New partners appointed for 2006 Loerie Awards events

"While The Loerie Awards Festival is a blast from the Friday evening when members of the industry start arriving to the Monday afternoon when the stragglers wearily wave goodbye to the town, make no mistake, the award events are the highlight," says organising committee chairman Wingwing Mdlulwa.

"That's why we're synergising the company's awards organising skills and experience with professional and vibrant suppliers; to ensure that we put on two different but imaginative awards events, both so full of energy and passion they leave the audience gasping for more."

Structural and technical aspects

As a sponsor of The Loerie Awards, Gearhouse South Africa - a member of the Gearhouse group of companies and one of the country's largest equipment rental company specialising in lighting, audio, structures, audio visual, power, daylight screens and rigging - will handle all structural and technical aspects of the venue. It has grown from a small, Johannesburg-based lighting house with an equipment inventory of R300 000 in 1991 to a countrywide total technical solution group with a current net book inventory of R120-million.

Logistical support services

Wozani Africa Events will provide the event with logistical support services such as overseeing security, transport, registration, hospitality and the like. The company, which worked closely with The Loerie Awards on the ground in Margate in 2005 on all logistical issues, has this year taken on the additional responsibility of co-ordinating all accommodation for the 2006 Loerie Award Festival. Check out www.gomargate.co.za for all accommodation requirements.

Show production

An event marketing agency established in 1999, H-Factor has been appointed to address show production. Its technical and production skills are underscored by heavyweight experience in brand development. Some of the event-driven brands the agency has worked with are Standard Bank, T-Systems and Team Shosholoza, and Rothmans. H-Factor was also responsible for the Cell C 'Sound of the City' concerts.

"The credentials for each of our three partners are impeccable," comments The Loerie Awards MD, Andrew Human. "The organisation committee looks forward to working with them and we're certain we'll prove to be a formidable team that delivers award ceremonies that pay tribute to the creativity of our industry."

Have you entered your work?

If you're the kind of person who needs a kick up the proverbial before you attack any deadline, consider yourself well and truly booted - you've got just a month to enter your creative master pieces in the 2006 Loerie Awards. Entries close on June 30 and all the information you'll need to make entering as pleasurable as eating chocolate can be found on www.theloerieawards.co.za.

This year's premier advertising, communication and design awards has made several bold changes to its entry criteria, so the rules need to be checked carefully.

These changes, focused on enhancing the credibility and integrity of the awards, will ensure that the best work is recognised across all media, and at the same time will level the playing field between small and large agencies. The publishing or airing window has been set at between 1 August 2005 and 30 June 2006.

The international judges who will be ensuring that the awards recognise and reward creative excellence are FCB Worldwide's creative director Jonathan Harries (Advertising Category) and Proximity London's executive creative director, Duncan Gray (Experiential Category).

Five critical areas

Creative excellence is defined by work that excels in five critical areas - concept, execution, and relevance to the brand, target audience and chosen media. Work deemed innovative and surpassing the norm within these five criteria is rewarded with the Loerie Award accolade.

So, seize the day, strike while the iron is hot, make hay while the sun shines - anything, just get entering now!

The Loerie Awards Festival takes place in Margate on 16 and 17 September. Major sponsors for this year's event are the SABC, Media24 and Tourism KwaZulu-Natal. Other sponsors and partners are the Design Indaba, Gearhouse, Sappi, brandhouse, Lithotech, Ugu District Municipality, Hetzner Internet Hosting, Paygate Internet payment gateway, Joe Public, Six Million Dollar Media, Orchestra Blue, Sonovision and the Ornico Group.