Behind the Scenes of the Best Practice Awards
Behind the Scenes of the Best Practice Awards
Wow, what a night it was at the EACA Best Practice Awards 2024 in Paris. Join us as we share some behind-the-scenes insights from the jury and hear directly from the winners about their experiences. If you’re curious about what makes a winning entry and what it feels like to stand out in our industry, keep reading!
GRAND PRIX WINNER
Advertising Unlocked – IPA (UK)
Jury: “There is an initiative that encapsulates well the spirit that we want to promote from our community. By introducing students from underrepresented demographics to advertising, it aims to address diversity gaps in the workforce and highlight advertising as a viable career path. With its impressive participation and satisfaction rates, the initiative sets a high standard for industry engagement and effectiveness“.
Paul Bainsfair and Joyce Kelso, IPA UK: “Our approach involves encouraging agencies to open their doors to school students who haven’t yet chosen their career paths. This initiative really puts advertising on the map for them, as many students from a wide range of schools had never considered this field before. It’s been hugely successful in creating a connection between agencies and local schools. Interestingly, many of our agencies are located near disadvantaged schools. In places like London, this means reaching out to kids who might not typically aspire to or know about a potential career in advertising. The agencies put on a show for these visits, treating the students as if they were clients. The students are often amazed by the world of advertising they’re introduced to and view it as a very real career choice”.
GOLD WINNER
Female Futures Fund – IAPI (Ireland)
Jury: “This initiative was awarded top honors for its outstanding contributions to diversity and inclusion. Their tireless efforts to address gender disparity within the advertising sector have been nothing short of transformative.”
Charley Stoney, IAPI Ireland: “One persistent issue facing women in any industry is imposter syndrome. They often lack confidence when interacting with others, despite knowing they have the skills to advance to the next level, but are unsure how to proceed. Many are also unaware of how to develop their personal brand. To address this, we established a program in collaboration with Diageo. Diageo has been heavily involved in efforts aimed at engaging female consumers, particularly through their Baileys brand. Growth for Baileys is being spearheaded by their now Global Brand Director, whom I reached out to and who eagerly supported this initiative. Diageo recognizes the necessity of supporting the advertising ecosystem to foster top-tier creativity for their brands. They understand that diversity directly enhances creativity, which is crucial for their campaigns. Each year, our program accepts 25 women from 75 to 100 applicants, selected through a rigorous process. The program includes intensive workshops spread over three months, with various levels of training. The transformation witnessed in these women, particularly the female creators who are progressing in their careers, is profound. By the end of this year, we will have supported 100 women through this initiative, seeing significant growth in their professional capabilities”.
SILVER WINNER
BINGO – SAR (Poland)
Jury: “This initiative was awarded for its creative approach to addressing a big industry challenge. By putting at the heart of its development an essential aspect of our business, this campaign promotes a vital conversation within our community.“
Paweł Tyszkiewicz, SAR Poland: “We’ve been testing our marketing approaches in well-known spaces, which makes it entertaining for us. These include working with marketing agencies and CEOs. The goal has been to engage more actively by making our initiatives fun to watch, which has successfully increased engagement and participation.In our film we engaged real persons from polish market: agencies, marketers such as Orange, BNP Paribas, IKEA, HUWEI and procurement leaders as Play, AstraZeneca. Historically, we’ve relied on standardized pitches. However, last year, our new board directed a shift towards incorporating more emotional appeals in our campaigns, believing that it could enhance business outcomes. We’ve argued rigorously for our strategies in the past, but now, recognizing the importance of emotional connection, we’re also focusing on personalized interactions. This new approach aims to encourage more clients to commit to the standards we’ve developed over the past four years.”
BRONZE WINNER
IIN – AACC (France)
Jury: “This initiative was lauded by the jury for its commitment to fostering diverse talent within the industry. By offering training and internships, it opens doors for aspiring creatives who may feel excluded, promoting inclusivity and innovation”.
Caroline Fontaine, AACC France: “I’m really enthusiastic about IIN— it’s one of my personal favourites, actually. Agencies generally struggle with inclusion and diversity, and the focus is on fostering connections within communities, including in urban settings, which is especially challenging. Witnessing the outcomes of this program is incredibly moving. I attended their promotion event, and seeing the participants’ transformation was emotional. These individuals, often overlooked and engaged in tough jobs, were given a chance to advance, to be recognized as worthy and capable. Acknowledging them and putting a spotlight on their achievements changes everything. It truly is a win-win situation, and I am so grateful for the impact this program has had”.
BRONZE WINNER
Ad Academy – BACA (Bulgaria)
Jury: “This initiative caught the jury’s attention for its lasting impact and consistency. Its hands-on methodology provides invaluable practical experience to aspiring professionals, fostering a new generation of talent and contributing significantly to the industry’s growth”.
Chavdar Kenarov, BACA Bulgaria: “It is a great honor for the Bulgarian Association of Communications Agencies to be recognized at this prestigious event. Fostering and nurturing well-trained, young talent is a key focus for the communications industry in every market. We are thrilled that the Advertising Academy has become a significant initiative for the professional community in Bulgaria. Since its inception in 2014, this collaborative project has been dedicated to bridging the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience. Together, we can foster meaningful connections, inspire new talent, and drive collective growth within our industry. Congratulations to all the participants and winners of the 1st edition of the EACA Best Practice Awards. We eagerly anticipate the next one. I am delighted to share with you a brief snippet from this year’s Advertising Academy, showcasing our participants’ special creativity and dedication. Let’s take a moment to witness the magic of collaboration and innovation in action”.
SPECIAL MENTION
IPA Effectiveness Accreditation Programme – IPA (UK)
Jury:” This initiative deserves recognition for its commitment to placing effectiveness at the forefront of agency operations. The broad participation of agencies, regardless of size or location, highlights the program’s inclusivity and underscores its relevance across the industry“.
Paul Bainsfair and Joyce Kelso, IPA UK: “We don’t have the Effies in the UK like other countries across Europe, but we do have the IPA Effectiveness Awards, which are regarded as very hard to win and require a dedicated resource to write and submit a paper. This programme encourages agencies to prove their effectiveness credentials as part of their ethos and central to their business culture. If they are able to meet the criteria that we set out, we award them an accreditation, which means they can proudly say that an effectiveness culture is embedded in their quality of work, client relationships and new business processes, even though they haven’t won an actual award. It has had an amazing response”.
SPECIAL MENTION
CommtoZero – ACC (Belgium)
Jury: “This. initiative stands out for its proactive approach to sustainability within the local advertising sector. This project unites the marketing community around sustainability, offering essential tools like a Carbon Calculator at no cost.”
Johan Vandepoel, ACC Belgium: “We wanted to move quickly because we were concerned that others in the industry might launch their individual calculators first. We found an ally in the Belgian client association and decided to work together. Our reasoning was straightforward: if we do it ourselves, we can accomplish it faster and prevent other individual versions. We reached out to all relevant media salehouses and marketing and communication associations, inviting them to collaborate. We committed to doing the legwork, and we successfully completed our project. Now, we’ve had our media calculator completed and our production calculator operational for almost a year, and yes, it’s working effectively.”