The 2015 Annual AdFocus Awards final countdown
It’s the final countdown to the 2015 Annual AdFocus Awards, when 14 agencies and individuals are recognised for their excellence. The event will take place on November 25 at RoomFive in Rivonia.
There are nine awards for agency of the year: small, medium and large advertising agencies; specialist agency; media agency; branding & design agency; digital agency; African network; and overall agency of the year, which can come from any category. The Annual AdFocus Awards also honour lifetime achievement, industry leader of the year, partnership of the year, student of the year, and new talent.
Agency entries are scored on new business, business retention, client relationships, awards, industry recognition and transformation.
Jury chairman Festus Masekwameng says judging was robust and animated. The former Loerie Awards chairman says he was impressed with jury members’ thoroughness in examining entries. “Agencies put a lot of effort into their entries and it was pleasing to see that these were given the time and consideration they deserved.”
First-time juror Craig Page-Lee, MD of Posterscope SA, says judging was typified by “robust conversation and critical decisions”. He adds: “Non-compliance with all aspects of submission requirements was absolutely not acceptable.” He adds: “SA agencies produce amazing work and it was wonderful to be able to recognise their achievements.”
eNCA MD Patrick Conroy says: “As a news media professional, I was interested to see how innovative agencies are approaching the digital environment and starting to grow revenues significantly. It is a clear indication that they are offering clients value in this new and contested space.”
Thulani Sibeko, Nedbank’s group executive responsible for marketing, communications and corporate affairs, observes: “It was a privilege to review some great work and debate the merits with fellow panellists. I’m comfortable that deserving agencies and individuals will get the nod.”
Other members of the main jury were: Prof Nicola Kleyn, dean, Gordon Institute of Business Science; Gary Leih, CEO, OFyt; Denford Magora, CEO, The Jupiter Drawing Room (Zimbabwe) & Partner; Zibusiso Mkhwanazi, CEO, Avatar; Jerry Mpufane, Group MD, M&C Saatchi Abel; Julian Neuberger, CEO, MediaCom SA; Emmet O’Hanlon, CEO, DDB SA; and Vanessa Pearson, executive creative director, House of Brave.
There were separate, specialist panels for media agency of the year and student of the year. The entire judging process is audited by Deloitte.
Agency finalists:
Digital: Hellocomputer, Native VML, Gloo@Ogilvy
Small advertising agency: Demographica, FoxP2 Johannesburg, House of Brave, King James II, OpenCo
Medium advertising agency: 34, Havas Johannesburg, Promise Brand Specialists, Y&R Cape Town
Large advertising agency: TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris, Y&R Johannesburg, Ogilvy & Mather SA, M&C Saatchi Abel, King James Group, Joe Public, FCB Johannesburg
Specialist agency: Playmakers, HDI Youth Marketeers, Burson Marsteller, Narrative, Atmosphere Communications
Branding & design: Black Africa, Grid Worldwide, Interbrand Sampson De Villiers, Shift Joe Public, Jupiter Drawing Room Cape Town
Media agency: Connect, MediaCom SA, MEC Group, Mindshare, The MediaShop, Vizeum SA
African agency network: Burson-Marsteller Africa, Dentsu Aegis Network, Ogilvy & Mather Africa, Publicis Africa Group, TBWA
Student finalists: Sarah Mitchell – Vega Durban, Kirsten Bennett – Red & Yellow, Megan Brits – Stellenbosch Design Academy
