This year’s Bookmark Awards, hosted for the first time via the IAB SA digital channels and local press network, were a true celebration of young, emerging talent in the digital industry.
That’s the word from IAB SA CEO, Paula Hulley, who said it was exciting to see South Africa’s future leaders “front and centre” of the awards in 2020. A new initiative, Front Row, was launched at the same time. Its aim, said Hulley, was to “further increase our engagement with the future leaders of our industry while bringing in a fresh, and different, perspective to the IAB SA as a whole”.
She added that platforms such as the 2020 Bookmark Awards, IAB SA Front Row and IAB SA Youth Action Council, would “provide easier access to information and platforms of engagement while creating valuable collaborative spaces and the opportunity to ‘sit at the table’ with seasoned industry leaders at the highest level”.
Joe Public Connect’s Nosipho Maseko won the award for Best Digital Youngster and Jessica van der Westhyzen, head of digital and performance at OneDayOnly, won the award for Best Digital Marketer. Kyle Gounden and Lesego Molaudi from IIE-Vega were honored as the best digital students.
The Bookmarks 90 diverse judges assessed the entries based on stringent, results-based criteria culminating 139 winners that were truly representative of the South African digital landscape. The 2020 results included 15 Gold Pixels, 47 Silver Pixels and 67 Bronze awards across 71 categories.
Joe Public United was celebrated for the Best Contribution to Transformation in the Digital Industry while digital education was also emphasised in the award for Best Individual Contribution to Digital being awarded to Musa Kalenga, from House of Brave.
Creativity with a social conscience was a strong theme with Ogilvy and Rape Crises awarded the Pixel for Purpose award for its #SpeaktoUs campaign and Thomas Holder from Primedia Broadcasting winning the award for Best Online Journalist.
“To win at The Bookmarks demonstrates excellence in achieving business results through the power of digital, Andrea Quaye, 2020 Bookmarks Jury President. “It has been incredible to see the inspiring work awarded this year, that stands out for its innovation, creativity, impact and effectiveness. The 2020 Bookmarks has recognised the best in digital from the year gone by, while signalling the future of digital excellence and succeeding in the digital economy. Congratulations to all the 2020 Bookmarks Winners”.
In terms of publishers, Primedia won Gold for New Online Video, with a Silver going to the Daily Maverick for its video on the VBS Bank Heist. Arena Holdings won Bronze for TimesLIVE”s multimedia story, How a gifted young girl was kidnapped and murdered: The Siam Lee story.
Arena Holdings, Daily Maverick, 24.com and Primedia Broadcasting all received Bronze as publisher sites.
TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, shortlisted for 38 awards in this year’s IAB Bookmark Awards, topped the charts as Digital Agency of the Year bringing home four golds – for Digital Strategy, Craft Excellence in Online Video Production, Channel: Online Video and Craft: Excellence in Software, Coding & Tech Innovation.
It also won six silvers – for Digital Strategy, 2x Digital Integrated Campaign, Branded Content, Innovative Use of Media and Excellence in Marketing and Copywriting. The agency also bagged nine bronze awards – in Channel: Online Video Series, Craft: Excellence in Strategy, Craft Excellence in Online Video Production, Channel: Innovative use of media; Channel: Online Video; Channel Innovation; 2x Community: Social Media Campaign and Platform Innovation.
Karabo Denalane, CEO, TBWA\Hunt Lascaris, congratulated the Bookmarks for taking the step of not only hosting the awards online “but doing so in such a great way”. Denalane said the awards were important because the took the time to” spotlight critical work that reflects the integration of digital and storytelling as well as the innovative ways brands are exploring their roles in this new age”.
VMLY&R South Africa won 14 awards, including a gold at the 2020 IAB Bookmark Awards.
“We are very proud to have come away with 14 Bookmarks wins, including a gold. It’s awesome to see our work winning across broad categories and especially work that used creativity to make a real difference to our client’s businesses,” said VMLY&R South Africa CCO, Ryan McManus. “Huge congrats to our clients and all at VMLY&R for yet another amazing result.”
VMLY&R South Africa was awarded Bookmarks for Hollard, Edgars and Nando’s. The gold win for Hollard InstaStory Books tackled South Africa’s critical literacy crisis, especially in the foundation phases of early childhood reading and writing, by using social media for social good by turning the popular Instagram InstaStory feature that only lasts 24hrs, into a mechanism for crowdsourcing children’s books – that would have a lasting impact in the lives of South African children.
Click here for the full winners list or see below.
