Almost a decade ago, the London International Awards (LIAs) collaborated with Faris Yakob, author of Paid attention: Innovative advertising for a digital world, to conceptualise the New category to recognise work that sat outside traditional media definitions.
Faris Yakob, author of ‘Paid attention: Innovative advertising for a digital world’.
Acknowledging the changes in media, Faris and Rosie Yakob have again redefined the category for this year’s awards.
As well as the New category, they developed Creative LIAisons, which brings young people into the judging process.
It continues to do so with the announcement of these categories.
New changes
It is dropping ‘brand content’ as a sub-category, as it is now a stand-alone category. The new categories are:
- Brand action: These activities live outside media that may inform advertising content but are distinct from it. Programmes such as Amex Small Business Saturday, stunts like Red Bull Stratos, PR ideas like McWhopper and one-offs such as REI OptOutside are famous examples, none of which fit comfortably inside existing categories, which is usually a good indication of generative mutations in the industry.
- Creative data: This category celebrates the most innovative uses and incorporation of data into creative executions.
- Native advertising: Material in an [usually online] publication which resembles the publication’s editorial and is created internally but paid for by an advertiser and intended to promote the advertiser’s brand. Brand content is created by the agency & brand and placed; the publication / media partner or in-house agency develops native advertising in-house.
- Influencer advertising: Ideas created by individuals, or groups of individuals, who have large online followings, paid for or supported by brands.
- Media creativity: Ideas or content developed by media agencies and publications rather than traditional creatives.
- Self-promotion: Ideas deployed to promote the person or agency under their own aegis, reflecting the impetus from agencies and individuals to create on their own behalf. The Self- Promotion category will be priced on a sliding scale to encourage participation from those with varying levels of experience.
These supplement the existing New categories that have been refined by diverse juries over the last eight years:
- Augmented reality
- Creative technology
- Experiential
- Media innovation
- Product innovation
- Technology development
- Virtual reality
Faris said, “Creative ideas are being developed by a broad spectrum of agencies and entities and these categories reflect and embrace that. The New will continually evolve to bring attention to the most exciting and generative ideas in creativity and advertising.”
The entry system is open for entries. The initial entry deadline is 9 June 2017. For more information, go to www.liaawards.com.
