Effie UK has unveiled the 2023 Effie Awards U.K. finalists, having received more submissions from a broader sweep of entrants than any other year. These 40 shortlisted entries have been through to the final round of judging, with the winner announcements and celebration taking place on November 9.
The Positive Change category is the most hotly contested, with eight entries competing – more than any other category. Among the finalists are not-for-profits CALM and Mayor of London, alongside high-profile brands such as Ariel, Tesco and Vodafone–showing how widespread the idea of purposeful campaigns now is, and how businesses are taking their powers of influence seriously.
Reflecting the increased importance of long-term investment and future-facing innovation to drive growth, other categories with fierce competition are Sustained Success, and New Product or Service, both with four finalists.
Havas London is the most short-listed agency, in the running for four awards.
Juliet Haygarth, managing director of Effie UK, said, “With more entries than ever, and a particularly high standard of submissions, the judges did not have an easy time deciding on these shortlists. So we extend our thanks to the whole panel for their hard work, and offer our congratulations to every finalist for getting this far – it’s a real achievement.”
All submissions go through several rounds of rigorous judging, with juries comprising of senior marketing leaders from a diverse range of disciplines at brands, agencies and media owners. The final rounds of judging will decide the winners and award levels–Gold, Silver and Bronze–as well choosing the Grand Effie recipient.
The full list of 2023 Effie Awards UK finalists can be viewed here.
SMPTE elects board officers, regional governors
SMPTE®,the home of media professionals, technologists, and engineers, has revealed the board officers and regional governors who will serve terms beginning in January 2025.
Three new officers--Richard Welsh as SMPTE president, Eric Gsell as SMPTE executive VP, and Polly Hickling as SMPTE Education VP--have been elected for a two-year term from Jan. 1, 2025, to Dec. 31, 2026. One SMPTE officer, Lisa Hobbs, will be continuing her service as SMPTE secretary and treasurer for another two-year term. Additionally, Raymond Yeung will be stepping into the role of standards VP on Jan. 1, 2025.
“SMPTE’s membership has spoken,” said SMPTE interim executive director Sally-Ann D’Amato. “These officers have been tasked with an important responsibility, one each of them is prepared to tackle head-on. These next two years are looking bright for SMPTE!”
In addition to the officers, 10 regional governors were elected by the Society to serve two-year 2025-2026 terms.
These include the following regional governors, re-elected to continue their service:
Asia-Pacific Region Governor
Tony Ngai, Society of Motion Imaging Ltd.
EMEA - Central & South America Region Governor
Fernando Bittencourt, FB Consultant
United Kingdom Region Governor
Chris Johns, Sky UK.
USA - Central Region Governor
William T. Hayes, Consultant
USA - Eastern Region Governor
Dover Jeanne Mundt, Riedel Communications
USA - Western Region Governor
Jeffrey F. Way, Open Drives
Also elected were four newcomers to the SMPTE Board:
Canada Region Governor
Jonathan Jobin, Grass Valley
USA - Hollywood Region Governor
Allan Schollnick, Voxx... Read More