Opinion

The Mumbrella Awards 2014: how you can enter and how you can win

Mumbrella AwardsThis year’s Mumbrella Awards have two new Asia Pacific categories. As the call for entries goes live, Robin Hicks explains the changes for this year and why you should get involved.

So, this is the second year that the Mumbrella Awards, now in their fifth year, have opened up the competition beyond Australia to invite the rest of the region to test their mettle in what we believe to be the hardest awards to win in Asia.

Last year, we had two Asia Pacific categories. Creative agency and media agency of the year, which saw DDB win the former and PHD the latter.

This year, we’re adding two new categories. Regional PR agency network of the Year, and APAC campaign of the year.

Yes, regional campaigns get a bad rap. Bland, patronising and appealing to the lowest common denominator seems to be the label that is pinned to advertising that dares to cross borders these days.

Well, we refuse to believe that, even in a region as complicated as Asia, that there aren’t some great campaigns out there that have run in a number of markets that deserve recognition.

The difference with Mumbrella’s APAC campaign of the year category is that the execution does not need to be the same in every market.

Local adaptations or executions of the same campaign strategy are perfectly acceptable, as long as they’ve run in at least four different markets in the region.

For all the details for how to enter, click here.

Like last year, the Asia Pacific categories will be judged by a panel of senior regional marketers captained by Darren Woolley, the managing director of client-agency relationship consultancy TrinityP3.

We will be announcing this year’s officials shortly.

Another difference with the Mumbrella Awards this year, which we think is an industry first, is that finalists are invited to present in person to the jury.

Let me explain the thinking behind this. But first, an acknowledgement. Waiting to present is an unnerving experience, as the pitch-weary among you do not need reminding. So is fielding searching questions from clients that you probably wish would be yours some day.

This year though, every one of our categories will be judged this way. If you’re going to win, you’re going to need to persuade a jury to shortlist you based on your written claims – and then you’re going to need to look them in the eye and convince them all over again that you should win.

Why do we do it this way? Because we think the result will be a fairer reflection of your work. A face-to-face presentation gives the jury the opportunity to be convinced. Or not. A jury will always find a worthy winners when it gets to spend time with finalists face-to-face.

And most importantly, when you put finalists in front of the jury (so long as you recruit the right people) they tend to get the result right.

So, if you do make it through to the final of our APAC categories – creative, media or PR network of the year, or APAC campaign of the year, you can expect a visit from Darren Woolley and his team of marketer jurors in Singapore.

One element of the Mumbrella Awards will be a lot more straightforward this year. We’ve built a new awards site, which involves direct entry of text, so production values will no longer be a factor.

Now, I know what you might be thinking. Does the industry need another awards show? Budgets are stretched, so agencies are having to think very carefully about which awards they enter. But I believe the awards shows that thrive will be the ones where winning really means something.

Mumbrella Awards 2013 Room

The judging process will be not be easy, and comes at a busy time of the year. But think how you’ll feel if you pick up a trophy in Sydney on the night of June 5.

The Mumbrella Awards are tough to win. But if you win, you can say you’ve won in the toughest – and fairest – competition in the region.

  • Robin Hicks is the editor of Mumbrella Asia
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