How they scored: the 2002 Assegai Award Winners

As the pressure hardens on corporate South Africa to focus increasingly on the bottom line, companies are being forced to examine new ways of making their marketing rands go further. The result? Clients and agencies are working harder and smarter in the drive for measurable marketing, often breaking new direct marketing ground in the process.

And, says Winifred Knight, Judging Chairman for this year's Assegai Awards, the quality and diversity of this years entries reflect this. "Direct Marketing has evolved significantly from the days of just being "direct mail"," she said, adding that increasingly marketers were beginning to understand that the alternative mediums of telephone, mail, internet, e-mail, the so-called 'new media' are simply alternative channels that enable direct contact with a customer.

It was encouraging to see the industry recognising and incorporating the multi-dimensions of direct marketing, said Knight, adding that many campaigns submitted were "genuinely brilliantly executed campaigns of world class standard in terms of creativity, profitability and effectiveness."

Even the tried and trusted regular entries, which have proven results time and again, reflected tremendous improvement over previous years, she said.

Entries were judged by some 30 independent specialists in various aspects of direct marketing, who in addition to scoring on the strategy and creative aspects focus largely on the bottom line results achieved by the campaign – in other word, the return on investment, (ROI). Entrants were assessed against the financial viability of their various marketing initiatives using a unique ROI calculator, which measures the marketing investment and then compare actual results achieved against the budgeted forecasts. Each entry is judged by four or five judges, all of whom are credible and trusted by the industry, with a great deal of experience in direct marketing.

"This year, judges had an exceptionally difficult time in scoring many of the entries as they were of just such a superior quality and standard, with great strategy, focused, unique creativity and outstanding results," said Knight

Entries into this year's awards have been the best ever, with participation peaking at an impressive 90 % increase over last years entries, said Knight, adding that it reflected a continuing growth trend in the direct marketing sector.

How they scored:

Scores are calculated across the range of awards received, with each award generating a numerical value, e.g.: gold = 5, silver = 3 and special mentions receive 1.