Just when you thought the Loeries buzz was over, the Loeries' rankings are in! I chatted to some of this year's top ranked creatives post-celebrations. Here Alistair King, co-founder and chief creative officer of King James Group, shares his views.
Last year they took the title of top South African agency, with King announced as the top chief creative officer of 2015 and client Sanlam the top brand for 2015.
Royal rankings for KJ Group
King
This year, Yegs Ramiah, chief executive of brand at Sanlam and Santam, took home the Loeries® 2016 Marketing Leadership and Innovation Award, paying tribute to King James and King in particular as having been key to the brand’s success. The King James Group’s 2016 Loerie Awards haul featured the following wins – a ‘branded content video: single execution’ silver for New Balance’s ‘Baby vs Dale Steyn’; ‘branded content video: campaign’ silver for Sanlam’s One Rand Family; ‘digital integrated campaign’ bronze and a ‘live events: sponsorship’ bronze for New Balance’s ‘I Comrades’; as well as ‘live events: sponsorship’ bronze for Sanlam Financial Services’ ‘Every Word is a Masterpiece’; a ‘digital and interactive social media’ bronze for City of Cape Town’s ‘Metro Police Ride-Along’; and a ’live crafts’ craft certificate for Sanlam Financial Services Sanlam J&B Met VIP Marquee.
The King James Group’s recently revealed Loeries 2016 rankings show them ranking 15th overall in the South African agency table and joint-20th for the overall ranking by agency 2016 table.
Some of team King James at the Loeries 2015.
Some of team King James at the Loeries 2015.
Some of team King James at the Loeries 2015.
Some of team King James at the Loeries 2015.
Some of team King James at the Loeries 2015.
Here, King, also part of the 2016 Loeries print and outdoor judging panel, and jury president of the Association of Practitioners in Advertising (APA) awards, which have relaunched after 12 years to reward creativity in Kenya using the Loeries Management System, shares how the group feels about all their wins, their plans to extend their winning streak next year and who they admire most in the industry…
1. Share your top three emotions linked to your Loeries wins and 2016 rankings.
King: Satisfied (with what we won). Confused (by some of the winners). Determined (to keep fighting the good fight).
2. How do you plan on keeping – if not bettering – your rankings next year?
King: We don’t have an award strategy. We’ll simply keep in our lane and try to get our clients to make powerful ads. Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. Hopefully we’ll have some good ones under the belt before the next award show.
3. Where are you displaying your Loeries?
King: We tend to display all our prizes on the front desk, which has on the odd occasion pissed off the receptionist who claims she can’t see the front door in a good year!
4. Tell us who you personally admire in the industry – both an established mentor figure as well as a newcomer making waves.
King: I’m afraid to start listing, but I think Molefi Thulo [ranked as top creative director for 2016], is doing a spectacular job.
Seems we’re all looking forward to seeing what 2017 holds! Click through to our Loeries special section for more, here for more on KIng and be sure to follow King James Group on Twitter.
Leigh Andrews AKA the #MilkshakeQueen, is former Editor-in-Chief: Marketing & Media at Bizcommunity.com, with a passion for issues of inclusion, belonging, and of course, gourmet food and drinks! Now follow her travel adventures on YouTube @MidlifeMeander.
