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10 minutes of expert insights every weekday. Your morning ritual for staying ahead in retail media.
Apply for the damn award
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[00:00:00] Kiri Masters: How many articles have you written but not published? How many awards have you not applied for? How many times have you thought I should start that podcast and then didn't? I am asking [00:00:15] because yesterday I was named a National Retail Federation top retail voice, one of just 50 people recognized on that list, and my immediate reaction was to wonder if sharing it would make people think I'm full of [00:00:30] myself.
[00:00:30] And here's the thing, after pushing publish on 143 articles and over a hundred podcasts this year alone, I still feel that bit of imposter syndrome at [00:00:45] least 50% of the time. So let's ~talk about that.~
[00:00:47] ~And today I wanna ~talk about that.
[00:00:48]
[00:00:50] Kiri Masters: There is a concept in Australia and New Zealand called the Tall Poppy Syndrome. This refers to people with notable public success or achievements that [00:01:00] are ostracized by others as a form of egalitarianism, intense scrutiny and criticism of such a person is termed as cutting down the tall poppy, and it's a phenomenon that's surely not just [00:01:15] limited to Australia and New Zealand,
[00:01:17] but tall Poppy Syndrome holds a vast number of promising people back.
[00:01:22] It is the fear of other people's opinions or fopo. For me, I've been [00:01:30] creating content online for more than 10 years, so you'd think that it would get easier, but here's the truth. Back when I started my company blog in 2015, writing about Amazon. No one was reading [00:01:45] it.
[00:01:45] I had literally nothing to lose. Now, over time, that audience has grown and sometimes when I look at who is reading my stuff these days. I feel this sharp pang in my gut, [00:02:00] which is the fopo, and this little voice inside my head says, don't ruin it. Now people are watching. Don't say something stupid. And I tell you this because I hear from so many.
[00:02:14] Brilliant [00:02:15] people with important ideas and experiences to share with the world that they would love to start a newsletter. They would love to start a podcast. They'd love to share more of their experience. And I understand why they back away from [00:02:30] putting themselves out there. And ironically, this seems to happen just when they start to become more visible professionally.
[00:02:37] 'cause they have more to lose.
[00:02:39] Now industry awards are on a whole other level of fopo. [00:02:45] Firstly, you have to apply yourself or you have to ask someone to nominate you, and this requires saying to yourself, I think I'm doing a great job and I deserve this, which is something that's [00:03:00] uncomfortable for a lot of people. Secondly, if you are selected for the award.
[00:03:05] Now you have to own it and you have to share it, which can be awkward because you don't want everyone to think that. You think you're all that. And [00:03:15] the truth is, I do sometimes see pushback online when a program with a large number of award recipients is announced. And I've seen these really nasty comments like, seems like everyone's getting an X award [00:03:30] these days, or Must have a great PR team, et cetera. And to those people, I say, how sad to be a victim, just because someone was recognized alongside a larger group [00:03:45] of people doesn't diminish what it took to get there. Miracle Ads is the only retail media solution designed for both one [00:04:00] P and three P Marketplace brands. Why does that matter? Marketplace sellers demand a seamless advertiser experience that still offers full funnel ad formats, and retailers need a flexible [00:04:15] solution that allows you to scale your media business.
[00:04:18] Learn more@miracle.com. That's M-I-R-A-K l.com.
[00:04:25]
[00:04:27] Kiri Masters: Now if you have Fopo, I see you, [00:04:30] and I hate to say it, but at least for me, there has been no way around it. Only through it. Every day. So publish the DAM article, apply for the DAM award.
[00:04:44] That is my [00:04:45] number one piece of advice apply for the DAM award I have. Number two through five coming up next. Number two is ask a colleague or a partner to nominate you for an award. I've received some of these requests over the years, and [00:05:00] I'm typically thrilled to do this.
[00:05:03] I'm thrilled to be asked to nominate someone. What an easy and fun way. To sow some future karma. So think of it from that perspective. It's not a burden on that person, [00:05:15] it's a privilege.
[00:05:16] Number three, if you are a solution provider, like a consultant or an agency or even a tech vendor, offer to nominate your clients for an award. They will remember this forever, [00:05:30] I promise. Number four, if you're fortunate enough to have a PR team ask for their help, no brainer. This is what they do. And number five, feel the fopo.
[00:05:42] Do it anyway.
[00:05:43] Now if you're looking for [00:05:45] inspiration of awards to apply for, think about next year, maybe gear yourself and your team up to position yourself for an award in 2026. I've put together a living database of awards that are relevant to the retail [00:06:00] media industry in a Notion database. I'll link up to it in the show notes.
[00:06:05] You can access it. And if you are in the awards business, the events business, the press, and you want to add your event to [00:06:15] it or you wanna update some information that is missing or out of date, please just go ahead and add it in and it will ~be a great resource for everyone in,~
[00:06:21] ~and it'll be, and it'll ~be a great resource for everyone in the industry. Hey, thanks for listening to this episode. This is a more personal one than I typically [00:06:30] share. I'll be back to regularly scheduled retail media trends tomorrow.
[00:06:34]