Malaysia Effie Awards 2019 Calls for Entries and adds 3 New Categories: Deadline 10 September

Announcing its call for entries, the Malaysian Effie Awards has kicked off its 12th edition with the addition of 3 new categories.

Honouring achievements by campaigns that meet and exceed marketing communications objectives with a focus on effectiveness, the theme for this year’s awards is “Science and Magic”.

“This year’s theme of Science & Magic truly encapsulates the soul of the Effies. We are only just discovering the impact of big data. On its own, it’s just an infinite, meaningless jumble of numbers, but with the creative application of scientific analysis it can unlock the most unexpected and magical insights. Such glimpses into human behavior can sharpen strategy, boost efficiency and even ignite a creative idea that completely transforms a business. It’s an unbeatable recipe, diabolically difficult to refine, but cooking up that secret sauce and seeing it deliver is what keeps us all in this game,” said Irene Wong, Organising Chairperson of the Malaysia Effie Awards 2019 (pictured).

The new categories announced are Entertainment & Sports, Financial Cards, and New Product or Service Introduction. This brings the total to 24 Product & Services categories, and 11 Specialty categories. In addition, two categories, “Efforts for Good – Brands” and “Effort for Good – Non-Profit/Pro-bono” were renamed to “Positive Change : Social Good – Brands” and “Positive Change : Social Good – Non-Profit” respectively.

This year’s Awards also sees a change in the judging process. Where 1st round judging was previously done online, this and the final round judging will now be done in person. Furthermore, the juries for both rounds will not be the same.

Wong said, “Having been a judge for Effie Malaysia & Effie Asia-Pacific, I have always preferred for judging to be done in person with other judges in the room. The judges selected are usually a mix of Heads of Strategy from creative and media agencies, Chief Marketing Officers from various brands, Heads of Creative Services from media platforms, as I find it especially important that we look at a case from different lenses.”

“My Vice Chairwoman, Yee Hui Tsin and I are thrilled to be bringing these new changes and we are certainly looking forward to a fun & entertaining night at the Gala Awards,” she concluded.

The panel of 60 judges will be led by Datin Seri Sharifah Menyalara Hussein, CEO and Founding Partner, M&C Saatchi Kuala Lumpur.

“The great journalist Sydney J. Harris once said, ‘The two words information and communication are often used interchangeably, but they signify quite different things. Information is giving out; communication is getting through,’” said Datin Seri Sharifah. “The Effies have always been about celebrating and rewarding just that: ideas that got through. Ideas that – with brilliance, creative audacity, and razor-sharp strategic insight – shattered indifference, moved hearts, minds and wallets, and left measurable evidence of their power to build brands.”

“This year will be no different,” she added. “The Jury will painstakingly sift through every entry, looking for the truly special and deserving ones that can be graced with an Effie – still the world’s foremost benchmark of excellence in communications effectiveness.”

“It’s an exciting mission, and I am delighted and deeply honoured to be the first-ever Malaysian to be Chief Judge of the Effie Jury. I hope that we will view truly powerful ideas that truly ‘got through’ – and built stronger brands by doing so,” concluded Datin Seri Sharifah.

The Malaysia Effie Awards 2019 is organised by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) and supported by the Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA) and Media Specialists Association (MSA), in association with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).

“The Effies promote commercial creativity and its effectiveness, in line with the objectives of the 4As,” said Andrew Lee, 4As President. “We aim to elevate the role of the 4As in cultivating a creative economy, engineer a positive perception of Malaysia as a market for creative excellence both locally and internationally, and promote the notion that ideas can drive value change.”

The final closing date for Malaysia Effie Awards 2019 entries is 10th September, and the winners will be announced at the Awards Night event on 29th November.

Submission requirements can be found here.