EFFIE AWARD ENTRIES SHOW A DRAMATIC INCREASE IN CAMPAIGNS INCORPORATING CONSUMER INVOLVEMENT, PR, GUERRILLA AND EVENTS
2009 Effie entries using TV as a medium in the marketing mix are down nearly 5% from 2008
NEW YORK (February 11, 2009) – Another benchmark in the shift of how marketers are reaching their audience is the increase in the use of consumer involvement, guerrilla marketing and PR among the 2009 Effie Award entrants. The Effie Awards honor marketing communications ideas that work and are known globally as the pre-eminent award in the industry.
Entries using consumer involvement were up a dramatic 67 percent from 2008. Cases incorporating events increased 27 percent, with guerrilla and cinema marketing following closely (both increased 26 percent). Effie entries employing Public Relations were up 21 percent. TV was the only communication channel or effort that decreased among entries (-5 percent).
The newest Effie category, Brand Experience, was the most popular of the 51 categories this year. The category was created to encourage Effie entries that did not rely on TV, radio or print ads to connect with a consumer. Guidelines for the Brand Experience entry include, “work that brought a brand or product to life—either literally or virtually—and interacted with a specific target to achieve desired objectives. For example, a re-invention of the product demo, re-imagining the pop-up store, a bricks and mortar retail overhaul; the creation of a new game or interactive film experience that effectively showcases a new product or brand personality – it could have been anything. As long as it could be proven that it truly came alive. And worked.”
“Over the past few years the Effies have worked to attract the most creative thinkers inside and outside our industry, from our board members to our judges and ultimately, our entrants,” said Mary Lee Keane, President of Effie Worldwide. “We are encouraged to see the excitement for the Brand Experience category and the changes in the media mix of the impactful work our entrants are submitting.”
Judging for the Effie Awards is currently underway. Winners will be announced at the Effie Gala in New York on June 3, 2009.
ABOUT THE EFFIE AWARDS
The Effie Awards honor the most significant achievement in marketing communications: ideas that work. Known by advertisers and agencies globally as the pre-eminent award in the industry, the Effies recognize any and all forms of marketing communication that contribute to a brand’s success. Any marketing medium is eligible for an Effie, as long as results are proven, including Print, TV, Radio, Outdoor, Internet, Guerrilla, Digital, Package Design, Events, Street Teams, PR, Paid or Unpaid Media. Since 1968, winning an Effie has become a global symbol of achievement. Today, Effie celebrates effectiveness worldwide with the World Effie Festival, the Global Effie, the EURO Effie, Effie Asia Pacific (Effie APAC), Effie Middle East/North Africa and more than 35 national Effie programs. For more details, visit www.effie.org.