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Mobile News South Africa

2021 SA Smarties Awards winners turn lemons into lemonade

Winners of the 2021 South Africa Smarties Awards, the gold standard of mobile marketing excellence in the industry that is enabled by Meta, MTN, Standard Bank and The Pendoring Awards, have been announced.
Source: © MMA {{www.facebook.com/MobileInSA/ MMMA]]
Source: © MMA {{www.facebook.com/MobileInSA/ MMMA]]

Honoured across 25 categories, the 38 judges have remarked that the quality of work submitted this season far exceeded their expectations – especially when marketing budgets across the board were cut due to ongoing Covid-19 challenges.

Producing work on point

“The impact of the pandemic was felt on brands’ pockets, and as we all know, among the first things to go is marketing spend. This did not deter the Smarties Awards winners who turned lemons into lemonade, producing work that was on-point and relevant to the times that we live in and where every cent counts,” comments Luisa Mazinter, MMA SA chair emeritus Smarties Awards.

These sentiments were echoed by the judges who expressed the need for brands to show real return on investment and that mobile marketing technologies can solve business problems by engaging target audiences in an authentic way, resulting in strong calls-to-action.

An emphasis on business results

“Where the Smarties is distinct is that it places a weighting of 40% on business outcomes, while strategy, creativity and execution account for 20% each.

“The reason for these splits is to ensure that the campaigns that are awarded are producing results that impact the business positively and are not only creative executions for the sake of it; there is no room for fluff,” comments Mazinter.

Pendoring Multilingual Marketing Efficiency Award

The 2021 Smarties also saw the introduction of the Pendoring Multilingual Marketing Efficiency Award in partnership with Hollard. The timing for the Award was opportune as it ties into the UN’s launch of the Decade of Indigenous Languages, which began this year in 2022 and ends in 2030.

Boniswa Pezisa, executive director at Mediology and Pendoring jury president, says of this important Award, “As a multicultural nation brands need to engage and reach their customers in their own languages. We have seen some of the entries use language in an amazing way and they’ve broken through with their marketing efforts.”

As is traditional of the Smarties Awards, all winners – Gold, Silver and Bronze – will be entered into the global Mobile Marketing Associations’ Business Impact Index (BII) Awards. Launched in 2018 it is the first and only global mobile marketing Index that identifies, ranks and awards top agencies, brands and technology enablers that drive significant business impact through mobile-first campaigns.

Of the best work ever

“We congratulate all the winners from the 2021 Awards, the level of work is among the best we have ever had. This is a real boon especially given the conditions in which the work was being implemented,” concludes Mazinter.

An Awards ceremony will take place on 6 April in Johannesburg to give the winners their trophies. The 2021 BII winners will also be announced and theme for the 2022 Smarties Awards announced.

All the winners

All the 2021 winners can be viewed here.

Brand Awareness
AWARDAGENCYCAMPAIGNBRAND
GoldMatchKit and PR MachineSouth Africa Crowdfunds Medal Bonuses for our OlympiansMatchKit
SilverPHD Media, Edelman and JWTBorn This WayLux, Unilever
BronzeAdColony & IntimediaConverse Connects with Consumers through captivating Mobile Video Execution with AdColonySkye Distribution / Converse
Lead Generation / Direct Response / Conversions
GoldHellosquareFacebook Flavoured TinkiesTinkies
SilverYonder MediaKFC Vernac TestKFC South Africa
BronzeTelesure Insurance Holdings (TIH)1st for Women Insurance - Defender Campaign1st for Women Insurance
Product / Services Launch
GoldHellosquareFacebook Flavoured TinkiesTinkies
BronzeHellosquareAre You Bold Enough?Galito's Flame Grilled Chicken
Promotion NEW
GoldYonder MediaKFC Virtual Buckets "gold hunt"KFC South Africa
Special Edition Pendoring / Multi-lingual Award
GoldYonder MediaKFC Vernac TestKFC South Africa
GoldVMLY&RNando's Voice of The PeopleNando's
BronzeOliver Marketing (Ustudio)Aromat Comedy Club Season 2Aromat
Mobile Gaming, Gamification & E-Sports
Gold:Yonder MediaKFC Virtual Buckets "gold hunt"KFC South Africa
SilverShopriteCheckers Xtra Savings Spin2WinCheckers Xtra Savings
BronzeAdColony & IntimediaConverse Connects with Consumers through captivating Mobile Video Execution with AdColonySkye Distribution / Converse
BronzeAdColony & ZenithDisney’s Luca’s meaningful Mobile Video Execution with AdColonyDisney
Mobile App
GoldMatchKit and PR MachineSA Hockey crowdfunds its way to the OlympicsMatchKit
BronzeRooftop#TheHumanRaceUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
BronzeBluegrass DigitalBio-Oil Internal Brand Communication PlatformBio-Oil
Social Media Marketing NEW
GoldMark1 in partnership with DUKE Advertising and Positive DialogueDala Your ColourJIVE
SilverWunderman Thompson South AfricaBe the LightVodacom South Africa
BronzeHellosquareAre You Bold Enough?Galito's Flame Grilled Chicken
Social Messaging / Chat Apps / Text Messaging NEW
GoldDigify AfricaA WhatsApp Learning Bot For African EntrepreneursMETA
SilverHellosquareA Fresh StartAlbany Bakeries
SilverPraekelt ConsultingSmartStart Automated WhatsApp AssistantSmartStart (built by Praekelt Consulting
Social Commerce NEW
SilverYonder MediaKFC "Convince the Colonel" mCommerce launchKFC South Africa
Influencer Marketing NEW
SilverOliver Marketing (Ustudio)Shield Move More At HomeShield
SilverMark1 in partnership with DUKE Advertising5 Seconds of FunnyJIVE
Innovation
GoldYonder MediaKFC "Convince the Colonel" mCommerce launchKFC South Africa
SilverYonder MediaKFC Virtual Buckets "gold hunt"KFC South Africa
BronzeWunderman Thompson South AfricaPlayStation South Africa - The Last of Us Part IIPlayStation South Africa
Location Based Targeting
SilverMark1 in partnership with DUKE Advertising and Positive Dialogue#YouBelongToCelebrateAB InBev
BronzeVicinity Media#WhereIsMyAd campaignVicinity Media
BronzeHellosquareFruit ForecastKOO
mCommerce
SilverMatchKit and PR MachineSouth Africa Crowdfunds Medal Bonuses for our OlympiansMatchKit
BronzePraekelt ConsultingSupersonic (MTN Fibre-To-The-Home)MTN
Mobile Video
SilverAdColony & IntimediaConverse Connects with Consumers through captivating Mobile Video Execution with AdColonySkye Distribution / Converse
SilverAdColony & Zenith MediaSamsung’s S21 Ultra Mobile Video Execution with AdColonySamsung
Data/Insights
GoldShopriteCheckers Xtra Savings Personalised OffersCheckers Xtra Savings
SilverHellosquareFacebook Flavoured TinkiesTinkies
Social Responsibility
SilverRooftop#TheHumanRaceUnited Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
Brand Purpose
GoldOgilvyPEP Kids - Wishing the World WellPEP Stores South Africa
SilverOliver Marketing (Ustudio)OMO Play More, Learn MoreOMO
Customer Experience
GoldYonder MediaVoucher ReliefSolidarity Fund in conjunction with Mthunzi Network, SACC, NHTL and various retailers
Tech Innovation
GoldYonder MediaVoucher ReliefSolidarity Fund in conjunction with Mthunzi Network, SACC, NHTL and various retailers
SilverVicinity Media#WhereIsMyAd campaignVicinity Media
SilverMatchKit and PR MachineSouth Africa Crowdfunds Medal Bonuses for our OlympiansMatchKit
App
SilverYonder MediaVoucher ReliefSolidarity Fund in conjunction with Mthunzi Network, SACC, NHTL and various retailers
eCommerce (pivoting during the pandemic) NEW
BronzeMatchKit and PR MachineSA Hockey crowdfunds its way to the OlympicsMatchKit

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