The Loerie Awards have introduced a new category – for the rest of Africa and the Middle East – sponsored by the Mail & Guardian.
The Loerie Awards have introduced a new category – for the rest of Africa and the Middle East – sponsored by the Mail & Guardian.
The category gave non-South African work a chance to shine and the audience saw two gold Loeries, three silver statues and seven bronzes awarded. The awards were given out across TV, video and film; radio; print and outdoor; internet, mobile and interactive and others.
The first gold was awarded to Squad Digital in Kenya for Safaricom's Daktari 1525. The second gold went to DDM Mozambique for Instituto Criança Nosso Futuro's human trafficking campaign False Promises.
M&G publisher Anastacia Martin described the move to participate in the Loeries: "As the M&G pursues its 'digital first’ strategy, it opens up its in-depth reportage, analysis and influencers to readers across the African continent."
"The building of our online community to reach all 54 states in Africa has become a priority for the M&G group, and by partnering with the Loeries we will not only spread best practice across the continent, but also enable our new readers and advertisers to recognise the value of these awards."
The work was judged separately and entries more than doubled. The numbers of statues awarded increased from two to 12.
"The role of any award is to recognise excellence and to provide a recognisable standard. I'm positive that this new category will be a catalyst in initiating healthy competition between brands and agencies throughout the region, while improving the overall standard. The Loeries is the benchmark for the best brand communication and with the introduction of this category we will see greater exposure of work from outside of South Africa," Loeries chief executive Andrew Human said.
"There are many exciting trends emerging from our region. For instance, the African continent is experiencing a mobile phone uprising and cellular usage is world-leading in some cases. South African agencies have won the Grand Prix at Cannes six times in the last six years! This is an incredible achievement and now we want to see this success expand across our region. "
Travelling Exhibition Venues and Dates:
Stellenbosch Academy of Design & Photography – October 8 to 12
Oliewenhuis Museum, Bloemfontein – October 29 to November 2
For more information visit the website.