Effie MENA Awards 2015 Announce Regional Winners

A glittering soirée at the Pavilion, Armani Hotel recently hosted this year’s Effie MENA Awards, the annual programme that honours the most effective marketing campaigns in the region. More than 1400 people attended the gala event - the finale of one of the important awards programmes on the region’s marketing calendar - to celebrate the initiatives, brands and agencies that have had the most measurable impact over the past 12 months.

The Effie MENA Awards 2015 was the seventh edition of the annual programme and this year hosted a total of 25 categories for entrants. There were 12 categories under ‘Product and Service,’ eight under ‘Specialty’ and a single category ‘Shopper Marketing.’ There was also a chance to win a ‘Grand Prix’ award and to have the titles ‘The Most Effective Marketing Team of the Year,’ ‘Most Effective MENA Agency Network of the Year’ and ‘Most Effective MENA Advertising Agency Office of the Year’, ‘Most Effective MENA Media Agency Office of the Year’ bestowed. To win an Effie Award, entrants need to impress the judges in four main criteria; ‘Strategic Challenge and Objectives,’ ‘Idea,’ ‘Bringing the Idea to Life’ and ‘Results.’

“The high standard of entries combined with the rigorous and stringent evaluation procedures mean that it was a very tough competition indeed this year. As organisers of the annual Effie MENA Awards, we are both honoured and delighted to have such a range of distinguished figures participating as judges in this year’s programme. It all adds up to a win in any one of the categories being the highest possible endorsement of the quality and effectiveness of a marketing campaign, brand, advertiser or agency,” said Alexandre Hawari Co-CEO of Mediaquest Corp, organisers of the Effie MENA Awards.

This year’s Grand Prix winner was Impact BBDO Cairo and OMD - Media Direction for the Sting Launch Campaign. Advertising agency FP7 received a double win and was awarded most effective agency office of the year and most effective agency network of the year.  The Coca-Cola Company scooped the award for most effective marketing team of the year. OMD Dubai won the title of most effective media office of the year.

Those who excelled as being the most influential entities in the region’s marketing sector for the past 12 months and who celebrated with a gold Effie MENA Award’s this year were: 

• Smartlife - FP7/DXB
• Dominos - JWT KSA
• Sony Mobile Communications - FP7/DXB
• Chrysler ME - Publicis ME
• Roads & Transport Authority (RTA) - Geometry Global
• Emirates NBD - FP7/DXB
• touch - JWT Beirut
• Coca-Cola ME - FP7 DXB and Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai
• Rani Float - Mindshare MENA
• Quaker - DDB
• Infiniti ME - TBWA/RAAD & Mindshare MENA
• Sting - Impact BBDO Cairo & OMD- Media Direction
• UN Women - Impact BBDO Dubai
• Coca-Cola ME - FP7/DXB & Memac Ogilvy & Mather
• Smartlife - Capital Group & FP7/DXB
• Chipsy - Impact BBDO Cairo & OMD – Media Direction                                                                            Abla Fahita - JWT Entertainment & JWT 
• Fanta - FP7/DXB
• Fanta - FP7/DXB & Power League Gaming
• 7UP - Impact BBDO Dubai & OMD

“The Effie MENA Awards has established itself as the lodestone marketing awards programme for recognising ideas that work. The incredible growth of the event since the first ever Effie MENA Awards in 2009 is a testament   to the stature that the awards now enjoy in the region’s marketing landscape,” said Hawari.

This year’s Effie MENA awards was unprecedented in its scope of regional and international judges who sat on the various panels to cast their vote. A total of 102 personalities took part in the deliberation proceedings this year, including such luminary figures as Bob Kiple, Chevrolet Global Marketing, General Motors; Florence du Luart, International Editorial Director Marie Claire Group, Paris; Stephanie Nerlich, President & CEO, Grey Canada and Ian Armstrong, Advertising General Manager, Jaguar Land Rover, London. The organisers say that the quality of the panel meant that the winners have the kudos of knowing that their work has been deemed the best by leaders who are preeminent in their fields.

“We would like to congratulate all of the winners as well as the runners up from the Effie MENA Awards 2015 – the competition with so many entrants this year truly was tough. It was a night to remember for everyone who attended and one that further cemented the Effies as the benchmark standard for measurable regional marketing success. I would like to thank everyone who participated and made it such an enjoyable and rewarding event,” added Hawari.

Launched in New York in 1968, the Effies were created to honour marketing ideas that achieved the best results, with the programme rapidly establishing a reputation as being the most prestigious of all professional marketing awards. The Effies now comprise the Global Effie, Euro Effie, Effie Asia Pacific, Effie Effectiveness Index and more than 40 national Effie programmes. The latter includes the Effie MENA Awards, which was established in 2009 when it joined with the GMR Effectiveness in Marketing Awards, the former benchmark measure of regional creative marketing brilliance. The Effie MENA Awards is the only Effie awards programme in the Middle East and North Africa.