The Joys & Sorrows of The EMVIEs

Last night was a splendid affair. Many of us in the communication and media fraternity went through surging levels of anticipation and excitement as we witnessed the finish to an awesome EMVIEs 2017! People have always had their different perspectives on the EMVIEs. Like any award function debates are rife – from whether innovations actually have a true impact on the brands that win, to the manner in which award decisions are made. But let us keep these aspects aside. The intent of this article is not to debate these. To me personally, the EMVIEs is one of the best media award functions in India for several reasons. This is from the perspective of the impact it has on people within the agency and the grind we go through during the journey upto the final day of the Emvies. I can think of five ways young talent in the industry can benefit from this journey and winning an award or recognition is not necessarily one of them. Here is my take on these 5 points explained with a bit of neuroscience, a topic which I have been passionately researching over the last 3 years.

1.    The ability to tell a story

We in the communications industry are all in the business of telling stories. Some of us do it in 30 Sec TVCs, some through Social posts, some through Media Plans and most of us at minimum through presentations. Even when it comes to awards, you win it for the story you tell. The art of storytelling is not easy. The Emvies do help gain practice though! Rigorous practice.  Each entry in the Emvies is a story that must make its impact in 7 or 10 mins. Over the years I have seen that winning entries are the ones that have a story that is simple, well-connected and one that manages to emotionally resonate with the jury in some way or the other. The need to emotionally connect is a very important one. It relates to the basic structure of our brain. The prefrontal cortex of the human brain is responsible for reasoning while the limbic system, largely the amygdala, is the emotion-center of the brain. When we process information both these parts of the brain get active and when we try to take a decision more often than not there is a conflict. When this happens, even for those of us who may think of themselves as more rational than emotional, it is the emotional side that always wins. Research shows that all our decisions are emotional ones and we just use our rationality to justify how we feel about it. So an entry that successfully builds a strong emotional connect will often override the many rational aspects also being weighed by the jury when allotting a score. So learning to tell a really great story, especially one that viewers can deeply connect to is one of the most important things that young talent in the industry can take away from the Emvies.

2.    The ability to take and give feedback 

Ever tried giving a strong negative feedback to someone when they least expect it? When we put in our heart and soul into writing an entry or a presentation and we receive a feedback that is not in line with our expectation, it is natural to get defensive. Yes, natural. From the time of our hunter-gatherer ancestors the human brain is built to continually scan for threats. This is a constant though unconscious state. It helped our ancestors to respond to what they felt was danger – by quickly getting defensive. So when we receive feedback that is not to our liking we tend to automatically resist and sometimes even rebel. Exercising our ability to take feedback constructively is therefore a very critical learning. And creating a trusting environment in which feedback can be healthily given and taken forms the basis of putting together a great story.

3.    The ability to stitch together different perspectives

Now that we know that taking feedback is an essential learning – provided we do it with our defensive guard down - how much feedback is really needed? And most importantly why? Truth is, on average each Emvies presenter ends up changing his story at least 7 to 8 times from what was originally drafted. And this is typically based on the inputs from multiple people. The same presentation evokes different reactions - different thoughts, ideas, responses and perspectives – among different viewers. This is because our brains are designed for different perspectives. A matrix of billions of nerve cells called neurons constitute the fundamental building blocks of our brain. The thoughts we have are a result of a series of neurons connecting or “wiring” with one another at lightning speed. The same sensory input fires a different path of connected neurons in different people evoking small or big differences in their response or perspective.

Since presentations made at the Emvies must strike a chord with a panel of 10 jury members, each viewing it with their own ‘coloured glasses’, it becomes very critical to ensure that we factor in multiple perspectives at the very beginning when we are stitching the story together. It is often people who are not very open to feedback or perspectives of others who find it hard to tell a compelling story.

4.    The ability to withstand pressure

The Emvies are perhaps the only awards that make you present your entry in an open forum. While this may seem easy to some, most find this terribly stressful. Some buckle under pressure and break down while others come out confident and strong. It is not so much the presentation content that makes things stressful, but knowing that the hopes of many rest solely on you – the presenter – and knowing also that not just the entire auditorium but the masses watching a live streaming of the event are there to see your every move for good or bad. The only hope to overcome such immense stress is the hours of behind-the-scenes practice that go into every entry - rehearsing the content and repeating over and over again every gesture till each detail is hardwired in the brain. Repetition strengthens the bonds between adjacent neurons in the brain. The more the brain gets hardwired, the more effortless is the act and withstanding the pressure becomes easier.

5.    The ability to work as a team

The Emvies is all about teamwork – I cannot stress how much! It is a rigorous crash course into that single most important lesson at the workplace – the ability to come together to serve a single, united goal. The beginning of an exciting media solution starts with a top-notch implementation, but it must then also pass through the varied talented hands of many people - a masterful strategist, a detailed story spinner, a content writer, an audio-visual artist, a coercive presenter and a team of internal jurists who will evaluate how impactful the story is. It is only after several rounds of going through the hands of each of these people that a truly compelling story can begin to take shape. The hours of hard work and selfless contribution I have witnessed being putting together year-after-year in the run up to the Emvies is where I’ve found equally large measures of pride and learning from my team. Every Emvies we find new heroes who emerge and contribute in their own way and the lessons that young aspirants can take away in this regard are invaluable.

Most of us will agree that celebrating a win means a lot. It gives a sense of accomplishment, it validates and reaffirms one’s belief in the work we do, it motivates the team to do better work, etc. But the question that remains is what have we really won? What have we got that is ours to keep forever? Is it the metal trophy as recognition of the work done or is it the experiential journey that teaches us multiple lessons - emotional regulation under stressful conditions, teamwork, the ability to tell great stories and the ability to connect with one another? To me it has always been the latter. So I would like to end by borrowing a quote from my friend and colleague Sairam - “The reward is in the journey and not in the outcome!”