Grab Creative Studio takes out 2024 Malaysian Effie Awards Agency of the Year: Grab named Brand of the Year for 4th consecutive year

The 16th edition of the Malaysian Effie Awards saw Grab named “Brand of the Year” for the fourth consecutive year, while Grab Creative Studio won “Agency of the Year” for the first time.

Showcasing campaigns that met and exceeded marketing objectives with a focus on effectiveness, the theme for this year’s Effie Awards was “Make Malaysia Move”, with two Gold, 14 Silver, and 13 Bronze awarded from a shortlist of 67 campaigns.

Grab and Grab Creative Studio won one Gold for the campaign “No change to price. Big change in sales.”; one Silver for the campaign “Hacking ChatGPT saved marketing 97% hours”; five Bronze awards for the campaigns “Audio Recordings, Un-creepified”, “Why Grab gave away a free Loyalty Program”, “Grab PHD: Teach Grab drivers to hack Grab”, and “Yum.AI for tiniest mom & pop shops” which was awarded in two categories.

A Gold award was also presented to Fishermen Integrated and Reckitt Benckiser for the Durex campaign “Ms Puiyi teaches safe sex with Durex Academy”.

Organised by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As), the Malaysia Effie Awards 2024 were led by Organising Co-Chairpersons Mr Ryusuke Oda, Managing Director, Hakuhodo Malaysia, and Mr LV Chong, Regional Managing Director at Monster Interactive.

Mr LV Chong said: “Participation in the Effie Awards, renowned for their emphasis on effectiveness in marketing communications, provides home-grown agencies with a platform to showcase their innovative strategies and demonstrate the tangible impact of their work. Winning at the Effies not only offers validation and recognition within the industry but also presents an opportunity for home-grown agencies to compete on a level playing field with larger counterparts, emphasizing the value they bring to clients through their distinctive approaches.”

Mr Ryusuke Oda said: “The theme ‘Make Malaysia Move’ serves as a powerful rallying cry that encapsulates the very essence of the Effies, to champion creativity and effectiveness as the driving forces propelling Malaysia’s market forward with innovative and impactful ideas. The Effies continue to celebrate and reward campaigns that embody this spirit, inspiring industry professionals to strive for greatness and make a lasting impact through their work.”

This year’s awards featured 3 new Industry categories including, Culture & The Arts, Non-Profit, and Professional Services, and 10 new Specialty categories including Multicultural – Non-Profits, Multicultural – Products, Multicultural – Services, Youth Marketing – Products, Youth Marketing – Services, Timely Opportunity – Products, Timely Opportunity – Services, Multi-Brand Shopper Solution, Multi-Retailer Program, and Retail Media.

Additionally, the following Specialty categories including Renaissance, David vs Goliath (Traditional), David vs Goliath (Situational), Digital Commerce, Experiential Commercial Marketing, Performance Marketing, and Data-Driven were either reinstated or updated, for a total of 36 Industry categories and 60 Speciality categories.

The 2024 Effie Awards Malaysia were judged by panels comprised of more than 60 diverse and illustrious industry leaders, led by Chief Judge Datuk Lai Shu Wei, Chief Marketing & Sales Officer, Sime Darby Property Berhad.

Datuk Lai said: “Winning an Effie Award is a reflection of a strong understanding of the marketing challenges, and translating insights into a compelling campaigns with clear measurements of results. The standard of the entries this year were consistently high and highly competitive across the categories.”

First launched in 1968 in New York, the Effie Awards are recognised internationally by agencies and advertisers as the communications industry’s pre-eminent award for marketing effectiveness.

The 2024 Effie Awards Malaysia are organised by the 4As and supported by the Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA), Media Specialists Association (MSA) and Malaysian Digital Association (MDA) in association with the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE).