Special Group leads the Kiwi agency pack at the shortlist stage of 2021 APAC Effie Awards

June 24 2021, 10:31 pm | BY Ricki Green | No Comments
Special Group leads the Kiwi agency pack at the shortlist stage of 2021 APAC Effie Awards

Special Group New Zealand leads the Kiwi agency pack at the shortlist stage of APAC Effie Awards 2021. The final round of judging has concluded and 123 entries have emerged as finalists and will compete for the highly coveted Effies at this year’s Awards.

 

New Zealand has scored 26 finalists led by Special Group with 13 finalists, followed by Colenso BBDO with six, DDB Aotearoa with five and Pitchblack Partners and dentsu Auckland with one apiece.

These 123 finalists were shortlisted following week-long intense deliberations from some 120 esteemed jurors. In view of the ongoing pandemic, this is the second year running where the final round of judging was conducted virtually, with jurors dialling in from across the region and beyond to participate.

The final round of judging was led by the Awards Chairman, Ashish Bhasin of Dentsu International, and the 8 Heads of Jury – Alex Lubar of McCann Worldgroup, Annette Male of Wunderman Thompson, Christina Lu of AliExpress, Erica Kerner of ONE Championship, Michelle Hutton of Edelman, Shubhranshu Singh of Royal Enfield, Sindhuja Rai of Mondelez International and Takashi Takeda of DoubleVerify.

This year’s finalists consist of entries from 14 territories across Asia Pacific. At the forefront of the shortlist is Australia with 34 finalists, followed by New Zealand with 26 finalists and India with 16 finalists. Leading the pack for the agency and client networks are Ogilvy with 32 finalists and Procter & Gamble with 10 finalists respectively.

Says Bhasin: “I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to the Heads of Jury and our 216 jurors who devoted their time to select the finest works that best represent the APAC region. To enable greater industry participation, we have increased the number of judging panels for both rounds and reduced the number of entries seen at each panel. This has allowed for more time for entries to be evaluated and deliberated. As expected, we have seen great work from the usual suspects this year, but we are also heartened to see a significant number of stellar entries from independent agencies making the shortlist, as well as greater representation from markets like Bangladesh and Pakistan. On behalf of the jury, it is my great pleasure to introduce the finalists for the APAC Effie Awards 2021 and I look forward to honouring all the winners at the Awards Ceremony in September.”

The APAC Effie Awards is one of the industry’s most distinguished accolades for marketing effectiveness. Globally recognised by agencies and clients alike as the gold standard, it continues to champion marketing excellence in the region by rewarding only the most effective works.

The full list of finalists may be accessed here. The winners will be recognised at the Awards Ceremony which will take place in September 2021. More details will be shared as they become available and the latest competition updates can be found at www.apaceffie.com.