This was the unexpected statement from Araw Awards co-chair Leigh Reyes (Y&R), at the first Araw Awards entry briefing on April 29.
Surprising because this will be the first Araw ever to award not just creativity, but total advertising excellence. Rules were patterned after global effectiveness shows such as the Effies and the AMEs.
Why the change? The intent is not to devalue creativity as a standard. Nor it it merely to make the awards relevant to an audience outside creatives, though that is an acknowledged concern. In fact, as a line in the presentation puts it, “It’s the opportunity to show that the best creative delivers results.”
Presenting the first full draft of competition rules to members of the Creative Guild and select guests on April 29, Reyes was joined by Overall AdCon Chair Margot Torres and fellow awards Co-Chairs Raoul Panes (Leo Burnett) and Raul Floresca (Saatchi).
Here, a snapshot of the major changes. Complete rules will be uploaded soon on the Araw website; until then, interested entrants can contact Raoul Panes and Raul Floresca for questions.
New criteria: 50% creativity, 25% insight/strategy, and 25% results, with the latter defined as any quantifiable, measurable proof of performance. Client certifications of market share, sales figures, awareness levels, etc. will be among the accepted proofs of performance. “We are ahead of other countries in including certifications,” says Reyes.
New judges: Jurors will be drawn from the ranks of account management, planning and marketing as well as creative.
New entrants: Media agencies and non-4As members such as design studios, web firms and even Clients can now enter directly. Non-4As groups need only enter at the non-member rate, which is at most P500 higher than that for members.
New Student Araw incentives: Winners’ campaigns will have the chance to be produced for actual airing and release – so they can have an ad on air before they even have a job. The winning student teams might also become interns in a 4As member agency.
