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In a region and year that have played host to one of the most high-profile and damaging acts of deception in recent ad awards history, the industry may have finally escaped the shadow of the Dubai Lynx and ended 2009 on a high.

Last month, the internationally renowned Effie awards made their debut in the region, tying up with the well-established GEMAS, the effectiveness in media awards helmed by Communicate’s sister title Gulf Marketing Review.

Thanks to the nature of the competition – a test of effectiveness, as opposed to creativity – this show can hopefully distance itself from allegations of cheating, scam ads and rip-offs. For agencies in the region, it was the perfect opportunity to begin getting some closure on what has been a tough year all round, and to enhance their credibility in a market where plenty of clients are now pitching.

THE POWER OF PROOF. “In any recessionary environment, or any environment where resources are scarce or have suddenly become scarcer, there will always be a higher premium on proof of performance,” says Kamal Dimachkie, managing director of Leo Burnett UAE, Kuwait and Lower Gulf. His agency’s clients collected a Gold and two Silvers at the gala bash in Dubai.

“The Effies bring a sort of top spin in confirming the fact that, not only did [an agency] perform in the market place, but they also out-performed other competitors and other brands,” he says.

So there’s a simple logic; carrying success in the GEMAS Effie awards into a pitch offers evidence of commercial performance, and that’s what clients are asking for right now. The question is, if effectiveness has more value to it than ever, where does this leave creativity?

“Creative that works and brings results will always be highly valued by clients,” says Ronald Howes, regional managing director at Memac Ogilvy. “Both [creativity and effectiveness] are important. Creativity awards demonstrate our thinking and understanding of the market and brand, and the effectiveness awards demonstrate our knowledge and experience in understanding the business opportunity by putting forward viable solutions that help our clients reach their business goals.”

Ogilvy recorded a number of major wins fir its clients at the event, including three Golds and the only Grand Prix of the night. But the truth is, successes like these are most often a consequence of solid creative work. Success in creative awards, on the other hand, often has little bearing on real-world campaign returns. In other words, you can have great creativity without campaign success, but campaign success – and by extension, an Effie – seldome comes without great creative.

“Often creative awards translate into effectiveness awards,” explains Mark Champion, GEMAS Effie MENA chairman. “Creativity for its own sake has little or no value for the client. It has to deliver insights and cut-through, and usually has to create an emotion in the consumer in order for creative ideas to work.”

EFFECTIVE ARRIVAL. Whether winning one directly helps with new business or not, the arrival of the Effies in the region has added a new level of credibility to the already highly regarded GEMAS awards. At a global level the Effies have pursued an ambitious global expansion, and Champion says that in doing so they have achieved even more relevance and importance.

“The Effie organizers have done a great job to grow the brand and the credibility of the awards,” he says. “And agencies and clients know that to stay competitive their marketing spend needs to be effective – so we are seeing a swing towards much more rigorous measurement of campaigns and spend.”
Understandably, regional agencies are also enthusiastic about the awards’ expanding reach.

“The fact that you have a reputable body such as the Effies giving endorsement [in the Middle East] is certainly further encouragement and endorsement to the value of what you are doing in the market place,” says Dimachkie. In the end, though, he points out that awards are just one part of any quest for new business.
“The priority in a pitch is not how many awards you have won, but obviously the work, the focus, the attention that is thrown into the ideas that you believe will help the client transform human behavior and help them win in the market place,” he says.

Maybe so, but producing the odd effectiveness award will surely help.

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