The Media Online’s weekly column delivering news of award wins, entries, competitions, dates to note and winners in the media industry.
South African director wins top global animation prize
The Snail and the Whale, directed by Max Lang and South Africa’s Daniel Snaddon, has won the Annie Award for Best Special Production.
The Annie Awards have been presented by the Los Angeles branch of the International Animated Film Association, ASIFA-Hollywood, each year since 1972 to recognise excellence in animation. This year’s awards were held as a virtual ceremony on Friday, 16 April.
Animated in Cape Town by Triggerfish and produced by Magic Light Pictures, The Snail and the Whale follows the amazing journey of a tiny snail who longs to see the world and hitches a ride on the tail of a huge humpback whale. The 27-minute short film is a joyous, empowering story about the natural wonders of the world and discovering that, no matter how small you are, you really can make a difference.
“We’re delighted to see increased international recognition of what we’ve known for a while: that the South African filmmakers on Showmax can compete with the best in the world,” said Yolisa Phahle, MultiChoice Group CEO for General Entertainment & Connected Video.
Gaming and animation studio Sea Monster named one of Fast Company SA’s Most Innovative Companies
South African gaming and animation studio Sea Monster has been named among the top 20 in Fast Company South Africa’s Most Innovative Companies 2021.
Since 2008, Fast Company’s Most Innovative Companies edition has been the definitive source for recognising organisations that are transforming industries and shaping societies.
Established in 2011, Sea Monster is an innovator that understands that the future of marketing and education is about storytelling and voluntary engagement, and wants to bring those skills, plus the production efficiency from the entertainment industry, to bear on these sectors. Globally, there are very few companies that combine animation and gaming in this space.
“The Covid-19 pandemic has altered nearly every aspect of life, from how we live and work, to how we consume information, making innovation more important than ever before – and critical to driving post-crisis growth,” said Sea Monster CEO Glenn Gillis, adding that they are extremely honoured with the Fast Company recognition.
Offlimit Communications scores top marks in the MEA Awards 2020
Multi-award winning through-the-line agency, Offlimit Communications (OLC), scooped another notable accolade at the recent 2020 MEA Business Awards hosted by MEA Markets. The agency has been named as Africa’s Leading Through-The-Line Agency 2020.
With South Africa as their flagship operations, the agency has well established integrated through-the-line operations in Zambia, Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya and Ghana and the wider African region as well.
“As OLC we pride ourselves in our business philosophy to always “do work that matters”. 2020 was an exceptionally challenging year and in true OLC fashion, we never cower when we face a challenge. We carry a strong determined team whose can-do attitude, resilience and hard work has paid off. The award is a true testament of the agency that we are, and the work that we are proud to deliver to all our client partnerships,” said OLC CEO Jérôme Cohen.
Business partners Jérôme Cohen, Garon Bloom, Lisa Alton and Shereen Palmer cited that the win would not have possible without the support of their client partnerships who allow them to challenge OLC consistently to deliver award winning work.
Superdry has won the Positive Change Award
The award-winning Drapers Sustainable Fashion conference explored the latest developments in cleaning up fashion’s supply chain, and looked at how they could build the industry back better after the coronavirus pandemic. The awards also celebrated the progress the industry continues to make in becoming more sustainable, from the best circularity initiatives to the textile innovations driving change. With this said, Superdry has won the Positive Change Award.
Sustainability remains one of the top priorities for fashion retailers and brands. Experts believe now is an excellent time to work towards a cleaner future for fashion, using the disruption caused by Covid-19 as an opportunity to examine how businesses operate, and change for the better.
Sustainability is no longer a “nice to have”, but a mainstream and fundamental foundation from which forward – thinking fashion brands and retailers will be able to attract investment – and customers, who now demand more ethical and environmentally friendly products.
Applications to judge 2021 Effie Awards South Africa announced
The Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) has invited representatives of the marketing and communication industry to apply for consideration to be selected to the 2021 Effie Awards South Africa judging panel.
Judging helps team members better understand the Effie experience from a judge’s point of view – particularly what made the stronger entries stand out, and what caused the weaker entries to score lower. Further to that, it’s also a great opportunity to network with industry peers and gain valuable insights into the industry and the work that delivers on effectiveness.
The judging procedure is conducted in two rounds to select the most effective cases of the year. The Effie Awards South Africa will furthermore select one case to be judged the ‘Grand Effie’ or overall winner. The winner of this award is either the top scoring case or is selected by a panel of judges from the top tier of gold-winning cases. The Grand Effie winner case not only demonstrates its capability to be effective but also displays a revolutionary breakthrough within the industry.
Agency and client representatives interested in participating are invited to apply online via the Effie South Africa website by navigating to //effieawards.co.za/judging/.
Call for nominations for the 9th Gender Mainstreaming Awards 2021
The Gender Mainstreaming Awards (GMA) are back in 2021 with the aim, once again, to reward organisations and individuals that are at the forefront and are advancing the business case for gender diversity in Africa. The awards are set to take place throughout Africa on 9 September 2021.
An initiative of Business Engage, this year’s 9th GMA ceremony follows hot on the heels of a highly successful first ever virtual ceremony held in 2020, which was watched by over 2000 attendees across the continent despite a raging pandemic.
“The year 2020 brought with it some unprecedented changes the world over and as with every industry, we had no choice but to quickly adapt. So, we made the decision that global lockdowns or not, the Gender Mainstreaming Awards experience must never stop,” said Colleen Larsen, Chief Executive of Business Engage and President of the 30% Club East and Southern Africa.
There are also two individual categories, the Inclusive Leader Award and the Positive Role Model Award.
The sponsors for the 2021 awards, who are themselves making major contributions in their respective industries towards gender mainstreaming are Accenture (naming rights sponsor), ABSA and Barloworld.
There is no cost to submitting an application and all applications can be done on the Gender Mainstreaming Awards website. Entries close on 31 May 2021 and the awards ceremony will take place virtually on 09 September 2021. To submit your nomination and to be part of the virtual awards ceremony go to www.genderawards.com.
Direct & integrated marketing industry urged to enter Assegai Awards
The Direct Marketing Association of SA (DMASA) has opened entries open for the country’s premier integrated marketing awards. The Assegai Awards annually showcase the direct marketing industry leaders who have delivered exceptional work over the previous year.
To enter the DMASA Assegai Integrated Marketing Awards, marketers simply select the Award Categories they would like to enter and then prepare submissions of less than 300 words. More information can be found at www.assegaiawards.co.za
“Since 1998, these awards have been raising the bar in our industry and they’ve done this by focusing primarily on Return On Investment (ROI). To earn Assegai gold, one needs to understand how to deliver the highest ROI in a way that pleases both the consumer and the brand,” said DMASA CEO, David Dickens.
“The Assegais ask for more than mere creativity – our clients demand returns and our members must figure out how to reach for the stars while being rooted in the rands and cents of the bottom line.”
For more information, email info@dmasa.org or visit www.dmasa.org.
