Singapore – Ten of the most memorable marketing campaigns in the Asia Pacific region clinched gold medals at APPIES 2010. The 2-day event, held on 3 and 4 June 2010, attracted 105 best submissions.
The top agencies were picked based on the creativity, reach and most importantly the return on investment for clients, displayed in their campaigns. Campaigns from Singapore bagged a total of 4 gold medals while China walked away with 2. Malaysia, India, Sri Lanka and Australia won one gold medal each. Leo Burnett were the big winners for APPIES 2010, clinching 2 top awards for campaigns in Australia and Singapore.
“It was indeed our privilege to showcase the best campaigns in this region. All the Moderators and the Assessors were pleasantly surprised with the passion and creativity each presenter brought to the event,” said Ms Goh Shu Fen, Chairman of APPIES and Co-Founder and Partner R3 Asia Pacific. “Over the course of two days, we saw 50 top brands, represented by 20 top agencies. This is further proof that the APPIES is addressing a key business need in our industry and we certainly expect it to grow to one of the premier events in this region.”
The signs are positive. The inaugural APPIES itself broke several records. It gathered 105 regional marketing campaigns, 800 regional participants over two days and a strong representation of decision makers who were completely immersed in their roles as Advisory Council Members, Moderators and Assessors.
The APPIES also provided two insightful panel discussions led by the chiefs of Marketing from Citigroup, Coca-Cola, VISA, Unilever, STB and SIA. Adding to this, marketing and advertising professionals were spoilt for choice with numerous opportunities to network with some of the most respected international brands, Chiefs of Marketing from various multinational corporations, government agencies as well as small and medium enterprises.
“The event was interesting and I certainly enjoyed seeing so many creative fruits of labour during the judging session. I believe there is potential, in growing APPIES and anchoring Singapore as the centre of and a thought leader in Asia Pacific’s advertising and marketing industries.” said Paul Tan, Director, Strategic Marketing Unit, Singapore Tourism Board.
“Delighted to have been a part of the inaugural APPIES. Happy as well that my small contributions were meaningful & useful. I enjoyed the proceedings & enjoyed meeting a number of very good people in the process. Wish you greater success as you plan a bigger, better next edition.” said Rajev Shukla, Global Brand VP, Pond’s, Unilever.
“I had fun and enjoyed both meeting people and looking at some pretty awesome work! I think the APPIES format has a lot of potential as it is very engaging and showcases the work in a very consumer friendly way. Looking forward to staying in touch and keep supporting IAS as much as I can.” said Francesco Lagutaine, Chief Marketing Officer, Asia Pacific, Citigroup.
“Thank you for involving me in the APPIES. I enjoyed the presentations. I realized that talent is still alive and well in the advertising industry across Asia. Very impressive group of some relatively young people. It’s great to know. I would hope to be able to assist in future. “ said Shirley Claire Foenander, Vice President Marketing Communications & Menu Management, McDonald’s Restaurants Pte Ltd.
“The strong turnout and representation at the APPIES has certainly raised the profile of the event amongst the many regional participants and agencies who were present at the congress,” said Mr Patrick Mowe, Advisor, Institute of Advertising (IAS). “APPIES is indeed the right platform for every marketer and every agency that wants the opportunity to leverage on a highly impactful event that is strongly supported by the industry.”
Mr Mowe added that while the IAS is very pleased with the achievements of the very first APPIES, enhancements are in the pipeline to grow next year’s event. Meanwhile, the APPIES will continue to meet its core objective of creating an educational platform to elevate the standards of creativity and efficacy of every campaign that’s released into the market.
