The awards are focused on the performance excellence of communication campaigns with the focus firmly on the return on investment. This is according to Erica Gunning, managing director of MEC Nota Bene who is a judge at the upcoming awards. “This year we are looking for a demonstration of both strategic and creative effectiveness which showcases award winners as being leaders in their field.”

With almost 20 years’ experience in the industry, Gunning serves as Board Director of the Johannesburg Advertising Media Forum and was a judge in the media category at Cannes Lions 2014. Of the Apex Awards she says, “While other awards may look solely at the creativity of communications campaigns, the Apex Awards evaluates entries based on their effectiveness and verifies the results achieved.”

In terms of the entries received this year, Gunning states, “The entries have highlighted the importance of communication experts to drive results. Furthermore, they emphasise the crucial roles that each communication expert plays in a campaign – be they researchers, marketers, creative leads or digital agents. These people bring brands alive and cannot work in isolation as this will not translate into results.”

She continues, “Across each of the awards categories, the judges have seen that the consumer’s experience of the brand lies at the core of effective communication campaigns. In order to form an emotional connection between the consumer and the brand, getting the insights right and determining connection points are a crucial starting point. After all, consumers want to engage with a brand that has the same values as they do. The next step is getting the right content in the right context, evolving this message according to the needs of the consumer and integrating it throughout all elements of the campaign.”

“With results being the ultimate criterion on which Apex Awards entries are judged, it has brought the validity of digital measurements into question,” adds the judge. “For instance, do these measurements reflect true followers and what are their real meaning? Digital measurements need to be standardised.”

“Awards, like Apex, help bring to light how effective marketing campaigns add value to brands and businesses as well encourage best practices in the industry. They also highlight the importance of inventing new ways of communicating and engaging with consumers,” concludes Gunning.

For more information on MEC Nota Bene, visit www.notabene.co.za.