DraftFCB and the Ministry of Health are a pretty bloody good team, as evidenced by the numerous awards the duo has won in recent years. And, after it was beaten by Colenso’s supreme award-winning catfood campaign for Whiskas last year, they’ve managed to wipe away those salty tears and make amends by taking out a fair swag of the big gongs at this year’s Effies at SkyCity, including most effective agency and most effective client.
“DraftFCB’s eight EFFIE awards, including five golds, reflect an enduring partnership approach and focus on campaign results for its clients,” says Paul Head, chief executive of CAANZ.
MOH took the most effective client of the year for the second consecutive year for its collaboration on the National Depression Initiative, which included the brilliant e-therapy course ‘The Journal’ and ‘Getting through Depression’ campaigns.
“The fact the Ministry of Health has won this category for this campaign a second year in a row demonstrates how great communication campaigns can evolve to keep at the forefront,” says Head.
- Download all results here CAANZ EFFIE Awards Winners 2011
This year, more than 150 judges from the advertising, marketing and research professions spent almost 1000 hours reviewing the 207 entries (almost double the number of the previous year) and of those, the judges awarded a total of just 33 Effies (eight gold, nine silver and 16 bronze). In addition to DraftFCB’s haul, last year’s most effective agency Colenso BBDO earned two golds for DB Export’s Beer: The Untold Story and Frucor’s V in the sustained success category, as well as three silvers and three bronzes.
Republik was the only other agency to pick up a gold for its Fuji Xerox Fujikistan campaign in the low budget category (the same campaign also picked up a silver in the new product or service category). DDB, despite getting 14 finalist nods, had to be content with one silver and seven bronze. .99 for Air New Zealand and Sugar for Honda were the only other silver winners, while Saatchi & Saatchi, GSL Network, Barnes, Catmur & Friends, Strategy Design and Advertising and Publicis Mojo all picked up one bronze each.
“We must continuously strive to raise the bar,” says Head. “Proving to clients’ senior management that the work our industry does has a demonstrable and measurable impact on the bottom line of their business is a key step on the journey to being seen as a true strategic partner. That’s why the Effie Awards are so important for agencies and their clients alike. They aim to recognise, educate and encourage effectiveness among the marketing communications industry and clearly prove the value that effective creative ideas deliver.
“Judges were particularly interested to see clear proof that the results were the outcome of the campaign. Those entries that didn’t make their case, didn’t make the cut,” says Head. “It’s getting harder to win an Effie—and that’s a good thing.”
The international guest judge was Gareth Kay, director of brand strategy and associate partner at Goodby Silverstein and Partners, San Francisco. He brought an international perspective and a high degree of rigour to the final round of judging. And his view was that the gold winners were genuinely word class.
MAJOR WINNERS:
Most Effective Campaign of the Year
Agency: DraftFCB
Client: Ministry of Health
Campaign Title: The Journal: sooner, better, more convenient treatment for depression
Most Effective Agency of the Year
Winner: DraftFCB
Most Effective Client of the Year
Winner: Ministry of Health
Agency: DraftFCB
GOLD EFFIE AWARD WINNERS
Category: Social Marketing/Public Service
Agency: DraftFCB
Client: Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC)
Campaign Title: Influencers
Category: Social Marketing/Public Service
Agency: DraftFCB
Client: Ministry of Health
Campaign Title: The Journal: sooner, better, more convenient treatment for depression
Category: Sustained Success
Agency: DraftFCB
Client: Ministry of Health
Campaign Title: Getting through Depression
Category: Sustained Success
Agency: Colenso BBDO
Client: Frucor Beverages NZ
Campaign Title: V The Energy to do Extraordinary Things
Category: Most Effective Integrated Campaign
Agency: Colenso BBDO
Client: DB Breweries
Campaign Title: Beer – The Untold Story
Category: Limited Budget: Less than $300k
Agency: Republik
Client: Fuji Xerox
Campaign Title: Fujikistan
Category: Most Effective Digital or Social Media Campaign
Agency: DraftFCB
Client: Ministry of Health
Campaign Title: The Journal: sooner, better, more convenient treatment for depression