DDP: Successful Swiss agencies
Successful performance for Swiss agencies at the German Dialog Marketing Prize (DDP): Four medals were won at the German Dialog Marketing Prize (DDP). Our Germany correspondent Peter Ehm was there.
Berlin/Zurich - Rosemary ham from the Saalow herb pig, roasted Havel pikeperch and lukewarm apple strudel for dessert: it certainly wasn't the menu on offer that prevented the German Dialogue Marketing Prize (DDP) from creating a real gala atmosphere. There were bumps and stumbles in the dialog network. The small Swiss delegation, however, popped the corks: With four medals, Suisse made was more successful in Berlin this year than it has been for a long time. Havas Worldwide Zurich took silver, the agency at the airport and Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog both won bronze. The Swiss BMW campaign by Serviceplan even took gold.
The DDP has been one of the most prestigious awards in the communications industry in German-speaking countries for over 30 years. Last year, the award was relaunched: from now on, the campaigns submitted will be judged on both creation and efficiency (Werbewoche reported). "We don't just want pretty pictures," says Patrick Trapp, President of the German Dialog Marketing Association, "we also want to know what the campaigns have actually achieved."
Sounds good. However, the industry's reaction was less euphoric: the number of submissions fell by almost 30 percent compared to 2014. Head of the jury Detlef Rump (rumpdialog) was undaunted: "An award must be a role model and is more than just press and a party." If the big players, such as Ogilvy, no longer take part, smaller and lesser-known agencies would have more chance of coming to the fore.
But things are not (yet) running smoothly internationally either: the euphorically announced alliance between the German Dialogue functionaries and the Austrian and Swiss associations last year has not yet been implemented. President Trapp: "It would have been desirable to do everything at the touch of a button. But there are technical problems. We will continue to negotiate." Neighborly relationship problems in numbers: Not a single DDP submission from Austria made it to the start line this year.
The Swiss on the other hand, were in Berlin and could proudly start their journey home. The winners:
- Gold went to BMW, Switzerland. The campaign, supported by print, ran under the title "Boring News - the most boring news in Switzerland". The campaign was developed and realized in Switzerland by Serviceplan Suisse.
- Havas Worldwide Zurich won DDP silver with its client Avnet Ringleader. The jury praised: "Packaging the NFC technology in a ring and integrating it into a coherent direct campaign makes this work stand out".
- Bronze went to Agentur am Flughafen (Altenrhein) with real estate client T. Ruggiero & Söhne. Here, the jury spoke of a "direct mail in which the message is brought to life in a playful way" and praised the "consistent reduction that creates curiosity".
- Swiss Post and its Zurich agency Wirz Wietlisbach Dialog also won bronze. The agency sent out a special pencil box under the title "Letter advertising is great". The jury: "In addition to useful writing instruments, the direct mail contains an excellently implemented insight." The work in the B2B sector clearly stood out.
At this year's DDP, a total of eight gold medals, 18 silver and 28 bronze awards were presented in 22 categories. Agency of the Year was Serviceplan, ahead of Saint Elmo's and GKK (see ranking). The prize in the "best in show" category went to Grabarz zweite Werbeagentur for its Ikea Lübeck opening campaign.
