The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) announced today that the 2017 APEX awards season is officially open for entry. The annual APEX awards is hosted by the ACA, the official, representative body for the Communications and Advertising sector in South Africa.

The APEX awards recognises and awards those advertising and communications campaigns that are not only creative, but effective in delivering a tangible and measurable return on investment or objectives.  

Agencies and their clients are invited to enter their best work into the 2017 APEX awards.  Given the current economic climate when marketers and their agency partners are required to demonstrate their contribution to the bottom line, the APEX awards presents a great opportunity for client and agency collaboration to showcase exactly that!  

“The APEX awards encourages agencies and their clients to develop new, higher, best practise standards for measurement of advertising and communications campaigns. Budget allocation to advertising and communication activities is not an expense, but rather an investment, and APEX promotes a better understanding of business practices and how advertising can deliver a measured and effective return on that investment,” explained Odette van der Haar, ACA CEO.

The standard for the APEX awards is high and will not be compromised.  Entrants are required to submit case studies detailing their campaigns and how all possible factors other than the campaigns have been considered as causes for brand success and in so doing, systematically prove a case for the campaigns themselves as being the cause for the brand success.  

THE THREE APEX CATEGORIES INTO WHICH CAMPAIGNS MAY BE ENTERED ARE:

1. Launch – for brands or services that are less than 12 months old with no significant history of advertising.
2. Change – for new campaigns from previously advertised brands that resulted in significant short-term effects on sales and/or behaviour – short-term being within a period of no more than 18 months.
3. Sustain – for campaigns that benefited a business by maintaining or strengthening a brand over a long period, i.e. 36 months.

“We encourage all agencies and their clients, to enter their most effective work into the APEX award.  Entry is open to all agencies, whether an ACA member or not.  We have seen extremely effective creative executions of campaigns in previous years, and look forward to another year of showcasing the value our industry adds to commercial brand success,” concludes van der Haar.  

Compulsory briefing sessions for all entrants will be held at the aaa campuses in Johannesburg and Cape Town, as follows:

• Johannesburg: 14H00 to 16H00 – Tuesday, 24 January 2017
• Cape Town: 14H00 to 16H00 – Thursday, 26 January 2017

At these sessions, entrants will receive information on how to enter, compile and win an APEX. While attendance is free of charge, seats are limited – booking of seats is essential. To book a seat at one or both of the briefing sessions, please send an email to apex@acasa.co.za.

For more information about the APEX awards, details on how to enter, key dates to diarise, entry fees and so much more, visit https://www.acasa.co.za/apex.aspx , email apex@acasa.co.za or call the ACA on (011) 781 2772/3.

The ACA is the official, representative body for the Communications and Advertising profession in South Africa, representing agencies in the profession (who at present contribute approximately 95% of South Africa’s measured ad spend) to government, media and the public. The ACA is a voluntary body formed by and for the industry, focused on and committed to self-regulation and to defending the highest standards of ethical practice.