As Tony Koenderman’s annual AdReview Awards draw closer, the time has come to reflect on what has certainly been one of the most interesting decades in the history of the South African advertising industry. According to Koenderman, the past decade has seen one of the longest boom periods for advertising in modern history.

“While it was not as spectacular as the advertising frenzy that South Africa experienced in the early 80s after the commercial launch of television, the marketing landscape has changed significantly and advertisers are being challenged to make the most of traditional and new communications channels – as well as dealing with increasingly brand-savvy consumers,” he says.

Celebrating the past decade of advertising, Koenderman and his panel of judges have created a prestigious award for the ‘Agency of the Decade’.

“For this award, the judges and I took a longer, broader view in identifying an agency that has consistently made a real difference from 2000 to 2010. We looked for evidence of thought leadership; innovation; consistency in winning awards; high growth rates; levels of staff development; BEE; commitment to the advertising industry; and how well agencies kept up with global and local advertising trends,” Koenderman adds.

With industry players having come and gone, and an industry that has peaked and troughed its way through the last decade, Koenderman says that this was a particularly difficult award to judge.

“Not to mention the addition of another little spanner in the works that we call the internet and how specific elements such as social media have affected the way consumers interact with brands and each other,” he says.

Results will be published in Tony Koenderman’s AdReview 2010, which will be packaged with the 29 April issue of Finweek. A feature of AdReview that has attracted a lot of excitement is the 'Top Ten' lists. The lists will not be announced on the night but will be included in AdReview. Copies will be distributed on the evening.

Top Tens:
• Ten people who made a difference
• Ten ideas that changed things
• Ten best agencies
• Ten magic marketing moments
• Ten bets for the next decade
• Ten adverts or campaigns that made an impact
• Ten unsung heroes and
• Ten of the worst marketing nightmares

The annual AdReview Awards is scheduled to take place on 21 April at the Helderfontein Estate in Kyalami at 18:00. Tickets are available at R750 per person. For more information, contact [email protected].