EFFIE 2013: Industry reacts after the win...!

It is well-said that only ‘Hard work is the key to success’ and this proverb fits the bill for agencies participating at the Effie’s annual event. The 13th edition of the Awards which took place on 17th January 2014, at Mumbai's Taj Lands End witnessed the entire media, marketing and advertising industry celebrating their success and achievements along with the not so fortunate who took disappointments in their stride.

We at Adgully spoke to some industry stalwarts present at the occasion and elicited their reactions on this prestigious event. Some excerpts of what they had to say:
While taking home 'The Agency of the Year' Effie, R. Balki , Chairman and Chief Creative Officer, Lowe Lintas & Partners India said, "Effie's show the kind of work and competition the industry is witnessing. It gives an opportunity to the clients and the agencies to award and honour the hard work behind the effectiveness of the campaigns. It is not about the winners being the best but it is about producing effective work."

Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman and Creative Director, South Asia at Ogilvy and Mather on their win of 'The Grand Effie' stated, "The quality of work was really good and the best work was featured, but along with that there were some good works which were not featured. I am happy and satisfied with the end results and can say that some were unique."

Abhijit Avasthi, Executive Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather commented, "Well, we won a lot of awards this year too and I am really happy to win The Grand Effie and moreover our client HUL took away The client of the Year Effie. I am a little disappointed for the campaigns that did not win any awards,  but that is fine that is the game. Undoubtedly the work has been spectacular this year too and I am personally a big fan of all the great work that I saw in Effies this year."

"The quantum of work is increasing year on year. 20% rise on the entries may not represent the increase of work, but the increase in numbers also represents the importance of these awards. For me all the advertisements we saw throughout the year are the winners," said Nakul Chopra, CEO South Asia at Publicis.

Leo Burnett's K.V. Sridhar a.k.a Pops, the Chief Creative Officer, India Sub-continent opined, "I am happy to see the growing level of creativity every year. Undoubtedly Hindustan Unilever is the biggest marketer and the number of awards they have won has shown their power. It is a learning and a fact that if you make a difference with a big brand you make a difference in the industry and both the agencies Lowe Lintas and Ogilvy have proved that , which in my opinion is really good. Also it was really good to see HUL coming back so strongly since Pepsi and Coke have been making their presence felt strongly during the last few years."

This is what Ajay Kakar, Vice-President and Chairperson, Effie Committee had to say, "Well the growing numbers of entries every year represents the growing spirit of all the agencies in our country and measures the quality of effectiveness. The best brands, agencies and effective works have won. Effies also marks the growth and demand of effectiveness in our country."

"Firstly Effies is one of the most amazing platforms in terms of measuring effectiveness of the media and advertising agencies. Being a part of the judging process this year I witnessed a good number of work in terms of quality and quantum. I guess our country has seen a kind of growth in terms of creativity," shared Amarjit Singh Batra, CEO, OLX.

When asked about a key takeaway from Effies 2013, Arvind Sharma, Chairman & CEO of India Subcontinent, Leo Burnett said, "Lots of awards and a lot of spirited competition is what Effies is all about."  In terms of seeing a rise in quality and quantum of work he opined that that is a kind of challenge with only the winner’s work being visible and not of the entire lot of work that comes in, in the form of entries which too are remarkable.

Subhash Kamath, Managing Partner, BBH India, opined that though the work in terms of creativity was a little less this year but the level of impact created by agencies and their work has definitely gone up.

Taking into consideration the various perspectives on the Ad Club’s Awards Night we can sum up that Effies 2013 was not only a celebration of the agencies’ creativity but also the effectiveness of their campaigns which made a difference.