Insult to online category at Campaign Middle East Media and Planning Awards?
For the second time, online as a category in a Campaign Middle East award ceremony gets ignored by the jury. Why?
Tonights award ceremony at the 1st Campaign Media Planning Awards showcased only one bronze in the category ‘online’ and the jury decided that silver and gold were not worth to award to any of the shortlisted entries.
This is the second time since the establishment of the Campaign awards (organized by ITP Consumer Publishing Ltd.) that online as an industry gets completely undermined by a jury.
Looking at the 6 shortlisted entries, I am asking myself how a jury can disregard 5 out of the 6 campaign and only award one bronze. The one entry that won was a nomination by Starcom MediaVest for the Hummer H3 launch which I admit was surely a great campaign creatively. However, I am questioning the capability of the jury to objectively judge on the entries and wonder if not creative was taken into consideration more than the actual media planning & strategy capabilities:
- The campaign was showing a video of Hummer H3 and in a creative Eyeblaster the Hummer H3 ‘jumped’ out of the TV spot and drove over the page which surely looked great creatively, although that idea was done by Jeep and Volvo through Eyeblaster before
- Hummer H3 was an integrated campaign and not a stand alone digital initiative
- If I am not mistaken, the actual media execution was a simple insertion of Eyeblasters accross two portals e.g. MSN and Yahoo only.
- No measurements of results, click-through rate, conversation or brand impact (Dynamic Logics) provided
Other nominations from eWorks (Publicis Group) and Flip Media clearly showcased elements that were part of the rules and objectives of the award: “Our aim is simple: To celebrate the most creative media ideas, innovations, and organisations across the region. Entrants will need to show that the idea met a clearly defined brief and helped to deliver improved business performance for the client regardless of budget. Credit will be given for originality of thought. The emphasis should be on the thinking behind the idea, its execution, and how it stands out from the rest. ” says Tim Addington, Campaign Middle East Editor.
- British Airways campaigns clearly outlined measurable results e.g. 25% volume sales increase
- Emaar Properties campaign for Burj Dubai complex were presented with complete campaign analysis, optimization results and conversation that led to 134 apartments being sold in a unique solo-online campaign where all ATL/BTL was stopped due to the success of this campaign
- Thuraya campaign accross 15 global portals produced measurables results of 46% of all exposed users to get involved in post-click activities on the satellite phone manufacturer’s website
I would like to openly question the capabilities of the judges on the online nominations and fail to understand how online as a whole industry has been again ignored by the media representatives on the judging panel. The discussion is not about why only Starcom has won and eWorks and Flip Media didn’t bag an award tonight, it’s about the fact that in my personal view the judge clearly did not know how to evaluate the entries and how to make a distinct decision between creative and digital media planning excercises.
A couple more thoughts:
- I personally felt embarrassed when for the second time at a Campaign awards ceremony someone judged about a specific industry without properly understanding it. The whole team of Maktoob.com, AME Info, Zawya.com, Flip Media and eWorks/Publicis left the room after the announcement, and I feel sorry for the hard working digital media planners, strategists, and buyers that got to understand that creative (based on a TVC spot converted into a Flash movie) overrules their strategic thinking.
- I am asking myself if Maktoob.com, sponsor of the awards for the second time, will get re-imbursed by 2/3rd of their 15,000 US$ sponsorship fee.
- I wished that ITP Consumer Publishing Ltd. as the organizer and one of the leading digital publishers could have enforced a different result e.g. 3 winners from the jury. I am also curious if the format of the award submission in fact encouraged the jury to focus more on creative execution than on the actual media planning and strategic idea: As a member of the first jury, I personally (amongst others) noticed and mentioned to other jury members that discussion points during the evaluation should be unbiased and independent from our creative experience of the work and should only focus on the media planning capabilities etc. as outlined in the award’s rules.
- I congratulate OMD Digital and other agencies for not even submitting their entries and feel strongly about encouraging every digital agency in the Middle East to not even bother submitting anything for the upcoming creative and media awards in order to avoid a duplication of what we all experienced today.
I would like to see the names, titles and companies of the final judges that decided to vote against a complete industry that has taken over spent in offline categories such as print, radio and outdoor in other parts of the world. I am inviting all of you readers to comment on this blog and other related websites. Is there anyone that can explain to the members of the Middle Eastern digital community that attended the ceremony tonight how such a decision was made - which I personally feel is an insult to the online industry in our region.
comments
mohammad itani
November 29th, 2006 at 11:16 amIt is a shame to witness such an event. It is for the second time that online failed to get it’s fair share. The question is “how can it be that creative is the only aspect being tested in the online category of the Media PLANNING award”. Once again, the uneducated judges took the easy way out by judging the creative rather than the planning, optimization, and end results.
Maybe it is the fear of online dominance that the traditional media is afraid of. But ITP Online has been doing a good job on selling advertising space on their portals. How come they undermine online on the event which should celebrate online and give it’s share as the only result oriented new media.
Sajid
November 29th, 2006 at 1:07 pmThis shows that people still do not understand what online means in the ME region. And even if the creative was the benchmark, the hummer driving over the page is a pretty stale idea.
http://imthi.com/wp-content/uploads/skyline_anim_1c.swf
This campaign was done for an automobile client in India more than two years back. Talk about being fresh and innovative.
It really hurts to see that the judges weren’t able to perceive the amount of planning and strategization that goes into a campaign like Thuraya, spanning 15 portals and a geographical reach of 3 continents and fails to see the results obtained from a campaign like the one for Emaar where the ROI is incomparable to other media.
This campiagn award function definitely goes well with the stereotypical image of dubai where it’s all about hype. Who cares if we sold 134 apartments on $30k campaign, the media pundits are more interested in full page spread of $25k on the leading daily where one cannot measure the results.
Delving deep into this depressing scenario, the only way out is constant education of the industry with the advantages of the online media and what it could do and how it works better in comparison to the conventional forms of advertising. And maybe direct people to understand facts outlined in the following articles
http://news.com.com/In+U.K.,+online+advertising+overtakes+magazines/2100-1024_3-6104592.html
http://business.guardian.co.uk/story/0,,1786358,00.html
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2006/04/10/internet_advertising_spend_to_overtake_outdoor_radio/
http://us.ft.com/ftgateway/superpage.ft?news_id=fto052920061706070914
The world on both sides of the pond is going the digital way and ME still choses to be the proverbial ostrich safe and complacent with their heads buried in the ground. Take it out people, the world has moved on….
David Sheridan
November 29th, 2006 at 2:47 pmSorry to read that Online in Middle East continues to be poorly judged. The UAE is not the only country in the world where a lack of suitably qualified judges are being asked to evaluate a medium they don’t really understand.
The judging panel for Online should be different to traditional media. Senior members of the Middle East’s online advertising community should be invited to the panel. When work entered by an agency to which they are associated is reviewed that interest should be declared and they should leave the room. This worked well when I was a first -ound judge of the Campaign Middle East Awards in 2005. There was a good understanding between panelists from MindShare, Starcom, OMD, Initiative and MEC. We remained objective throughout and all afreed with the short-list put through to the final round. I suggest a similar approach for 2007.
David Sheridan, Managing Partner, MindShare WorldWide, London
Ahmed Nassef
November 29th, 2006 at 3:46 pmThanks Martin for this.
Yes it was astonishing to see this happen for the second year in a row, especially after all the reassurances many of us got from folks at ITP that things would be different this time around.
Speaking for Maktoob, we will certainly not sponsor any more of these awards until a serious restructuring of the awards procedures takes place that ensures fair treatment for the online industry.
Ahmed Nassef
Vice-President, Maktoob Group
General Manager, Maktoob.com
Riad Hassi
November 29th, 2006 at 4:18 pmIt was surely clear that the lack of experience of the juries had lead to an unhappy end. I believe that the decision was ready cooked and prepared before hand. Therefore, I think the judge/s should go back to school and learn how to be fair and accurate.
Khaled Jabasini
November 29th, 2006 at 5:07 pm2 out of 8 sponsors $$ came from online companies, Maktoob Group ” Online” and eMarketing “Best Media Plan”, that is almost 25% of their overall income for this event ?!
Next year we will not sponsor an event that has a ONE BRONZE Online award …….
You know it is great to Get “10″ Awards in One Night, for Hummer, Hummer, Hummer, Hummmer, Hummmer ?!
I think the Judges for sure like/need a Hammer H1, Hammer H2, Hammer H3, Hammer H4 …..!?
Khaled Jabasini
CEO
e-Marketing FZ LLC
Rayan
November 29th, 2006 at 7:12 pmMartin, Agreed on most of the stuff… except boycotting, that means digital experts are giving up!
Sajid, you are digital expert, the campaign you are referring to in India has nothing to with the Hummer campaign, you know that.. I still don’t think Hummer should have won that one, but to be fair it was not creative based, nor was it only on Yahoo and MSN,.. and it was not just the format you saw at the awards.
Khaled Jabasini, if you feel you wasted your money, don’t be typical and take it out on the winner, judge the awards won by quality not by quantity (they were 6 not 10, but i am sure you lost count); a lot of effort was put into launching H3 and as Martins rightly said it was an integrated campaign, and it was indeed a very successful one, call any dealer in the region, ask him about stock situation after we launch.. you will understand what I mean. Anyways next time you have sponsorship money, let me know I can help you allocated for no charge..
dotone
November 29th, 2006 at 8:21 pmBlack boxes and anti-knowledge sharing leads to such incidents. Starting from the clients, can you find a client that has been told about how the planning and strategising for online-campaigns take place?
I face and saw people who were promised 100,000+ registrations by a huge campaign, I got really shocked by the number, I don’t care how many hundreds of thousands of page impressions are bought, 100,000 registrations in ME for the time being is an illusion, not even close to a dream, I tell you that.
So imagine if the clients are living in the dark, who’d be the judges? Industry leaders? But who’s who in our market? C’mon man, we have companies that wanna’ do e-marketing while they have no brand at all, take the above e-Marketing FZ LLC. You joking me?
So take it from here, who choses the judges, the people who had the wrong idea, the same idea that was originally delivered from the industry pioneers to clients and the market.
While I see how sad this is, my man Martin, don’t you think this was still expected? I wish I was there to see that.
Martin Diessner
November 29th, 2006 at 8:41 pmRayan - I was there on the judge panel round 1 and saw people judging on creative and not on media planning and strategy. And as far as I remember the entry of your integrated campaign, it did not outline ANY online strategy and/or results, optimization etc.
dotone - so right. I wished I was as smart as Dimitri from OMD Digital - he knew before and just didn’t rock up.
As said before, I wished the people on the judge would be able to explain their decision and Campaign Middle East and ITP Publishing as the host of the awards would be able to provide a format that makes sense, e.g. from not allowing creative submission to a media strategy and planning award.
David
November 29th, 2006 at 8:54 pmOk its so nice to see the media guys are gathering togather for and agreeing on one thing for the first time on the media history , i always see the media people wants to eat each other by any means, i think we should all be thankful to the juri for this decision to make you stand by each other for once
Zeid Nasser
November 30th, 2006 at 3:29 amI see your point. And it’s obvious the way this matter has been handled is due to a lack of understanding regarding online media by the jury …. and the event wasn’t too well organized either.
Martin, I’ve included your opinion on this matter in full on the home page of mediasouq, and here.
Rasha Mansour
November 30th, 2006 at 9:44 amEven if the judging was based on Creativity:
Creativity is a word which I think is extremely broad and should encompass a variety of benchmarks which allow it to be measured.
A Dali painting is just as creative as the invention of velcro - but the measurements are different.
The problem with awards like these is that there is no benchmark for creativity or media planning. We consider a media idea to be creative if it looks good and is appealing to the eye, is touchy feely and we just immediately get it. It’s like giving Tom Cruise n Oscar….
Creativity is effectivess, efficiency, solution finding and much more than a good looking piece of work. In our industry it is also about reaching your target audience in the most efficient and productive way ever, which is why Online is such a brilliantly Creative Medium.
The Campaign Media awards last night, and last year were a perfect example of lack of awareness and misunderstanding of Creativity - we do not have a benchmark and certainly dont know how to measure creativity and effectivess. What are the benchmarks? What are we measuring? And do we really see what we’re looking at?
Having worked in Offline agencies where Planning and Creativity was only measure by how good something looks, how artistic it is and if the jury relates to it, I have always felt slightly cheated of my right to be given the opportunity to see BEYOND the surface. It is indeed a shame that also non of the juries were able to actually see the effectiveness of Online and the Creative planning that went into it. Are we afraid of what we dont understand and will we continue to do so for long?
Dubai Media Observer
November 30th, 2006 at 5:53 pmMartin,
I was there during the event and was also surprised that H3 was the only one that won. I think a boycott of entrants _and_ sponsors. I don’t think it’s only Maktoob who should stand their grounds as Mr. Nassef has said. I think e-Marketing, Maktoob and Mediastow (all online based businesses who contributed with their sponsorships) should band together.
The issue is not only that of judges who are not equipped to judge. The issue affects all online businesses that are not being taken seriously by the traditional old schoolers.
In a situation like this, nothing will bring change but a tightning of the purse.
Irfan Ahmad
November 30th, 2006 at 8:53 pmIn 2004 I was responsible for the first Yahoo! Online Awards. This was unabashedly a testament to those who had stuck their necks out and had made a contribution to the growth of the online advertising industry of the region. Clients and agencies that had supported the medium were recognized for their contribution. Not for their creativity. Not for their media plans. But for providing sustenance to an industry.
In 2006, the online advertising industry has grown beyond the need for a pat in the back. It wants to be recognized by its peers in the advertising world. It is still small but it wants to stand tall. Unfortunately, this was not to be.
I was not there at the event but in an industry where online continues to struggle for its 0.5% of the advertising dollar, it is no wonder that the people who were made judges decided to yet again ignore the online medium. This is where Campaign should have stepped in to make things right. As the people behind the awards, it was Campaign’s responsibility to ensure that the online agencies were not belittled. Yes, the industry is still small. But it is creative and it is getting results. Yes, advertisers are not allocating budgets to online but by acknowledging the creativity and talent of the people who run this industry, Campaign would have helped sustain the momentum that this industry needs.
Campaign owes an apology to all of us who live and breathe online.
All you online guys and gals out there, don’t worry - we will survive!
Martin Diessner
November 30th, 2006 at 9:02 pmI posted a comment and link to this blog on the Campaign blog yesterday in response to their article Oman wins gold at Campaign Media Awards
Despite the fact that a new article has been posted on the Campaign ME Blog - they did not approve my comment and posted it. Seems they are busy celebrating, or just simply don’t want an open discussion
I agree with most of the people responding on this blog, but also disgagree with the tone of voice of some respondents, but would vote for democracy of speech - and wonder if Campaign Blog will open up to that as well.
Khaled Jabasini
November 30th, 2006 at 9:23 pmRyan: Hummer H3 campaign has earned all the awards and the campaign had a great effect, i know many people who went for atest drive, including me, and it was fun on the sand, other friends bought it. And may be deserved a Gold Online Award, but that was not the issue here. All what I emphasized on, is to have three online awards, not only a bronze?! Hope it is clear now.
By the way, the “Hummer” & Judges “Hammer” was a “Humor” , a joke, don’t take it seriously man, and as for sponsoring the event, it was not a waste of money (I hope so).
Dubai Media Observer: I agree with you, and one award was unfair to the online industry, and as Ahmed Nassef said (who himself stood with me personally wn I was Maktoob.com’s Saudi Arabia - General Manager 6 years back), we also “e-Marketing” stand for Maktoob Group and the online industry in general these days, and will not sponsor the next event unless there are Five Online Awards, Sorry, I miscounted again
,,, at least Online Three Awards ..
Dotone: Thankx for a new / fresh insult regarding our “company name / no brand” issue, I believe you are not a client of ours till now! Just Kidding … Cheer up man, the situation here is not our name or brand it is about the whole industry being not take seriously.
David: You are absolutely right, and YES thankx to the Jury this time with no Hammers and no Humor …
Khaled Jabasini
CEO
e-Marketing FZ LLC
Mohamed Elzubeir
December 1st, 2006 at 12:05 amOnline has an almost insignificant piece of the advertising pie. This is the only real reason this is happening. I don’t agree with everyone above who advocate boycotts or whatnot.
DMO, though Mediastow is an online-based business, we sponsored the ‘Best use of sponsorship’ because of its indirect link to PR. It isn’t really our battle to fight here. I don’t believe that anything will change without an increase in online advertising spend. One cannot blame people for not taking 0.5% seriously.
Yes it’s not fair. Yes it’s not what the criteria says. But, the reality is, it is how many in the industry view it.
Keep educating the market, keep being creative and things will improve. 2005, no awards. 2006, one bronze. 2007 may see 3 awards, who knows? It is also unfair to say that Campaign should step into this. Campaign are only responsible for their selection of the jury — they do not and SHOULD NOT be in a position to influence their decisions.
Martin Diessner
December 1st, 2006 at 1:01 amFully agree with Mohamed Elzubeir - Campaign cannot be blamed for the results. However, I believe that ITP should control the award jury selection and award format in a better way. It’s easy to say “It was the judge!” but who built the framework for them in the first place?
Looking at other regions and the past, the question that I am asking now: Why Campaign Awards? Why not starting the IAB with professional, international experienced (online) people and take things into our own hands?
Rayan
December 1st, 2006 at 8:46 pmIrfan, I remember those awards, It was a great initative to the prople who endorsed online… I think you maybe should look at reviving this…
An open Dialogue with campaign is needed, and i am happy to be part of fit. I don’t agree with us taking the matter into our own hands, none of us will be objective enough & we will again isolate online from the rest of the media enviornment. we have to remember that we are here to deliver value to clients, online is not a stand alone touch point.. it’s part of the multimedia mix that helps us reach a much more complex consumer.. we are not in this for the awards, we are in this for defending a medium we belive works and works best in some cases.
unless we wanna create a new IAA style body.. then.. god bless this region…
Sajid [Flipcorp]
December 3rd, 2006 at 4:58 pmRayan Says:
I still don’t think Hummer should have won that one, but to be fair it was not creative based, nor was it only on Yahoo and MSN,.. and it was not just the format you saw at the awards.
Since we are having an open discussion, Rayan i would very much be interested in knowing more about the award winning media plan. Would definitely like to know the strategic plan that went down well with the judges. After all it was an award for the best use of online media, wasnt it?
Rayan
December 4th, 2006 at 1:12 pmSajid, I am glad you finally decided to come to us about this…
I ll be more than happy to share with you details wherever possible, but there is one thing I want to bring to your attention, there is no such thing as a strategic plan for a medium;… or at least this is what I think. There is a strategic solution to every brand/brief and then there are tactics to take this strategic solution to every consumer touch point and bring it to life… Obviously based on deep consumer understanding.. I’ll say that again deep consumer understanding and not technical knowledge!
That is why I was saying that I am against awards by medium, a full integrated plan is what makes an entry strong…
Surround sound is another factor, when you have strong executions across every medium that deliver on the brand attributes and positioning you already establish a link with the consumer (or the judges in this case). Once that link is established they will be attentive to anything you throw at them, better yet they would be waiting for it! Looking at it from a standalone online perspective is just too narrow in this case…
Finally packaging (after all this is what we do we come up with solutions and package them)…
On a separate note, consumers don’t see campaigns that are spanning 15 portals or multiple geographies, they don’t even see a strategy; the complexity of a solution does not define its success.. it’s actually the simplicity of it that does.. Whether we achieve our objectives through a “Strategic plan” as you label it or an award winning simple execution, what matters is that it clicked with consumers.. and obviously with the judges.
If you want to discuss this further, Rasha has my number.
DubaiI
December 4th, 2006 at 3:48 pmI remember going to the first Middel East web awards in the Marooj Hotel earlier this year and watching quality web sites win quality awards.
It was a fantastic night and everyone was deligghted with the winners.
I suggest that we all support those awadrs next year…
Get real people - it cannnot be a case of awards for award’s sake.
Listen to Joe Ghossoub’s commments at the IAA World Conference this year. Online is nowhere at the moment in the Middle East in terms of spend, startegy nor creativity.
I cann understand people being upset at not winning - but I think that the whole market has to take a long hard look at themselves.
Special judges for radio, spearate judges for outdoor, and yet another for print?
What is so special about Online, Mr Sheridan, that requires special judges? Online is yet another medium.
Rather than Online moaning that they are treated badly alol of the time, perhaps they should strat doing something positive.
Mohammad Itani
December 4th, 2006 at 5:03 pmThanks Rayan for the explanation, i am sure there are a lot to learn from Starcom.
However, you agree with me, that it is the challenging brief which makes you come with ideas, creative, web placements, etc…
If a brief is to target 3 continents, than you agree with me it is not as simple as targeting UAE or even GCC (starting from creative, and ending by reporting and ROI).
We should all meet on an understanding that online did not yet get it’s share in the market. Any award won at this stage is won for the online industry as a whole and not for a particular brand/agency. We should all work together into educating the market on the benefits of online and i am sure we will get their very soon
Rasha
December 4th, 2006 at 5:51 pmHi DubaiI
I can answer that question for you. I have worked in an offline agency for 4 years and prior to that on the Clients side and I can tell you this:
Sure Online is another medium, but the measurements are 100% different. For a print ad to become a Cannes Finalist it needs to move people’s emotions and feelings about the brand and just be a brilliant piece of work. In online however it’s about the END CONSUMER first and then everything else.
I was part of a team that created award winning TVCS and Print ads which made clean sweeps at IAA awards over the past years. They were fantastic. But could I tell my Client how many people saw their TVCs, how many responded etc? My previous Agency was extremely ethical but matter of fact is, that some agencies go to their Client (or dont) asking for their TVC or print ad to run at least once so they can enter it into awards…..
Online…however can delivers specific results to Clients, go down to deeper consumer physographics and turn around my client businesses.
This is not an argument nor is one better than they other, but they are different in terms of measurments. Both mediums demand respect very, one cannot survive without the other BUT this is why you require special judging. It’s not based on creativity but on end results first and foremost - and as per my last comment(read above)- Creativity is at many many levels.
This is why special judges who understand this are required.
And by the way, Cannes Advertising Awards have realized this and thus have established the Cannes Cyber Lions in 1998 with Juries completely immersed in the understanding of Online, as well as Cannes Direct, Cannes Integrated, Cannes Radio, Cannes Print…etc, etc.
Rayan
December 4th, 2006 at 7:01 pmMohamad, I totaly agree on everything you said. Same thing for what Rasha is saying… I feel the exact same way about Online getting its fair share not only at the awards but fair share of media expenditure as well.. Believe me it makes no difference who won..
We are in this together. Or at least most of us..
Stuart
December 5th, 2006 at 12:29 pmOnline is not the only media format that is totally misunderstood, it is sad that new innovative ways of communicating to specific audiences are totally ignored, yet still companies will allow their agencies to spend ridiculous amounts of money in totally cluttered environments.
Let’s face it things are not going to change overnight, but let’s dare buyers to stop advertising in un-audited print media, let them prove the audience they are reaching with mass media formats, and justify effectiveness of the media used, rather than sticking a finger in the air and thinking they can gauge it by the figures they are given by the media owners.
Having worked for one of the regional publishers, circulation figures are a joke, yet agencies will still continue to book into these media. The whole industry needs to take a long hard look at itself, other media is coming guys, and like the rest of the world print and outdoor will take a big hit.
Uae Web Awards
December 10th, 2006 at 12:33 amWhy no entires at the UAE Web Awards, We were looking forward for you guys. Have you guys decided to boycott all local awards?
Martin Diessner
December 10th, 2006 at 8:55 amWe don’t boycott, but decided not to enter any local awards anymore as we feel that they don’t provide enough transparency, creditability and also competitiveness on international level for our industry in the Middle East.
Flip will be participating in international awards, and once the IAB is launched in the Middle East and online gets a body that understands digital is all about, then we will come back and hopefully support online awards for and by online people.
Stuart
December 10th, 2006 at 5:54 pmWell at least this forum allows views to be aired, unlike the Campaign site, which I posted four entries on last week, last comments seem to be from Nov 26th. TUT TUT.
Amazing isn’t it that an event such as the GMR Marketing Forum last week is not on the Campaign calendar either, but there you go COMPLAIN again!!!
Dinesh Lalvani
January 3rd, 2007 at 2:52 pmTest comment