Bookmarks build credibility with focus on campaign results

Nikki Cockcroft, chairperson of the Bookmarks awards and deputy-chair of the Digital Media and Marketing Association (DMMA), formerly the OPA, says that the Bookmarks are increasingly being recognised as a credible and hard-to-win award. Last year no Golds were given out at the awards, and so far no agency has won a Grand Prix in course of its existence. With its focus on measurability and results (which counts towards 40% of the final score), pretty pictures won't win you one of these.

It's not about running an ad in the Benoni Times to meet entry requirements, says Cockcroft, it's about delivery. As such, the Bookmarks didn't try to benchmark its judging criteria against local award shows but opted to look at international best practice instead. Finally, an awards show clients get to love.

Reached all touch points

Cockcroft says the awards' organisers, all volunteers, are comfortable that it has reached all the touch points possible in the broader digital industry. The challenge now lies in extending the reach of the award to a broader audience. This will be central to planning for next year's awards.

The Bookmarks received 270 paid entries this year across both agency and publisher categories. Another 132 entries were nominations for individual or team contributions to digital media and marketing. Cockcroft says entries were received from 42 agencies and 32 publishers (according to its website, the DMMA, the industry organisation that launched the awards, currently represents over 55 local online publishers and over 45 creative, media and digital agencies). Cockcroft confirms that a number of traditional agencies entered work this year and the list of finalists tally names such as Ogilvy, Net#work BBDO and Draftfcb.

The focus of the Bookmarks is entirely digital-focused and its Best Integrated Campaign category, which also claimed the most entries this year, aims to award campaigns that bring together as many of the "seven elements of digital marketing" as might be relevant to them. says Cockcroft. The seven elements are display, search, social, viral, email, video and web.

The Best Social Media Campaign category received the second highest number of entries. Two years ago, this category did not even exist at the inaugural Bookmarks.

Judging by two panels

Judging is done by two panels, one for the agency category and one for the publishing category, and each consists of five local judges and one international judge plus a jury chair.

This year, the publishing panel was chaired by AdVantage editor Louise Marsland and consisted of Suhela Gremmel (ADTECH AG, Germany), JP Farinha (GM designate for Property24), Chris Roper (editor, Mail & Guardian Online), Matthew Buckland (publisher, Memeburn), Timothy Spira (CEO of FinMedia24) and Heléne Lindsay (marketing, Brite Blue).

The agency panel consists of jury chair Jack Kruger (head of digital, Old Mutual), Chris Colborn (chief experience officer, R/GA), Matt Ross (executive creative director, Tribal DDB), Anton Moulder (creative director, Urbian), Evan Milton (strategy director, Native), Dylan Jones (creative director, Futurestate) and Scott Gray (client strategy director, Quirk eMarketing).

Initial judging is done offsite via the Internet. Results are weighed based on specific criteria and the judges' score gets tallied to complete a shortlist. The second round sees the jury meeting and discussing the finalists before voting takes place anonymously. Winners will be announced Thursday, 18 November 2010.

Not endorsed by Creative Circle

Interestingly, the Bookmarks have not been endorsed by the Creative Circle, even though the DMMA and the Creative Circle oversee a quarterly Digital Ad of the Month award (its ad of the month, just quarterly, hmmm). Winners receive automatic entry into the Bookmarks. Cockcroft says this is because the Bookmarks are results-focused, but then I thought all advertising was.

If you are going to be an awards show, being like the Bookmarks doesn't seem such a bad idea. No wonder it's increasingly rated amongst the creative and the business communities alike.

For more:

• Bizcommunity special section: The Bookmarks Awards
  
• Bizcommunity search: Bookmarks
  
• The Bookmarks site: www.thebookmarks.co.za
  
• The Bookmarks Twitter: @TheBookmarks
  
• Google News Search: bookmarks awards
  
• Facebook: The Bookmarks