“We have been inundated with requests for an extension from various busy marketers. We recognise that, sometimes, we just need to be flexible, and so, we were happy to grant this extension,” says Anne Kirkpatrick, director of the Marketing Achievement Awards.


“The Marketing Achievement Awards are about encouraging innovation and creativity within the strategic environment of marketing,” adds Yvonne Johnston, owner of Fast Forward Coaching and chairperson of the Marketing Achievement Awards council.


The awards are being held from Tuesday, 2 April to Thursday, 4 April at Sun City. There will also be an industry golf day, a networking welcome cocktail event hosted by Nando’s on Tuesday, 2 April and a business forum and summit on Wednesday, 3 April with the awards ceremony and gala dinner being held in the Superbowl in the evening.

                                                                   

“For the first time, our industry is looking at marketing capability as a framework – basically all the skills and competencies required to be a world-class marketer,” says Alistair Mokoena, CEO of Ogilvy South Africa and Marketing Achievement Awards council member.

The awards are open to all brands, irrespective of size and budget, in the following categories:
  • Purpose-led Marketing
  • Strategic Sponsorship Marketing
  • Marketing Innovation
  • New Product or Brand Launch
  • Reputation Management
  • South African Resonance Marketing
  • Excellence in Brand Marketing B2B
  • Integrated Marketing
  • Limited Budget
  • Internal Marketing
  • Rising Star of the Year, and
  • Marketer of the Year (nominated).
“We would like to encourage brands and the marketers behind their successes to enter – it is time to shine and showcase the amazing work that you do,” says Kirkpatrick. “In particular, I am looking forward to seeing entries come through in the Brand Positioning and Internal Marketing categories. But go through each category to find which suits your brand and campaign best.”

Geoff Whyte, Nando’s CEO and member of the awards council, says, “These awards focus on the insight and marketing thought that leads to the great campaigns that everyone sees.”

“At last, we have awards by marketers, for marketers, celebrating marketers, assessed by marketers –  and it’s about time,” says Heidi Brauer, CMO of Hollard Insurance and an awards council member.

The awards council members, who will be judging the entries, are all seasoned marketers and successful business people who aim to raise the bar for marketers through the Marketing Achievement Awards.

How to enter

Entries are easy to prepare and for most categories should be 1 000 words or less. Submissions should be concise and demonstrate how customer needs have been identified and used to focus, align and empower organisations and meet business objectives.

The judges are looking for a clear understanding of strategic intent. Additional collateral to back this up is also required. Entries are strictly confidential.

The Marketing Achievement Awards, endorsed by the Marketing Association of South Africa (MASA), already has a number of key partners, including:
  • Nando’s – Founding partner
  • DStv – Presenting partner
  • Sun International – Lifestyle partner
  • Absa – Patron sponsor
  • Brand South Africa – Patron sponsor
  • Proudly South African – Patron sponsor
There are still a number of sponsorship opportunities available. Contact [email protected] for more details.

For more information, visit www.marketingawards.co.za. You can also follow the Marketing Achievement Awards on Facebook or on Twitter.