The task falls on a select few who’ve proven their experience and insight into the relevant categories. This year, the top team comprises John Dixon, chief executive officer Saatchi & Saatchi Brandsrock as jury president, with jury chairs Deirdre Ingpen, 24.com's head of commercial, judging the publishers’ category; Kerry Friend, executive creative director at Isobar Cape Town, judging the builders’ category; and Felix Kessel, CEO of OwenKessel Leo Burnett, judging the marketing panel.

Dixon, Ingpen, Friend and Kessel

Dixon, Ingpen, Friend and Kessel share exclusive insights into what’s expected from them in these ‘judge the jury’ roles, as well as their individual judging process, a brief explanation of their categories and the overall standard of digital work in SA…

1. Explain the role of the overall jury president.

Dixon: My role is firstly to make sure that the judging panels/jury chairs represent the best skills within the digital/communications industry in South Africa. Secondly, to ensure that the judging process is clearly understood by the panels and to make sure that the integrity of the awards is maintained throughout judging. Lastly, to deal with any issues that arise during the process and to ensure that the rules and spirit of the awards are adhered to throughout.

2. Share some insight into the category you’ve chaired and what type of digital work is expected to be entered into it.

Ingpen: Entries into the publishers’ category are not only about a redesign or relaunch of a site, they also include innovation, whether it be in storytelling or finding new ways to engage users. The publisher’s category is therefore quite tough – the Bookmarks recognise innovation and skill and South Africa has an abundance of both, so the category has a high benchmark.

Friend: The builders’ category is more focused on the craft and production of the creative ideas and the ingenuity of the tech. The entries we received were a little too “expected” at times. I don’t think an awards show should be rewarding work that was simply done well, we should be looking at exceptional pieces that will drive the industry forward.

Kessel: The marketing panel chair's role is to mediate the judges’ panel and ensure that the rules are adhered to. It’s also imperative to ensure that the Bookmark’s standards are applied across the judging. The jury chairperson is there to assist with facilitating dialogue and debate among the judges around the work presented.

3. Let us in on your personal judging process and what you’re looking for from this year’s entrants.

Dixon: I don’t actually judge the work, but I am present in the room when the judging happens, so I can share some pointers:

1. Custom-write your entry for each category. Each category has its own criteria and the judges score you down if you simply prepare one generic entry and enter it into multiple categories.
2. Budgets are the key metric. If you have great results, the next question the judges ask is, “how much did they spend to achieve these results?”
3. Be specific about your objectives/results. The judges are experienced specialists and can see through ‘spin’ immediately.
4. Be explicit about why you think your work is great. Don’t assume that it is self-evident.

Ingpen: I visit each of the sites personally to ensure that the entry is not just a well-articulated entry written by the marketing team. I also answer the following self-imposed questions:

• Are the claims of quantitative metrics substantiated with facts?
• Is the redesign and launch of a site more than a pretty interface?
• Is the UX as important and does the site function across platforms?
• Does the site have fresh and up-to-date content?

Friend: The three criteria we’re given are creative excellence or innovation; technical excellence; and results. In the builders’ category, we were also looking for work that would really stretch the definition of innovation and of course flawless production values, especially for online film and video content. Something that would signal what’s to come in the industry. So not just another website that works or another social media campaign that had some bought media behind it and hit the numbers, but a piece of work that made you rethink the category.

Kessel: The Bookmarks are always judged on the following three criteria:

• Creativity and innovation
• Technology
• Results (the weighting here is slightly greater).

In terms of the methodology, it is always important to judge the entries as presented and to keep these true to a great idea or a real innovation, the role of the tech (and/or its support of the idea) as well as the results (and whether these are valid and relevant).

4. Elaborate on the overall standard of digital work in SA. Where do we shine and what’s still lacking?

Dixon: The feeling amongst the judges was that generally the work was of a disappointing standard this year. With a few notable exceptions, there were very few, “Wow, I wish I’d done that!” moments this year. On the positive side, the gap between brand and commerce is continually closing and brands are better and better at driving transactions online, which is the end-game, obviously.

Ingpen: Local publishers are on par with international publishers’ digital thinking – whether they’re developing a website or an app or creating a product that reaches a feature phone market. Commercially, however, we are still struggling to secure the budgets and educate clients on the benefits of the medium with the bulk of digital revenue still going to social and search. We need to educate that digital is an environment that offers rich experiences, be it in creative display executions or in content solutions.

Friend: The overall work is a product of clients not being able to really invest in the quality of the creative product or the tech needed to really engage audiences. We have the talent in this country, but unfortunately people think that if a video appears on a small mobile screen that the budget should be equal in size. When you think, and I stand be corrected with the exact percentage here, that in five years’ time, 79% of data consumed will be spent on watching mobile content, we really have to start shaping our marketing strategies accordingly.

Kessel: Digital work in South Africa has come a long way and a really good volume of entries into the Bookmarks this year is evidence of that. But, as ever, there is always more that can be done. We have great ideas, we are tech savvy and innovative at times and we can get good results. The trick is finding the magic at the nexus of all these things. That we need to do more frequently.

That we do. If you’re eager to delve in deeper into digital, click through to this podcast interview with Josephine Buys, CEO of IAB South Africa, to find out more about the highly anticipated IAB Digital Summit &Bookmark Awards 2016, taking place at Turbine Hall in Johannesburg on 3 March 2016. Click here for the full list of Bookmarks 2016 judges and here for the full list of finalists and watch out for our in-depth coverage next week.