
In 2003, the Chartered Institute of Marketing named Bird as one of 50 living individuals who have shaped today’s marketing industry.
He said: “There are many awards in this business and many fine people. But to be given this one; and to be given it the year after Lester Wunderman – the man who named and virtually invented direct marketing – well, how could there possibly be a greater honor?”
The award made up for a relatively disappointing night for the Brits – last year the haul was 14 gongs – although the tough economic times are likely to be affecting all award entries at the moment.
Proximity London was the big winner of the night, picking up six of the eight awards landed by UK agencies. It scooped gold, two silvers and a bronze for its work for Royal Mail, as well as silver for a loyalty push for the DMA and a bronze for Volkswagen.
Lida secured the other British gold, for its ‘Little Bees’ campaign for the Greater London Authority. AIS was also successful, netting a silver for its ‘Boob Hijack’ initiative for breast charity CoppaFeel.
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