media update’s Adam Wakefield spoke to Gareth Leck about the awards, and what meets the standard of effective creativity within the industry. Leck is the group CEO and co-founder of Joe Public United, and this year’s Loeries® jury president for the Effective Creative category.

How has judging at the Loeries® gone this year? Have any intriguing or interesting trends emerged?

The judging was great. The Loeries® is world class when it comes to systems and professionalism, and the calibre of the judges was also tops. We honestly couldn't have asked for a better panel. From a professional point of view, with such a broad media canvas these days, great ideas can come from anywhere.

This is exactly what I experienced while judging this year’s entries. Effective ideas can be very traditional, like a TV campaign, or something less traditional, such as on-pack communication or viral content. One thing that’s clear is that great ideas, based on relevant insights, shine the brightest and get the best results.

Why do you think Creative Week and the Loeries® are important to the advertising industry in South Africa, Africa, and the Middle East?

In these challenging times, the world needs creativity more than ever – and so do brands if they want to engage with consumers and grow. The Loeries® plays an important role in celebrating and motivating creatives across the continent.

I believe the fact that the Loeries® has embraced the entire continent is a really good thing because, by including more countries in the awards, we are all going to push each other to produce better work for our clients across the continent – not just in South Africa.

As a reported believer in the ‘creativity of business’ and the ‘business of creativity’, how best can one combine the disciplines of business and creativity?

In ‘adland’, what we are paid to do is use our creative talents to serve our clients' brand and business ambitions. The proven fact that award-winning work is a lot more effective than non-award-winning work is a clear pointer to creative excellence being a key ingredient to business success.

With this in mind, I believe the disciplines of business and creativity best combine when the client and agency truly believe in the notion that great creativity achieves great results, and then they both do all they can to deliver on this belief. The two run into friction when mediocrity is allowed to reign and a downward spiral ensues.

You and Joe Public United co-founder Pepe Marais have been in advertising for approximately 20 years. How has the industry changed for the better?

Back in the day, there were only a few mediums to advertise through, like TV, radio, print, and outdoor. Digital was non-existent and now digital accounts for a huge portion of total spend. So, what has changed for the better is the opportunity for advertisers to integrate campaigns across multiple mediums to better amplify their messages.

Essentially technology has played a key role in widening our media canvas, expanding our reach, and allowing us to do things in more integrated and efficient ways for our clients.

For more information, visit www.loeries.com 

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Götz Ulmer first attended Loeries® Creative Week in 2013 and, upon leaving, looked forward to being invited back. Read more in our article, Loeries® 2017: A special “non-European” affair for Götz Ulmer.