The thing is, no matter how many times one is told no; one must keep going until one gets a yes. The big question the 2015 Loeries campaign asks, is just how many NOs does it take to finally get that yes from the Loeries judging panel?

Now that the entries are open, the brand communications industry across Africa and the Middle East can try for that elusive yes until the entry deadline on Friday, 15 May.

2015 is set to be a big year for the awards with quite a few changes, starting with an emphatic yes to Durban for Loeries Creative Week. This change in venue also comes with a change in timing, taking place a month earlier than in 2014. From Monday, 10 to Sunday, 16 August, Durban will hold all the Creative Week prestige, and all the Loerie hopefuls.

So, why Durban? According to Andrew Human, CEO of the Loeries, change is in keeping with the Loeries evolutionary nature.

“The move to Durban is at the perfect time – the city has just been named #7 on the New York Times ‘Places to Go in 2015’ and we’ll be there.”

There have also been new categories introduced from Music Awards and Branded Content, to Service Design. Even the Ubuntu category is in for a bit of a change, now allowing brands to enter their ongoing programmes directly into the awards.

Workshops held at Vega campuses in February and March will guide people through the new categories and how to properly present work for judging, with the full details available at www.loeries.com.

Once again, Tsogo Sun will be the official accommodation partner of the Loeries. Special accommodation packages will be made available to Loeries participants at the Southern Sun Elangeni & Maharani, Suncoast Casino and Garden Court hotels. New headline partners are Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN), the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs (EDTEA), KwaZulu-Natal Province, and the Ethekwini Municipality.

Major Partners of the Loeries 2015

Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN), the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, KwaZulu-Natal Province (EDTEA), Ethekwini Municipality, DStv Media Sales, and Gearhouse South Africa

Category Partners

Adams & Adams, Commercial Producers Association, Continental Outdoor Media, Google, Independent News, Standard Bank, The Times, Unilever South Africa, Woolworths, and YFM.

Additional Partners and Official Suppliers

Antalis South Africa, Aon South Africa, Atmosphere Communications, Backsberg, BEE Online, Clive Stewart Photography, Egg Films, First Source, Funk Productions, Gallo Images, Graphica, Grid Worldwide, Hertz, Hetzner, King James II, Media Film Service, Multiprint Litho, Newsclip, Paygate, Rocketseed, South African Airways, Tiekie Barnard Consultancy, and Tsogo Sun.