Brands that made an impact during one of the worst economic times in recent history have more of a reason to enter the Effie Awards than ever before. Since its establishment in 1968 and subsequent expansion across 40 countries, winning an Effie Award has become a global symbol of achievement, as the Effies honor marketing communications ideas that can demonstrate effectiveness.
“It’s a real accolade to win an Effie nowadays, given the shifting media and market landscape, requiring the very best combination of strategic rigor and creative thinking,” said Carl Johnson, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Effie Worldwide and Co-Founder of Anomaly. “In many cases flat is the new up in a down economy and holding onto market share or successfully introducing a product when spending is down is no small feat.”
2009 Effie Entry and Winner Trends: Gold Effies For Those Who Spent Smarter
Given the impact of technology and the decline of traditional media outlets, the Effie Awards have released data on 2009 Effie entry trends that show an interesting perspective on media strategies, confirming the application of less traditional approaches:
-89 percent of Effie entrants used a Digital component in their mix
-49 percent used PR
-35 percent used ‘Guerrilla’
-34 percent used ‘Consumer Involvement’
Although the historic medium of choice –TV – was down 5 percent among Effie entrants since 2008, it still was an important component in marketing efforts with 70 percent of entrants utilizing this medium to some extent.
Examining winner trends, an overwhelming majority of Effie winners (90 percent) used four media channels or more.
Perhaps unsurprisingly the bolder, more innovative applications of ideas across media platforms came more frequently where money was tight. When comparing the media budgets of the Gold and Silver Effie winners, 42 percent of Gold winners had a budget of under $500, 000, while 12 percent of Gold Effie winners had a budget over 40 million dollars.
“This Effie Awards season, we expect to see even more creative thinking, simply because of reduced marketing budgets,” said Mary Lee Keane, President of Effie Worldwide. “If there were ever a time to show that your work is actually working by winning an Effie, it is now.”
Entry materials for the 2010 Effie Awards are now available on www.effie.org. The On-Time Effie entry deadline is October 14, with the last chance to enter set for November 4.
New Effie Categories
The Effies have introduced two new Media Categories to reflect the ever-increasing importance of the use of media in driving effectiveness:
Single Media Company Activation, which will recognize effective partnerships between brands and single media owners to create and activate strategic, multi-touch point experiences with their target.
Media Innovation, an award that will showcase those who had the insight and creativity to change the way a particular media channel is traditionally used and consumed.
These are in addition to the existing Media Idea category, which was introduced in 2006 to recognize that media can be the fundamental driver of an entire campaign.
In addition to these changes, Advertising Age and Effie Worldwide are partnering on a new Effie Award to recognize and promote the idea of doing well by doing good – The GoodWorks Effie. The GoodWorks Effie is for communications programs proven effective in addressing a social problem or in expanding an existing program in ways that benefit our society or our planet. Any effort that sets out to give back in some way for the greater good is eligible to enter. Entries for the GoodWorks Effie are due November 4.
The due date for entries into the Effie Media categories is December 16.
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 annual World Effie Festival, the Global Effie, the Euro Effie, the Middle East / North Africa Effie and more than 40 national Effie programs. For more details, visit www.effie.org.
