Marketing Achievement Awards celebrates those who dare, calls for entries

The MAA celebrates excellence in the science and art of strategic marketing, and in so doing sets a compass point for marketers to aim towards – a true north that will drive the industry towards constant improvement.

The recent challenges which have thrown the world off course have highlighted how critical it is for marketers to find their own true north and guide their brands with determination and precision. This year, the MAA will look for the greatest minds, the truest ideas and the boldest approaches.

This platform is designed to recognise exceptional marketing achievements and as such, conveners will be looking for succinct entries that best demonstrate how customer needs have been identified and used to focus, align and empower organisations to meet these needs and achieve results.

All marketers from across South Africa, big and small, known and unknown, are encouraged to enter their best work so that they can be measured against and recognised by their peers. There are several categories available and the entry format is a simple online process, which can be accessed via MarketingAwards.co.za.

The following categories are available for entrants to prove their strategic abilities in:

• Purpose-led Marketing
  
• Strategic Sponsorship Marketing
  
• Brand Positioning
  
• Marketing Innovation
  
• New Product or Brand Launch
  
• Reputation Management (Corporate and Brand)
  
• South African Resonance Marketing
  
• Brand Marketing B2B
  
• Integrated Marketing
  
• Resourceful Marketing (The 'Limited Budget, Unlimited Idea' Category)
  
• Internal Marketing
  
• Digital Brand Marketing (New Category for 2020)
  
• Rising Star of the Year (Nominated)
  
• Marketer of the Year (Nominated)

This year’s entry process has been fine-tuned to allow for winning case studies to be published. This way, we can truly set a benchmark for excellence, inspire marketers to make a case for leading organisations with insightful strategy and prove marketing’s value to the bottom line. For this reason, not only have the entry criteria been redesigned and more explicitly outlined, but a scoring system has also been introduced. Judges will thus be able to contextualise each entry and award a score out of 100 possible points, and importantly, ensure that all campaigns be treated equally, regardless of budget or scope.

To make the entry process easier for all marketers, entry kits have been created to walk people through the system. Moreover, the winning case studies will only be published in consultation with the entrants to ensure that confidential figures and metrics are appropriately presented.

Newly appointed chairperson of the Marketing Awards Council (MAC), Mohale Ralebitso, will be spearheading the Council taking over from Yvonne Johnston who successfully chaired the MAC during her three-year tenure. As an entrepreneur and expert transformational business leader, his resume spans over 22 years in marketing and financial services, and boasts a litany of accomplishments.

Not only is Ralebitso the former CEO of the Black Business Council, but he has also held senior positions in financial services and advertising, including Marketing Communications and Corporate Affairs director at Old Mutual Emerging Markets, managing executive of Absa Private Bank, chairman of FCB South Africa, chairman of The Jupiter Drawing Room (Johannesburg), and director at TBWA\ South Africa. As such, he is well equipped to navigate this new world order that the marketing industry is stepping into and lead the MAC with precision.

Ralebitso comments:

South African marketers have the power and ingenuity to deliver campaigns of the highest calibre; simple marketing that is imbued with insight and authenticity; and a true sense of direction that catapults brands directly towards their true north in spite of the constant state of flux we are living through. That is the kind of work that we are hoping to see.

“The Marketing Achievement Awards is a rarefied opportunity to honour marketers whose work demonstrates the intrinsic value inherent to this crucial discipline, whilst simultaneously raising the industry’s profile and elevating it to the position it rightfully deserves within South Africa’s businesses," he continues.

This annual event will set the standard of excellence, allowing only those willing to step up and show their strength, be role models, and showcase best practices, to walk away as winners.

Masa CEO, Brian Yuyi, says, “Masa is pleased to endorse and work with the Marketing Achievement Council for the success of the Marketing Achievement Awards in 2020. The Awards speak to our organisational purpose, which is to elevate the professionalism of marketing and represent and protect the business interests of all marketers in South Africa. Despite the challenging times we now face, we look forward to some exciting entries across all categories which will be proof, yet again, that the marketing profession will be at the forefront of industrial and commercial resurgence in the new normal.”

While chaos reigns supreme have you managed to stay the course? Have you managed to arrive at True North? Welcome to the Marketing Achievement Awards 2020. Awarding strategic excellence in marketing. #marketingachievers #marketingachievementawards #arrivetruenorth pic.twitter.com/SaIRKB9e2D

— marketingachievers (@marketachievers) June 29, 2020