At the sessions, attended by the country’s leading advertising and communication agencies and their clients, the higher purpose of APEX - to celebrate the power of the advertising profession’s ability to deliver business results was highlighted.

Many agencies and some clients attended the workshops, as did some of the 2013 Jury members. Those who attended were given tips on how to enter and compile winning entries as well as how to isolate the effects of a communications campaign and demonstrate that indeed the campaign delivered the results achieved and nothing else.

Driven by its mandate to demonstrate commitment to assisting the profession in instilling a culture of evaluating effectiveness and developing creativity which contributes to business, Odette van der Haar, CEO of the ACA comments, “The objective of APEX is to contribute in enhancing the broader marketing role in business so as to entrench a seat in the boardroom where we promote our accountability as a profession. Through the workshops we are able to build and share best practice knowledge in the industry, affirm our contribution to business and infuse the measure of effectiveness in our daily course - while striving for excellence at all costs.”

“The APEX jury look for the extraordinary – for campaigns that stand out a head and shoulders above the rest because they deliver measured, tangible results.”

Van der Haar goes on to say that the holy grail of great communications campaigns is work that delights consumers through their ability to connect hearts and minds, while being celebrated by peers because the concepts and executions are original, creative and innovative. By the same token, the work is respected by clients because it delivers tangible results. “We've always maintained that creativity and effectiveness work hand in hand” she added.

Andy Rice explained that it’s not merely a happy coincidence if creativity delivers results. “One cannot think of creativity and effectiveness as mutually exclusive any longer,” he says. “The connection between creativity and effectiveness is undeniable. Over the past 12 years, the IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) in the UK compared winners of its creative and effectiveness awards and found that creative campaigns were as much as 15 times more likely to achieve business objectives.”

Van der Haar concludes, “The standard for APEX may be extremely high, but the reward is great. APEX is a prestigious award and business tool which adds value to credentials – for agencies, marketers and leading brands. We are looking forward to adjudicating great and highly effective creative work through the 2013 entries.”

The deadline for APEX submissions is Monday, 4 March. The cost per entry is R1 650 excluding VAT. A deadline extension to Friday, 15 March 2013 may be applied for however a penalty fee of R900 excluding VAT, over and above the entry fee will be levied for each entry received after Monday, 4 March. The 2013 APEX Awards is hosted by the ACA, in partnership with DSTV Media Sales and Millward Brown.

For more information about the awards programme, entry forms and rules, submission guidelines, tips on how to compile a winning entry, case studies of previous APEX winners and more, visit www.acasa.co.za.