Advertising News South Africa

#AmasaAwards2017: Magic of the moment

Creating work that is of value is about more than price and cost; it is about effect. Proving the point, when it created magic of the moment, saw Halo Advertising win the coveted Roger Garlick Grand Prix for their client, Jacaranda, for its “More music you love” campaign at the Advertising Media Association of South Africa (Amasa) Awards.
Halo Advertising - winners of the Roger Garlick Grand Prix Award.
Halo Advertising - winners of the Roger Garlick Grand Prix Award.

The Awards, which took place last night at The Hilton in Sandton, Gauteng, also saw the agency win two Golds and a highly commended – the most awards of any agencies at the Awards. PhD and Mindshare won two Golds each.

Halo Advertising’s creative director, Charles Foley, says the campaign delivered real value for a number of reasons. “It was an idea developed for a specific medium; radio, but this idea was championed by everyone – from the client, the agency and the production. Everyone gave 110%. For example, the station developed a story around the campaign. They involved the media and public relations. Combined, it created the magic of the moment.”

The radio station took a big risk with this idea, but Jacaranda marketing manager, Minisha Patel, knew it was a great idea that would deliver the desired result. “We needed to relaunch Jacaranda and this was the perfect way to do it.” She admits it took a bit of convincing, but once coaxed, everyone from management, the board and stakeholders of the business, bought into the idea. “It was a risk, but the idea was great, and one we are very proud of. Halo are wonderful and the recognition this evening is amazing,” she says.

The campaign saw Halo Advertising win Gold in the Best Integrated Media category, as well the Best Event Experiential category. It Highly Commended was in the Best Use of Technology and Data category (Gold was awarded to Techsys Digital for Windhoek Pure Beer Detector).

Back to basics

Both Mindshare’s Gold awards were for their client, KFC and the Soundbite campaign. They won Gold in the Best Integrated Retail and Best Social Media categories. Masholotlo Sibeko, digital planner at Mindshare, says a lot of hard work went into the work from a bigger team. “It is great to be recognised for quality work.”

Wandisile Nkabinde, Mindshare Media Strategist, adds that the challenge was to come up with a seamless and credible way to launch the campaign. “We went back to the basics and understood the journey of this specific consumer, who we knew was difficult to talk to with a push strategy. The Soundbite campaign pulled in the fans and they made the campaign a success.”

PhD also took home two Golds, one for the inaugural category, Best Branded Content for client Cell C – ‘Break the net’ and Best Tactical Use of Media for SANBS – ‘Stock indicators.’ “It is nice to win Gold in multiple categories as it shows a diversity of skills in the agency which is important for a dynamic media world,” says Wayne Bishop, MD of PHD.

Bishop is also the Amasa chairperson. Talking about the Roger Garlick Grand Prix, he says the judges agreed that the winner was found in round one or two already. “So well done to the winner.”

Ultimately the Awards are about adding value to the industry. “Every year it just gets bigger and bigger – every year we have to add on more and more tables – but by getting bigger, ultimately it is more impactful for industry. The idea is to make clients see value in media work and to move away from pitches on prices. I believe we are achieving that.”

List of winners:

Best Branded Content:
GoldPHDCell C - Break The Net
Highly commendedThe Niche GuysCloseUp Toothpaste Make you move
Best Contribution by a Media Owner:
Highly CommendedMediaMarkSun International Time Square Bandit
Best Event/Experiential:
GoldHalo AdvertisingJacaranda More Music You Love
Best Integrated Financial:
GoldOMDStandard Bank Kidz App
Best Integrated Public Service:
NoneNoneNone
Best Integrated: Retail
GoldMindShareKFC Soundbite
Highly commendedTMI & 140 BBDODunkin Donuts
Best Integrated: FMCG
GoldStarcomLunch Bar New Wrapper
Best Integrated: Media
GoldHalo advertisingJacaranda More Music You Love
Best Integrated: Travel, Entertainment & Leisure
Highly commendedThe MediaShopSA Tourism
Best Online:
GoldNative VMLNedbank Passion Playoffs
Best Pro Bono/Cause Related:
GoldHavasShe Loves Beer
Best Social Media:
GoldMindShareKFC Soundbite
Highly commendedNative VMLNedbank Passion Playoffs
Best Sponsorship:
GoldPlaymakersCoca Cola That’s Gold SuperSport
Best Tactical Use of Media:
GoldPHDSANBS - Stock Indicators
Best Trade Marketing Campaign:
Highly commendedAds24Food for Thought
Best Use of Mobile:
Highly commendedMark1KFC Add Hope
Best Use of Small Budget:
GoldHitch DigitalInvestec
Best Use of Technology & Data:
GoldTechsys DigitalWindhoek Pure Beer Detector
Highly commendedHalo AdvertisingJacaranda More Music You Love
Ignition (Student Awards):
GoldUniversity of JohannesburgOne & a Half Bags
Roger Garlick Grand Prix:
Halo AdvertisingJacaranda More Music You Love

About Danette Breitenbach

Danette Breitenbach is a marketing & media editor at Bizcommunity.com. Previously she freelanced in the marketing and media sector, including for Bizcommunity. She was editor and publisher of AdVantage, the publication that served the marketing, media and advertising industry in southern Africa. She has worked extensively in print media, mainly B2B. She has a Masters in Financial Journalism from Wits.
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