Reflecting the Reality of Effective Consumer Engagement, Effie Awards Lead the Way in Recognizing and and all forms of Marketing Communications
September 5, 2006 (New York, NY) – As technology rapidly evolves and consumers become harder than ever to reach, the Effie Awards have revamped their program to be open to all forms of consumer engagement in every single category- as long as results are proven. The Effie Awards, coveted by clients and agencies alike, honor the most significant achievement in marketing communications: effectiveness.
“The Effies are leading the way in honoring ideas, not just executions,” said Gary Steele, Executive Vice President, McCann Worldgroup and Immediate Past President of the Effie Awards. “We are knocking down the silos that still occur in marketing.”
Attracting new entrants from outside the traditional categories of TV, print, radio, out of home and the Internet (which were previous Effie requirements for submission) to include digital, Media (as a driver), design, viral, guerrilla, direct, PR, promotions, branded entertainment and just about any other imaginable form of marketing communication is one of the most significant changes in the 2007 Effie program. The Effie organization has also redesigned its entry/brief form in order to drill down to the big idea and results. The new simplified form is more suited to tell the story of how the marketing idea was generated and executed and most importantly- how results were achieved, regardless of medium.
“The changes in the communications landscape are fundamental and irreversible. That makes it both exciting and demanding for clients and agencies alike,” said Carl Johnson, Co-Founder of Anomaly and a member of the Effie Board of Directors. “We want to simply ensure that anyone who can prove they have built their clients’ business by applying their hearts and minds with insight and creativity across ANY form of media, is recognized.”
The link between creativity, insight and effectiveness has been a noticeable trend in the past decade of Grand Effie winners (TBWA\Chiat Day has won the Grand Effie 6 out of the past 11 years, most recently for its Apple iPod “Silhouettes” campaign). To continue to underscore the importance of creativity in the Effie judging process, creative material will be reviewed in round one judging for the first time.
In 2006, the Effies made a move to emphasize the integral role of Media in successful marketing cases. The creation of a Media Strategy category (now called Media Idea) was well received by the Media community, and turned out to be the most popular category in last year’s Effie Awards program. This year, it is anticipated that Media agencies will have a stronger presence in the competition, by keeping the Media Idea category competitive and by directly entering their campaigns in any category across the board.
“As marketers continue to explore new ways to reach audiences, Media drives creativity, generates insights, ideas and, ultimately, results,” said Page Thompson, CEO of OMD USA, the most Effie-awarded Media agency in 2006. “The expansion of the Effies to recognize the significant contributions of Media is an important reflection of the shifts in our industry.”
To mark the significant changes in the Effie Awards, a new corporate identity was designed by Anomaly in New York, complete with a contemporary 3-dimensional version of the signature “E” Effie trophy. The logo features an image of the trophy with the new tagline, “Awarding Ideas That Work.” Anomaly also developed a promotional campaign for the Effie Awards, which will break in mid-September.
In addition, two new special business challenge categories will be introduced to the Effie program this year: Renaissance (successfully reviving a tired, abandoned or even dead brand) and David vs. Goliath (a small challenger brand who takes on the big guy and succeeds).
“Our industry has been talking for quite some time about how we need to change the way marketing communications messages are developed and delivered to reach the elusive consumer,” said Mary Lee Keane, Executive Director of the Effie Awards. “The Effies have made the bold move to recognize these changes. Now it is up to the marketing community to show us how insightful and effective their ideas can be.”