The first subscribing stage of the Romanian Effie Awards ends on the 28th of March. Until the1st of May, the final subscribing terms, all successful campaigns of the previous year are welcome to join the competition.
Effie Awards celebrate the advertising campaigns efficiency and reward performances and joined efforts results of the advertising agency and the marketing departments in the client company.
“Any prize is recognition of the quality of the deposed work. An Effie award is not a gain for one department only, but it is celebrated altogether by the client service department, the strategic planning department and the creative department. It is also a reason of joy and recognition of the client’s merits,” said Alexandra Rusu, Senior Partner/Marketing Consultant MGT Business Services and member of the 2008 Effie jury. “That is the reason why I can say that probably the most important gain after winning an Effie is realizing that any successful campaign is the product of team work and each member has its own merits. Obviously, it is also a bonus for the agency’s resume”, Alexandra Rusu added.
In the communication industry, Effie Awards are perceived as a standard-setter of performances and efforts put together by all the involved teams. “Effie competition awards the advertising results and I think that there are multiple benefits for all those who are involved in it: the research agency, the client and the advertising agency. They will all receive the Effie prize as an “endorsement”, recognition of the high quality of their work,” stated Florian Gheorghe, Marketing Manager Pfizer and member of the 2008 Effie jury. “There will be a definite boost of credibility for the company inside the industry they belong to, and the individuals who brought a direct contribution to the awarded campaign will be very popular inside their company”, Florian Gheorghe added moreover.
Winning an Effie means achieving credibility and resonance on the business market and creates communication and promotion occasions for both the agency and client. “An Effie award is most certainly an advantage on the visit card of any agency and also a very productive PR context. This is followed by an increase of notoriety and reputation for the agency and, of course, by an increase of demand from the clients,” Catalina Cernica, Managing Director Graffiti BBDO, ExPresident of UAPR and member of the 2008 Effie jury.
First of all, the Effie competition sets a challenge for the participating company. The process itself, of selecting the participating cases for the competition involves putting in line the objectives and the results of the campaign. “Any agency desiring to position itself as an efficient one should endeavour in winning an Effie prize. The process itself, of choosing the cases to enter the contest, implies a great opportunity to self estimate the creativity translated into efficiency.” declared Mihai Vartosu, ExPresident of IAA and jury member of Effie 2008.
At the same time, advertising agencies can subject themselves to a positioning procedure in comparison with their direct competitors in the festival: “Agencies are given the opportunity to emphasize peculiar aspects in their campaigns and to improve their product in the future by applying the lessons taken from the analysis of their own cases or from those of the other’s competitors.” “It is a certainty that an Effie is an excellent PR platform and also a reason to celebrate the successes achieved by the combined efforts of the agency and client,” added Mihai Vartosu.
Successful campaigns, which have run between January – December 2007, can be subscribed for any category in the contest by filling in the Effectiveness Brief. A special brief has been dedicated to the special Sustained Success category for which results must date back since January 2005 up to 2007.
Registrations can be made until the 1st of May 2008 and will be centralized by Millenium Communications – the organizing agency. The winners will be announced during the Awarding Gala that will take place on the 15th of May 2008.
The local edition of Effie Awards is a project signed by The International Advertising Association (IAA) in partnership with Uniuniea Agentiilor de Publicitate din Romania (UAPR) and will be organized by Millenium Communications for the second consecutive year.