The Effies Call for Entry launched yesterday evening at Sydney’s MCA, with the presentation of this year’s 19 categories open for entry.
Effies Chairman Matthew Melhuish kicked off this year’s Sydney launch, welcoming guests, while Toby Dewar, General Manager Media, Sponsorship & Awards at Telstra stressed the importance of effective advertising and Martin Whelan, General Manager Marketing Business & Institutional Banking, Commonwealth Bank, shared what he looks for in a winning entry.
This year has seen the introduction of two new categories; Short Term Effects and Transformational Digital Business Platform.
The Transformational Digital Business Platforms category is open to entries that use non- campaign specific digital platforms for marketing, engagement or transactional activity. To be eligible for entry, the submission must include use, or creation of, a digital asset and prove results over a period of a minimum of six months.
Examples of such transformational digital business platforms include: Telstra Crowd Support, a dynamic, peer-to-peer customer service platform, the Commonwealth Bank Property Guide App and Coinland, a Youth engagement Platform that entertains while improving early financial literacy.
The Short Term Effects category is open to activation campaigns that take effect from a minimum of one day up to four weeks. A maximum of three months data is permitted.
“We had a very strong performance in 2011 in terms of the quality and quantity of entries and we hope to do even better this year,” Effies Chairman Matthew Melhuish said. “The Effies always unlock many compelling stories with results that are off the charts and they remind us all about the incredible power our industry can deliver. The new categories are designed to enable more entries focussed around campaigns with a strong digital, social media component along with promotional marketing and I really hope that clients and agencies embrace these opportunities wholeheartedly.”
The further 17 categories open for entry are: Retail/Etail, Food, Confectionary & Snacks, Beverages – Alcoholic & Non-Alcoholic, Other Consumer Goods, Healthcare, Financial Services, Other Services, Travel, Leisure & Media, Government, Corporate And Social Services, Return on Investment, Long Term Effects, Most Original Thinking, New Product or Service, Small Budget, Best State Campaign and Multicultural/Indigenous.
Further Effie launches are scheduled for:
Brisbane Launch – Friday 3rd of February Melbourne Launch – Tuesday 7th of February Adelaide Launch – Wednesday 8th of February
Perth Launch – Thursday 21st of February Entries Close on Friday May 4, 2012.
Round One Judging will take place on 29 May 2012 with finalists announced in the week beginning 4 June 2012. Round Two Judging is set for 19 June 2012.
The Effie winners will be announced at a gala dinner in Sydney on Thursday the 6th of September at the Sydney Convention Centre.
The Effies are jointly presented by The Communications Council and the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) in association with Telstra.
Other sponsors and supporters include Millward Brown, The Advertising Standards
Bureau, BBC Worldwide, B&T, Commonwealth Bank, EYE, OzTam, The Newspaper Works, The Digital Edge, Trapdoor Productions and TSS.
