68 judges across 76 categories reviewed and judged over 750 Bookmark Award entries these past few weeks. The results of their (and your) hard work are in, as we announce the anticipated shortlist for the 2019 IAB Bookmark Awards here.

The final round of judging takes place on site in Johannesburg and Cape Town on the 8th and 9th of March 2019 and the winners will be announced at the 11th Annual Bookmark Awards on the 28th of March 2019, at the Campus | The Forum in Bryanston, JHB.

Diverse range of talent

Jerry Mpufane, 2019 IAB Bookmark Awards jury president says, “We are thrilled with the list of finalists. Each one sets a precedent for excellent work in their category and represents the exciting, diverse range of talent in the South African digital industry.”

#BehindtheSelfie with... Jerry Mpufane

Leigh Andrews  27 Feb 2019

Molefi Thulo, jury chair of the Marketers Panel says, “I was struck by the depth of insights that went into creating some of the work. Also by how digital platforms are being used to create meaningful connections between brands and their consumers.”

The Marketing Panel received a record number of entries this year with the final list trending in the following categories: Branded Content, Craft excellence in Online Video Production, Social Media Campaigns and Social Media Innovation. Mobile features across the board, and specialists entries for Channel Innovation, Internet of Things, Artificial Intelligence and Paid Search Marketing are strong, but Social and Video are the more dominant categories in the 2019 Bookmark Awards finalist list.

New publisher categories for the 2019 IAB Bookmark Awards including, but not limited to Data Stories, Online News Videos and Social Media News Coverage feature, but in the finals we can see Craft News & Feature Writing and News Innovation dominate. We are also excited to see who wins the new Special Honours category: IAB Bookmark Awards Best Online Journalist on the 28th of March.

Innovative strategies

Izak Minnaar, jury chair of the publishers' panel comments: “Digital publishing is moving through a period in which the very integrity of the medium is being challenged. This year’s publishing entries reflect this landscape and provide innovative strategies to thriving in today’s digital world,”

“It is exciting to see the wide mix of brands, agencies, publishers, consultancies, and specialists in our finalist list this year and this excludes the Special Honours entries that are judged in Round 2. We attribute this to both the hard work across the industry to create and share their business case studies, as well as the diversity of our judging panels in 2019. The final round of judging will be hard work, but with strong results to set the bar for digital excellence that drives business results in South Africa - and beyond” says Paula Hulley IAB CEO.

Audrey Naidoo, head of digital marketing for Absa and a member of the Builders panel adds, “Digital businesses in South Africa are becoming adept at using technical excellence to create user experiences that drive results.”

Finalists for 2019

To get tickets, click here. If you would like more information on the awards, click here.