AdFocus Awards 2022 open for entries

Source: © AdFocus Awards AdFocus Awards The 2021 AdFocus Awards winners

Challenges to business

"The past two years put forward a challenge that has shaken every part of business,” says AdFocus Awards chairperson Faheem Chaudhry.

“An economy under pressure, infrastructure that’s cracking, budgets under strain and talent under increasing pressure. But time and time again, when a crisis hits, creativity thrives.

"This year’s AdFocus Awards will look for the businesses who have holistically shown how they can bounce back," he says.

He adds: "These agencies will show how creativity can be the vaccine for the economy by stimulating demand and guiding businesses back to their true north."

New Group Agency Award

A new addition this year is the Group Agency of the Year Award category which will award the agency group with the best performance over the period under review.

“Given the tough external environment of the past two years, we’ll be looking for the agency group that has shown flexibility, versatility and bounce back-ability across all its businesses,” says Chaudhry.

Changes to Awards

The Large, Medium and Small agency size categories have been redefined and the Media Agency category has once again been split into Independent and Network Agency categories. In addition, the questionnaires, as always, have been updated to ensure they are relevant to the current environment and to better interrogate the business case of entrants in a more defined manner. They have also been streamlined to ensure the entry process is more efficient.

2022 Awards categories

Advertising Awards

• Large Advertising Agency of the Year
  
• Medium Advertising Agency of the Year
  
• Small Advertising Agency of the Year
  
• Network Media Agency of the Year
  
• Independent Media Agency of the Year
  
• Public Relations Agency of the Year
  
• Specialist Agency of the Year

Agency Awards

• Partnership of the Year
  
• African Impact Award
  
• Transformation Award
  
• Adaptability Award

Nominated Awards

• Lifetime Achievement
  
• Industry Leader of the Year
  
• Student of the Year
  
• Shapeshifter of the Year

"We’re looking forward to celebrating and rewarding those agencies who have shown that no matter what challenges come forward, the creative industry always finds a way," says Chaudhry.

Financial Mail editor Rob Rose says, “We’ve been doing this competition for 32 years and we think that it is more vital than ever, given the imperative to rebuild the country now. The advertising industry can play a fundamental role in doing that.”