THE AUSTRALIAN EFFIE AWARDS BRING NEW LOOK TO ADVERTISING EFFECTIVENESS

The structure for the inaugural Australian EFFIE Awards, to be presented by the AFA and the AANA, has now been created with big changes to encourage a wider spread of entries from agencies and clients of all sizes and from all states of Australia.

Since the announcement of the new Awards programme earlier this year, the AFA Effectiveness Committee has put the finishing touches to the creation of the new programme. It builds on the proud history of the AFA’s Advertising Effectiveness Awards, known for its rigour and prestige.

“Our job has been to refresh the programme with the introduction of the internationally recognised EFFIE brand – now held each year in 39 countries around the world,” said Committee Chair, Matthew Melhuish. “We believe the new programme will be more accessible for a wider range of clients and agencies and will breathe new life into the drive to showcase why advertising and marketing are such vital tools for business success.”

The big changes include:

• New categories created to reflect industry sectors

• A one-step entry process instead of the previous two-stage process

• Lower entry price

• Entry length no longer the barrier it used to be; now 1,000 – 3,000 words as a guideline.

• Sensitive market information can now be removed before the case studies are published to encourage entrants to provide vital campaign results

• Judges comments and feedback will now be available to entrants so the process becomes an exercise in learning

• AFA entrants can earn Accreditation hours by preparing entries and attending Effectiveness workshops

• In-depth “How to Write a Winning Entry” seminars will be held to assist applicants.

The Awards are a joint presentation by the AFA and the Australian Association of National Advertisers (AANA) with the Awards dinner and presentation being held in Sydney on Thursday 27th of August 2009, and then annually.

“From an advertiser perspective, the AANA was attracted to the accountability associated with the EFFIE program,” said AANA CEO Scott McClellan. “Having measurable criteria at the core of the judging process can only add to the stature of these awards, and we value our involvement with them,” he said.

Winners of the Australian awards will also be eligible to enter into the second round of judging in the regional Asia Pacific Awards and the opportunity to compete globally.

Clients and agencies are encouraged to put the following critical dates in their diaries:

“How to Write a Wining Entry” Seminar Dates

• Sydney Thursday, January 29th 2009

• Melbourne Thursday, February 4th 2009

• Brisbane Thursday, February 12th 2009

Key Dates for Awards

• Entries Open Thursday 29th January 2009

• Entries Close Monday, 27 April 2009

• Finalists Announced Monday 1 June 2009

• Awards Dinner Thursday 27th August 2009

For further information about the Effie program visit the AFA website – www.afa.org.au and www.effie.org