During the past weeks, a heavyweight adjudication panel made up of captains of industry from various disciplines including strategy, digital, creative, research, media and marketing as well as agency heads, have been judging entries based on extremely stringent criteria.

Judges are looking for campaigns that disrupted the clutter, had extensive reach and communicated via mediums that resonate with the desired consumer. The rigorous adjudication process spans more than one round of adjudication during which submissions are evaluated against specific criteria including rigour, degree of difficulty, clarity of evidence, compelling case, and insight.

The APEX Awards looks for both creativity and effectiveness, measuring actual results. The objective of advertising and communications is to sell products and/or services and in so doing contribute to a company’s bottom line. In this regard, the annual APEX Awards rewards those campaigns that worked to deliver a tangible, measured return on investment and/or objectives,” says Odette van der Haar, CEO of Association of Communications and Advertising (ACA) that hosts the annual APEX Awards.

Apart from being an essential business tool that affixes value to credentials for agencies, marketers and leading brands, winning an APEX Award is a definitive demonstration that great ideas generate great results. APEX recognises the creative work that worked; the campaigns that manifested effectiveness in creativity that extends beyond pictures to creative intellect and intellectual property that is the currency of the profession.

“It is an absolute pleasure and honour to be working with this year’s jury. The collective experience and sheer brain power of the panel is extraordinary. The jury will decide on which campaigns, agencies and clients are the best of breed in the business and, in so doing, affirm the credibility and the value of creativity in business. After all, winning an APEX is the ultimate testament to the vital role that effective advertising and marketing communications play in business success. For agencies, winning an APEX affirms their effectiveness and contribution to their clients’ businesses. For clients, winning an APEX affirms their contribution to their company’s bottom line,” continues van der Haar.

The stamp of success verified by an APEX ensures that the profession and sector as a whole continuously raises the bar in terms of creativity and effectiveness. The APEX awards also ensures that the sector is sustained and grown into the future by funding skills development and talent in the form of much needed bursaries for deserving students at the AAA School of Advertising. These bursaries contribute towards tuition fees and enable students to obtain a tertiary qualification. The AAA School of Advertising, known as the Birthplace of Brilliant, is currently identifying students who meet specific requirements and who would be deserving recipients of the 2015 APEX Awards bursaries.

The gala event is taking place on Monday, 20 July at the Sandton Convention Centre. The annual event is more than a glamourous awards ceremony - it is an event that brings together the captains of industry, industry stakeholders, members of the media as well as clients who control a large portion of ad spend in South Africa.

The 2015 APEX Awards is sponsored by key partners - SABC and Sandton Convention Centre - and sponsors Millward Brown and Unilever.

For more information on the APEX Awards, click here