The Assegai Awards sharpens its spear as direct marketing evolves

Image supplied. Candice Goodman, a non-executive board member of the DMASA, and head of the Assegai Awards working group

Candice Goodman, a non-executive board member of the DMASA and head of the Assegai Awards working group, explains how the Assegai Awards have evolved in keeping with the changes in the direct marketing industry and what comprises winning an Assegai Award.

How have the Assegai Awards evolved with the changing industry?

The DMASA conducted surveys last year to find out what the industry thought of the Assegai Awards. What was loud and clear is that the Assegai Awards are seen as a celebratory event that rewards marketers for their business impact and effective marketing that delivers Return on Investment (ROI).

This year, we are putting the Assegai Awards on the global stage. We have refreshed the Assegai Awards to align with the Global International Echo Awards, with similar categories, submission format and more International judges.

This allows gold Assegai Award category winners to elect to have their submissions considered for a Global Echo Award, made possible by the newly forged relationship between the DMASA and the New York-headquartered US Association of National Advertising (ANA), which runs the Global Echo Awards.

At the Assegai Awards gala evening, we will also unveil the new look Assegai Awards trophy for the 2022 season to be given to all silver, bronze, and leader award winners.

The circular shape of the new trophy symbolises the integrated and direct marketing industry’s overriding focus on 360 degrees ROI for clients, agencies, and other campaign stakeholders, while keeping the iconic assegai spear at its centre, reminding us to always stay on target with our audience and objectives.

Impressive total of 56 judges for the Assegai Awards 2022

DMASA  18 Aug 2022

What does winning an Assegai Award mean?

An Assegai is “a slender, iron-tipped, hardwood spear used chiefly by southern African peoples”. It reminds us that direct marketing has a single goal: to convince consumers to take action.

This action should result in tangible and measurable results such as signups, purchases, downloads, and similar. The ultimate goal, of course, is to get a sale and show a Return on Objectives.

As the CEO of DMASA, David Dickens says, “The Assegai Awards are not about big budgets or high production values. Our industry values return, and exceptional campaign results.”

An Assegai Award trophy communicates quality to clients and rewards people for their hard work and brilliance. Earning an Assegai Award says you’re the best in the industry, in the country, and now globally as well.

The Assegai Awards are a benchmark of the industry. What are you looking for in an entry that means it a winning entry?

As a judge for many years, I can say that we are impressed by a well-laid-out entry, that is easy to follow, and clearly showcases the strategy, implementation, results and market impact achieved for the brand.

A winning entry is one where the results make sense, tell a clear story, and that doesn’t fit your results to your targets in retrospect.

To be successful, your campaign must:

• Show your clear purpose and objective.
• Be based on recognised marketing principles and following legal requirements.
• Be designed for impact, with a clear, simple and direct message.
• Align strong offers with the right audience for your brand.
• Clearly show where the use of data enabled success.
• Show how testing and measuring worked to create the impact you are targeting while continuing to learn and refine your marketing going forward.

Find out more about the awards here.