2009 Loeries entries underscore digital growth

After Judging Week concluded at The Loerie Awards this year, the message that emerged is that brand communication in the digital space is evolving - it is no longer just another aspect of the media mix, but provides entirely new points of contact and ways of interacting with potential customers.

Although the results will only be announced late next week, the digital judges observed an overall trend that they believe shows that South African brands and agencies are embracing the digital medium and creating very exciting work in this space.

Significant

These trends are significant because it allows creatives to spend more time on the delivery of a concept, rather than coaxing clients to spend money in the first place.

“Overall, the body of work was quietly confident, delivering on expectations from the client and agency side,” says Clint Bryce, head of creative at Space Patrol Car and chairman of the Loeries digital jury panel. “I think this reflects the market this year, where budgets were being squeezed, so the extra mile of curiosity and experimentation is taken away, delivering solid work that reflects its purpose."

Case also says that a wider number of agencies entered work than ever before, showing that digital concepts are being demanded across the board and that the quality of work being showcased in SA is on a par with the rest of the world.

“With the OPA reporting growth in online ad spend of 32% in the last 12 months, South African advertisers have started turning to new media in large numbers recently. However, we are still playing catch-up with the developed world in terms of overall percentage of media spend contributed by digital channels,” states Rick Joubert, executive head of the Mobile Advertising Unit at Vodacom, sponsor of the Digital category at the Loeries.

New demands

In line with budgets being tighter, there is greater pressure than ever before for digital advertising to deliver a return on investment (ROI).

“I'm speculating that agencies are under pressure to demonstrate ROI, and this is having an influence on work being delivered,” continues Bryce. “I get the feeling that clients are asking the question 'what can digital do to grow my business?' and placing focus on the campaign to deliver.”

Case is enthusiastic about the potential of digital. Obviously in SA, the fact that the Internet is not as widely accessed as radio or television means that online campaigns are targeted at a very specific, web-savvy audience.

“It's important to know who your audience is, as only a relatively small percentage of the market is web connected,” he says. “But there are huge advantages over traditional mediums when communicating with a web-connected audience, such as instant measurability, a heightened sense of interactivity, the ability to engage the customer with more depth, personalisation of messaging and the ability to lead people on a journey to various digital touch points.

“For instance, you could click on an online banner and be taken to a microsite that sends a personalised message and barcode to your phone, which in turn could be swiped in-store to redeem a product at a promotional value.”

Real-time feedback

Case also points out that the real-time feedback that digital campaigns afford advertisers can be invaluable. “You can see how effective your ads are on the different websites, you can determine return on investments, make changes if you see that something is doing well or badly based on the number of people choosing to interact with your message.”

Bryce says that local agencies are still coming to terms with this relatively new space, with the successful agencies still working to find the perfect balance between digital pioneers and traditional advertising talent.

“Getting these groundbreakers and storytellers to work together successfully will form the ad agency of the future,” he comments. “Currently, agencies are buying the talent, bringing it in-house or forming partnerships or collaborations. At the moment there are nice examples in pockets, but I haven't seen any agency that has got the amalgamation of both disciplines exactly right.”

However, the overall message is that the digital space is improving and expanding.

“At the Loeries, we are seeing a big shift in the improvement of depth in all categories,” says Case. "Whereas before, there was a focus on websites, now we're seeing great work in online advertising, viral marketing, digital applications and the previously weakest category of cellular communication is starting to come of age.”

New boundaries being pushed

Mobile advertising is one of the areas of digital technology where new boundaries are being pushed. “The smartphone, led by the Apple iPhone, is rapidly accelerating the convergence of computing and telephony and causing the creation of an application-based mobile internet and a more aesthetically pleasing, rich media user experience,” adds Joubert.

According to Bryce, “The work now being produced in the applications space is quite exciting - we're seeing pieces of work that don't run off a monitor or a mobile phone, but big installations built on-site in a museum or public space. There was a large gamut of creative work, a number of sites that were specifically functional, but beautifully executed, and those that had high entertainment value and were all-encompassing.”

Judging processes improve

Because of the interactive nature of digital works, the Loerie Awards management has over the last three years devoted a great deal of energy to evolving the way in which digital works are displayed. Traditional static displays don't work and virtual tours don't necessarily show off the interactivity of a site.

“For the first time this year, we had discussion sessions convened in one big space, rather than judging on a computer sitting at home,” says Case. “This is a huge step forward for us.”

The digital revolution has touched all aspects of the awards, with all judging this year taking place on Apple iTouch PDAs. “Our entries were judged via the iPhones and a wireless connection to a WAP enabled online voting system,” says Case. “This was like Cannes or any other awards ceremony in the world, raising the standards of Loeries not just in the work, but also in the judging processes too.”

Case said that the Digital Loerie Awards this year had a “fantastically well-represented panel,” which included two judges from traditional agencies, which shows that the category is drawing wide attention and has become more integrated into the other disciplines of Loeries.

“The digital space is such an exciting one because we aren't just seeing new executions of ideas but completely new ways of interacting with the consumer instead,” says Andrew Human, CEO of The Loerie Awards. “There is both science and art to working in the digital space and, while an understanding of the mechanics is essential, it is still the cleverness of the concept that catches attention and wins awards.”