Adairs, Harvey Norman NZ and Duffy all big names at 27th annual ACA Awards in Melbourne

The Australasian Catalogue Association (ACA) hosted its 27th Annual ACA Awards last Friday night highlighting a strong focus on effective marketing with the addition of new categories – point of sale, customer insights and corporate social responsibility. New Zealand retailers entered in the open categories and taking on their Australian colleagues.

The event, held at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre’s prestigious Melbourne Room, was a successful evening celebrating print as a strong marketing platform across Australia and New Zealand. With an attendance of over 600 guests, the room was filled with retailers, creatives, agencies, printers and distributors all awaiting to hear who had been crowned as award winners of the night. Australia’s funny-man, Dave O’Neil, kept everyone entertained as master of ceremonies throughout the 41-category ceremony.

This year’s international Awards program saw New Zealand retailers go up against their Australian rivals for the first time after having their own category for the past two years.

Says Kellie Northwood, chief executive officer, ACA: “After two years of including New Zealand centric categories, we thought it was time to blur the lines and let our Kiwi friends compete against Australia’s finest. We are delighted to continue to showcase their brilliant content and the creative work coming out of New Zealand this year did not disappoint.”

New Zealand retailers came out fighting this year showing great strength in their campaigns. Kathmandu on top for the second year in a row winning the Recreation and Leisure award for ‘Camping, Outdoor Goods and Miscellaneous’. They developed a catalogue that reflected the evolution of their products for customers to explore and do more with less. The Winter Sale 2017 catalogue had a huge effect on brand recognition and store visitation from both loyalty members and new customers.

Says Jennifer Humphries, advertising manager, Kathmandu: “The team at Kathmandu is honoured to receive the award for Camping, Outdoor Goods and Miscellaneous. The core of our brand is our passion for travel and adventure, and we are so proud to be acknowledged for all our hard work. We are an in-house team who cares about our output.”

Duffy Books in Homes was a finalist in the Corporate Social Responsibility category ‘Excellence in Corporate Social Responsibility – Diversity, Environment, Community’ for their ‘Govt Book Offer 2018’ catalogue. They developed a publication that aligned with The Alan Duff Charitable Foundation supplying free books to over 100,000 New Zealand children. Duffy Books in Homes report the results by Government researchers show a 35% improvement in reading and writing skills.

The night was not all Awards as the major announcement of the evening was that the ACA will merge with two other industry Associations, APIA and TSA Limited, to form The Real Media Collective. ‘Real’ media pays homage to the physical nature of print, and ‘real’ connecting with real results, return on investment, engagement and activation.

Says Northwood: “Well done to all New Zealand entrants. All retailers produced excellent work demonstrating the power of print marketing and how the medium can be leveraged to convey brand equity through sustainable values and strong brand dialogue. We look forward to seeing what the New Zealand retailers will bring next year for The Real Media Awards.”

The Major Australasian Catalogue Awards Winners and Finalists:

Agency of the Year (Sponsored by Fairfax Media)

Winner: BMF

Finalists: Clemenger BBDO, Hardie Grant Media, Kmart In-House Team and TBWA Sydney & Maud

Best Emerging Designer (Sponsored by Sierra Delta, PMP Limited and SBM)

Winners: Britt Lloyd of Priceline Studio

Finalists: James Dulce of Target, Vicky Kijumnuayporn of GP Advertising, and Samantha Foster of Silvan (The Spraying Speciaists)

Best Emerging Talent (Sponsored by Shopfully)

Winner: Rhiannon Jansma of BMF

Finalists: Kevin Mui of BMF, Emma Yerbury of BCF, and Angela Vella of Woolworths

Judge’s Choice (Sponsored by DIC)

Winner: Myer – ‘Christmas #2 Augmented Reality’ produced by Clemenger BBDO

Finalists: ALDI – ‘Snow Gear’ produced by BMF, David Jones – ‘Mr. Jones Autumn Winter 2018 produced by Medium Rare Content Agency and Woolworths – ‘Marrickville Metro’ produced by M&C Saatchi

Catalogue Retailer of the Year – up to 1.5m (sponsored by Norske Skog)

Winner: David Jones – ‘AW18 Brand Book Two’ produced by TBWA Sydney & Maud

Finalists: Malouf Pharmacies – ‘Christmas Gift Book’ produced by PEP Central, Nutrimetrics – ‘Nutrimetics Catalogue 2018’ produced by Nutrimetrics In-House Team, and Travel Associates – ‘Inspirations – Anniversary Edition’ produced by Travel Associates In-House Team

Catalogue Retailer of the Year – up to 3.5m (sponsored by UPM Kymmene)

Winner: Myer – ‘Adventure Lives Here’ produced by Clemenger BBDO

Finalists: Adairs – ‘Autumn Sale 2018’ produced by Adairs In-House Team, Beacon Lighting – ‘Designer Lighting & Fan Collection’ produced by Beacon Lighting In-House Team, Domayne – ‘Sight & Sound’ produced by GP Advertising, and Harvey Norman – ‘Upgrade & Accomplish Anything With A Modern PC’ produced by GP Advertising

Catalogue Retailer of the Year – over 3.5m (sponsored by Stora Enso)

Winner: ALDI – ‘Snow Gear 2017’ produced by BMF

Finalists: Big W – ‘Winter Home – There’s No Home Like Yours’ produced by Big W In-House Team, Dan Murphy’s – ‘Christmas Buyer’s Guide’ produced by Hardie Grant Media, Kmart – ‘Inspired Living’ produced by Kmart In-House Team, and Woolworths – ‘Marrickville Metro’ produced by M&C Saatchi

For a full listing of winners and finalists, click here.