You agree to be bound by the obligations in this Agreement by submitting an entry as contemplated by this Agreement. 

This Agreement is entered into between Advertising Council Australia Ltd (ABN 84 140 893 152) (ACA, Advertising Council Australia, we, us and our) and you, the agency or entity submitting and Entry (you or your).

Eligibility

• An entry into the competition (Entry) must be original although parts may have been published before. 
• All entries must be for work that ran between 1 April 2023 and 31 May 2025 (Eligibility Timeframe). For an Entry to be eligible for entry, the bulk of the data in the campaign submitted must relate to the Eligibility Timeframe.  The campaign must have run in Australia and will be evaluated based on the isolated results achieved in Australia during the Eligibility Timeframe. Overseas data may be included in the Entry for additional context. The Long-Term Effects category allows an extended Eligibility Timeframe.
• The campaign must comply with all legal requirements and industry codes including the Advertising Council Australia’s Code of Ethics available for download at aca.org.au and https://aana.com.au/self-regulation/codes-guidelines/code-of-ethics. Non-complying campaigns will be ruled ineligible.
• Campaigns that have had a complaint upheld against them by a self-regulatory authority will be ineligible unless the case study can demonstrate that the particular execution in question had a minimal impact on the results.
• Each Entry must be for a bonafide client that has paid for media placement (entries for scam campaigns will not be eligible).
• All Entries must be paid for in full by the closing date. There will be no refunds for disqualified Entries or withdrawals after the closing date.

 

Entering campaigns from previous years

• Previous entries that have won an Effie are not eligible to re-enter unless there is completely new creative, new data from the current Eligibility Timeframe and a completely new case entry.
• Previous winners of Long-Term Effects and Brand Value can re-enter as long as:
  • There is new creative
  • The Entry complies with the rules for that particular category i.e. Brand Value or  Long-Term Effects
  • There is a two-year gap from the previous winning 

• Previous entries that have not previously been awarded an Australian Effie may be re-entered in subsequent Effies provided it is a new entry based on new data that complies with the eligibility criteria. The entry does not have to contain new creative work.

 

Entry

• In addition to being bound by the obligations in this Agreement, you agree to be bound by the Effie Competition Rules. To the extent of any inconsistency, the terms of this Agreement will prevail. 
• You must select only one category from List A and no more than four categories from List B for each campaign that you enter.
• You must submit a separate Entry and pay separate entry fees for each category submission for a campaign. You must customise an Entry to speak to the specifics of each entered category.  
• We reserve the right to: (a) refuse an Entry; (b) to move an Entry from one category to another; (c) to create new categories; or (d) to combine categories. 
• You must also write the Entry for each specific category and not just enter the same Entry into multiple categories.
• Your agency name must be excluded from all campaign materials that form part of your Entry and which are seen by judges.  
• All Entries are to be submitted online with supporting data and creative. Data sources must be provided for all data and results in an Entry with clearly labelled charts, graphs and images. Failure to provide a source for any data in an Entry is a ground for disqualification of that Entry.
• In the event of a campaign consisting of several sub-campaigns , you must choose whether to submit it in its totality and demonstrate its effectiveness for the overall brand, or deal only with that part of the campaign that relates to a particular product or sub-brand.
• Entries need to build a compelling business case and demonstrate the degree of difficulty and budget. Higher marks may be awarded in cases with a greater degree of difficulty. The most obvious of these are long-term effects, or success in highly competitive markets. 
• Objectives should be quantified and Entries will be marked down for not providing measurable goals unless the reasons for not doing so are well-argued. Entries must show how the campaign achieved or exceeded objectives and demonstrate how the campaign made a difference. The results should relate to the objectives; the data should support the assertions; the timescale should be clear. Hard data (sales, share) is often more convincing than intermediate (awareness, equity), or soft (eg. social “likes”, qualitative feedback), although they can help support your case. 
• Entries should succinctly explain the overarching strategy and how it was creatively executed. 
• Entries need to explain the communications strategy that took the idea to market. We need to understand the channels used, and why. 

 

Proving effectiveness

 

The evidence for this may vary from case to case, depending on the category and specific objectives. Advertising rarely works alone and you must have examined other factors that could have contributed to the results. 

An attempt should have been made to assess the contribution of other factors. Market Mix Modelling, if available, can be used to help isolate this. Indexing, or other methods, can be used to respect the confidentiality of data.

 

 

Demonstrating if the campaign was a good investment

 

Judges need to be convinced that the campaign was a good investment. While many entrants have relied on ROI in the past, this is not necessarily the only solution. Judges are given clear directions to mark along the following lines:

 

All Categories (Other Than ROI)

• While a sales and/or market share uplift will frequently have been the objective, the campaign may have had objectives such as a reduction in cost per acquisition, justifying a price increase or maintenance of distribution. Whatever the objectives were you need to show the judges how the investment was worthwhile. You might think about how you would convince your C-Suite that the money was well spent.
• Soft intermediate measures such as ‘likes’ or media exposure will not be accepted as proof of the value of the investment without a clear demonstration of how this led to specific business or behavioural outcomes.
• When profit was not the primary objective, entries must convince the judges why the campaign should be assessed on non-financial objectives and must demonstrate how the effectiveness has been evaluated by the commissioning organisation. This might include a Social Return on Investment (SORI) calculation.

 

ROI Category Cases

• Cases entering the ROI Category must demonstrate a profitable Return on investment. For commercial cases, an ROI calculation is required. This data can be indexed and/or excluded from the published case on request. We recognise that there will be occasions when profit cannot be demonstrated. For example:
  • When the client will not divulge profit margins, we can accept the use of category normative margins;
  • When the return is expected over some years, judges will consider projected ROI or lifetime value, but remember that judges will be sceptical of projections they consider overly optimistic.

 

Word Count

You must disclose your word count in your Entry. 

You must adhere to a maximum 3,500 word limit to tell your story. Long-Term Effects and Brand Value entries may allow up to 4,500 words. This includes the 400-word Executive Summary and a supporting image to summarise your case study for the judges.

Do not include your footnote word count into your overall word count.

 

Completion of the Effectiveness Questionnaire

You are required to complete the ‘Advertising Council Australia Effectiveness Data Questionnaire – 2025’ for each Entry submitted. This has been designed to collect data that may not have been included in the Entry.

This questionnaire will enable ACA to develop a database for case history analysis and insights. All data will remain confidential and be aggregated so it is unable to be linked back to an individual Entry. Completion of this questionnaire by you is compulsory. 

 

Judging

The decisions of the judges in all matters relating to the competition are final and binding.

 

Case Study Publishing Policy

Effie Wordlwide Inc (Effie) stands for effectiveness in marketing, spotlighting marketing ideas that work and encouraging thoughtful dialogue about the drivers of marketing effectiveness. To help fulfil this mission and provide learning to the industry, Effie relies on entrants’ willingness to share their finalist and winning case studies with the industry. By providing permission to publish your written case, you are:

• Bettering the industry. By allowing other marketers to learn from your success, you are inspiring the industry to raise the bar and make their marketing better. 
• Bettering the future leaders of our industry. Colleges and universities use Effie case studies in their courses, and Collegiate Effie participants learn how to write their own effective submissions by learning from yours. 
• Showcasing your team’s success in achieving one of the top marketing honours of the year. Effie wins help attract new talent, prove the importance of marketing in business, and strengthen agency-client relationships.

 

We respect that entries may have information deemed confidential. Within the Entry Portal, you are asked to set the publishing permission for your written Entry. You must select one of the following options:

 

Publish as the case was submitted	Publish an edited version of the written case
If you’re a finalist or a winner, you agree that your Entry may be published by us and by Effie as it was submitted and reproduced or displayed.	If you’re a finalist or a winner, you agree to submit an edited version of your case study for publication by us and/or Effie which will be reproduced or displayed. In this case, you may redact confidential information, however, you may not redact any section in its entirety including results.

 

You have the option of requesting that the written entry information denoted as confidential be kept confidential, in which case the relevant confidential information will be seen only by the judges during the judging period, by us, our staff and by Effie. 

The written case is the only portion of the Entry that should contain confidential information. For that reason, the written case is the only portion of the Entry that is included in the above publication permission policy. The creative work (reel, images), public case summary, and statement of effectiveness must not include confidential information and will be showcased in various ways (effie.org, partner websites/publications), along with your public-facing written case, if your Entry becomes a finalist or winner. Work submitted must be original or you must have the right to submit it. 

 

The Effie Awards entry and judging process is designed to help all entrants present their work effectively while ensuring the confidentiality of classified information.

 

Gaining client permission

All entries must have the permission of the client with a letter of endorsement signed by both client and agency. This is to be uploaded with your Entry before submission. 

The letter must be on company letterhead and use the template copy below. 

[ Company letterhead ] [ DATE ]

“I certify on behalf of [Lead Agency Name] and [Client Company Name] that the information submitted for this case is a true and accurate portrayal of the case’s objectives and results. The case ran during the eligibility time period. This Entry constitutes permission to be included in a data set for Effie Awards research purposes that do not breach confidentiality.”

 

We have read and agree on behalf of the Agency and Company to the Rules & Conditions in the How to Enter Guide and acknowledge that the case study of this campaign may be published by Advertising Council Australia and Effie Worldwide or with the authorisation of Advertising Council Australia, but that we will have the opportunity to remove such information from that case study that we regard as market sensitive or confidential. The published Entry remains the property of Advertising Council Australia.

 

Regards, (AGENCY MANAGER NAME) (MANAGER SIGNATURE) 

(COMPANY NAME, MOBILE AND EMAIL)

 

Regards, (CLIENT / CMO NAME) (MANAGER SIGNATURE) 

(COMPANY NAME, MOBILE AND EMAIL)