For digital shops that function on a project-by-project basis, credit at award shows is not only the lifeblood of new business, but is also recognition of their creative contribution in a media landscape where medium and message can blur.

Still, depending on the awards show, that contribution isn't always fully acknowledged. It's been a simmering issue for years, but with online work gaining more notice on the awards circuit, the bigger question is how are the creative and production relationships between agencies and digital companies changing. Boards spoke to leading figures from assorted disciplines to get their thoughts on digital working practices, recognition and how award shows can change to reflect the new realities.

Michael Lebowitz> founder, Big Spaceship
We come in at the strategy or the definition phase, not just at production. The model of TV production or print isn't the correct analogue. It's much closer to product design, where form, function, concept, idea, all of it is so intrinsically related.

I think a lot of evolution is going to happen very quickly [in digital]. People are understanding how this world is in perpetual change and fragmentation. So the awards are going to have to figure out how to live in that world. Categories are going to change as quickly as services and platforms shift.

The award shows need to talk to the people at the center of it. How are [the awards shows] thinking about this, and how are they trying to engage digital agencies?

Kevin Swanepoel> CEO, One Show
Certainly, at the One Club, we have a strict stance on this. When something is entered by the agency, the agency is what's credited as the agency of record.

But let's take a step back and look at the whole issue of the production company being credited where credit is due. BMW Films would not have been as good as it was had Anonymous Content not been the production force behind it. I think where there became a lot of ill feeling is where the traditional agencies didn't want to give [digital shops] that credit. I think those grounds were well-founded for the interactive guys.

Interactive production companies need to understand they've been hired to execute an original concept. I just think that on the flip side agencies have to be sensitive to the amount of energy that production companies bring to the table and don't in any way neglect them from the credits.

Mike Geiger> chief digital
officer, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, San Francisco

At Goodby, we come up with the idea, comps and art/creative direction, while the production company adds some mad production skills and in some instances creative and technical suggestions as well. That's why I always consider the working relationship between agency and production shop a partnership.

We know what can be done internally, but we need the expertise of production shops to execute these ideas. Some of the best production shops may push the idea even further with their creative and technical input.

I realized a couple of years ago that some award shows would not publish the credit list as we submitted it. They took the production credits out. So when we did the Got Milk Brittleactica campaign with North Kingdom as a production company I got a list of people from North Kingdom and mixed them with ours. It wasn't ideal, but somehow you have to acknowledge the effort of those guys.

Rick Webb> co-founder, The Barbarian Group
The interesting angle with all this is the changing nature of the agency's role and the vendor's role. Agencies insist on calling that, very pointedly, the production company. Even when they come to us and we have to think of the whole idea and all they have is a budget, a brand and tagline, they still call [us] a production company. Where do they think that line is?

This whole conceit that it's all about the idea is pure bullshit. It's wrong. While the idea is very important, it's not everything; it's not even close. Why do they spend so much money on Fincher or Gondry if it's all about the idea? Why not pay my sister to do it?

Awards are about patting yourself on the back, recruiting and marketing. On the Internet we don't need the first two; for us, getting something on the front of Digg is better for recruiting than a gold Lion. But the awards thing is very, very good for marketing. Awards shows are risking becoming obsolete in this new medium if they don't fulfill the needs of the people who buy into them.

Brian DiLorenzo> head of integrated production, BBDO, New York
Medium and message are inextricably linked. We view digital companies the same way we view any of our production partners - as just that, a partner. Every one of our suppliers is important and critical to the successful outcome of any project.

The biggest change is that we are now working with digital shops on a more regular basis than we did years ago. At the same time, digital shops have matured and are determining their paths and defining offerings. If doing great work is what we all aspire to, some will want to do it on their own, some will want to collaborate and some will be interested in playing both sides of that equation. It's a business model question for them - the key is clarity in intent.

It's safe to say some awards shows are in flux. I feel a distinction needs to be made between work created by a digital shop "as an agency" with full client accountability, and work that was done as part of team process led by others. Great work in both situations should always be recognized in a fair context. As one example, the AICP Show does a tremendous job of recognizing the wide diversity of talent that contributes to creative success.

The Barbarian Group http://www.barbariangroup.com
BBDO http://www.bbdo.com
Big Spaceship> www.bigspaceship.com
Goodby, Silverstein & Partners http://www.goodbysilverstein.com
One Show http://www.oneclub.org