Effie 2022: It will soon start again - communication is that important
The Effie Awards are considered the industry’s national Oscars and recognize the most effective marketing communications in 22 categories. The call for entries begins on March 14. m&k spoke with Beat Krebs, president of the LSA and a member of the 2022 Effie steering committee, about what’s new and what’s tried-and-true at the 2022 Effie Awards.
How successful is communication? This is a question that drives companies, because they want to know how effective the marketing measures are that they send out into the multiple channels together with agencies and production companies for their community. Communication therefore needs benchmarks for success. Every two years, a top-class jury looks at the campaigns submitted and assesses the effective success story of the individual works in a new 22 categories. The Effie Awards honor marketing effectiveness. They are international proofs of performance for successful marketing. Both clients and agencies value the Effie Awards as a benchmark for successful communication.
"Efficient, effective and unique" - Beat Krebs in interview
Beat Krebs reveals in an interview why new categories are needed and what significantly simplifies the submission of works.
Werbewoche.ch: The Effie has a special position among the awards in the industry and focuses on what counts: Communication effectiveness and its value contribution to corporate success. Now there are four new categories this year: Influencer Marketing, Marketing Automation, Performance Marketing and Social Media. Does this reflect the spirit of the times?
Beat Krebs: Yes, we align the competition for the most effective communication measures in such a way that the entire portfolio of services offered by modern communication agencies is fully represented.
Do these new categories apply to Effie Switzerland or have they been introduced worldwide?
The Effie is currently awarded in 57 countries and regions worldwide according to comparable criteria. More than 30 industry categories and over 40 specific categories are available. Each country can make its own selection from these categories. At the last Effie Awards in 2020, we already adapted our categories to the international concept, with the aim of making Swiss Effie cases more comparable with successful international campaigns. This gives the Effie a broader base and thus pays tribute to the changing demands on communication in the digital age. We have set up the category selection accordingly: There are again two category types: the works can be entered in the familiar target categories or in discipline categories such as the new categories mentioned above. A prerequisite for successful participation is, of course, proof that the communication has made a significant contribution to achieving the goals set by the customer.
Why don't you give us an assessment of how you think the pandemic has affected the campaigns submitted over the last two years?
There were a lot of creative campaigns despite the pandemic. It will be interesting to see how communication measures have adapted to the extraordinary situation over the past two years. In any case, we look forward to seeing many corresponding cases as submissions.
The submission process will be simplified this year. For example, a case video is no longer required for the initial submission, and credits and background information need only be submitted from finalist status. What prompted the LSA to simplify the submission process?
In this way, we would like to reduce the "hurdles" for a submission. The Effie Awards live from many different cases and want to honor the many good, effective communication measures in the Swiss market. And all entrants should have the same chances to win an Effie Award.
Why is it important for agencies to start preparing cases now for the call for entries on March 14?
The Effie only takes place in Switzerland every two years. That's why it's important to make agencies aware of it early on, because the selection and preparation of an Effie case requires a certain lead time. However, the simplified submission certainly helps to reduce the effort here. An Effie case tells a story and should inspire and convince the jury members - in addition to proving its effectiveness.
When will Award Night be held and how confident is the LSA in physically holding this gala event?
The Effie Awards Switzerland 2022 ceremony will take place on Thursday, November 10 in Zurich. We firmly believe that we will be able to hold the event physically. We are already planning an Effie-worthy award ceremony - and can already reveal that there will be an exciting new format - efficient, effective and unique - in the spirit of the Effie Awards. Therefore: Make sure to mark Thursday, November 10 in your agenda!
Voices from customers
Roman Reichelt, Chief Marketing Officer, Credit Suisse: "The Effie brings popular and unknown brands, big and small budgets, down to a common denominator: their success relative to the stakes. That means you don't know before the jury meeting who will probably be the big winner of the year. The tough discussions about key figures, their validity and their comparability make up the salt in the soup. And the Effie jury award unique."
Gregor Eicher, Head of Marketing/Member of the Management Board, Bank Cler: "In contrast to other award ceremonies, the Effie Awards are about what you have achieved with your measures. The focus is on effectiveness, efficiency and what value has been created for the business. That's why the Effies are so relevant to me. And of course I was all the more pleased that we received an award for our marketing campaign for the launch of our smartphone bank "Zak"."
Yves Rückert, Head of Brand Management & Marketing Communications, Edelweiss: "The Effie is the most important award for me, because it measures the hard facts instead of just the "pretty pictures". Don't misunderstand; both are important! But at the end of the day, for internal decision-makers, the question "What was the point?" always comes first."
Voices from the agency world
Kathrin Jesse, Chief Strategy Officer, Wirz Group "Effies are the ultimate proof that the power of creativity changes behavior, shapes perception and drives business."
Gordon Nemitz, Managing Director Strategy, Thjnk: "Winning an Effie is the accolade for any client-agency relationship. Because it's objective proof that together you've managed to create an unseen idea based on a strong strategic insight, which then ended up moving the brand and people."
Matthias Koller, CEO, Publicis Zurich: "For me, the Effie is probably the most important award of all. It doesn't just honor the most creative work, but those that really move the target group through insight, idea and implementation and thus trigger a change in behavior. This is also what Publicis Zurich stands for: for creativity that gets down to business and achieves its goals. The fact that we were able to accept not only a golden Effie but also the first Grand Effie in Switzerland for our long-standing client Frauenzentrale Zürich not only confirms us in the path we have taken, but also the relevance of the Effie."
The key data for the Effie Awards Switzerland 2022
Call for entries: March 14, 2022
Entry deadline: June 3, 2022
Award ceremony: November 10, 2022
To prepare the submission now the Case Description Form download
For more information Effie.ch or directly from
- Catherine Purgly, Managing Director Leading Swiss Agencies, 043 444 48 10, [email protected]
- Kathrin Leder, Project Management Effie Awards Switzerland, c/o Leading Swiss AgenciesS, T 043 444 48 13, [email protected]
