#ResetCreativity: enter the 2024 FM AdFocus Awards now

The Financial Mail is thrilled to announce that entries for the 2024 edition of the FM AdFocus Awards are now open.

Launched in 1990, these prestigious annual awards have become a landmark event in the local marketing and communications landscape, celebrating agencies and individuals for their creativity, marketing skills and all-round business acumen.

This year's awards are themed #ResetCreativity as a reminder of the SA creative industry's superpower: defying expectations and consistently breaking new barriers of excellence.

“Over the past several years, our industry, much like our country, has endured a sustained period of difficult conditions,” says Luca Gallarelli, group CEO of TBWA\SA and FM AdFocus Awards chair.

“It’s possible that these difficulties have blinded us to our enormous resource of creative talent. It is literally limitless. Therefore, we hope the theme of this year's FM AdFocus Awards will serve as a reminder of [SA creatives'] proud legacy of excellence in the advertising industry and beyond. 

“Our challenges remain vast, but, if any group of people is up to the task, it is us. From our world-renowned beekeepers to the victory-stealing Bokke, we are a nation of champions, lest we forget.”

Gallarelli, who is serving his second term as AdFocus Awards chair, adds that he's looking forward to sifting through this year’s entries, together with the award's esteemed panel of jurors. 

“Together we can gauge the status of our industry and reward the crème de la crème of SA’s brilliant, world-class creatives.”

Jurors

As is tradition with the FM AdFocus Awards, a number of new jurors will join second-term jury members as they determine 2024's winners. The judging process and results are audited by Deloitte.

Returning jurors include: 

• Pepe Marais, co-founder and group CCO of Joe Public;
• Dean Oelschig, MD and founder of Halo;
• Vicki Buys, MD of Ogilvy CT; and
• Sadika Fakir, group executive: Digital Marketing & Media at Absa.

The new jury members are: 

• Katherine Madley, VP of Marketing at Massmart;
• Sharleen James, director of Accenture Song;
• Dustin Chick, partner and MD of Razor PR (M&C Saatchi);
• Chris Botha, group MD of Park Advertising;
• Sbu Sithole, founder and CCO of The Odd Number;
• Grant Macpherson, CMO of KFC;
• Nkgabiseng Motau, founding partner and CCO of Think Creative;
• Thabang Skwambane, group CEO of the Nahana Group; and
• Yatish Narsi, CMO of the MultiChoice Group.

Award categories

Advertising awards:

• Large Advertising Agency of the Year
• Medium Advertising Agency of the Year
• Small Advertising Agency of the Year
• Media Agency of the Year
• Specialist Agency of the Year
• Public Relations Agency of the Year

Agency awards:

• Agency Group of the Year
• Partnership of the Year
• African Impact Award
• Transformation Award
• Adaptability Award

The overall award, Agency of the Year, is selected out of the entries by the jury. 

Nominated individual awards:

• Shapeshifter of the Year
• Industry Leader of the Year
• Lifetime Achievement Award
• Student of the Year

How to enter

To enter the 2024 FM AdFocus Awards, you’ll need to complete an online questionnaire and submit supporting documents on the AdFocus Awards website.

Here’s how to do so, step-by-step:

1. Click here to register an account on the AdFocus Awards website.

2. You’ll be sent a confirmation email to verify your account.

3. Log in to the AdFocus Awards website.

4. Fill in the questionnaire for the award category you'd like to enter: 

• Select “Agency Awards” for agency award questionnaires.
• Select “Nominations” for individual award questionnaires.
• For advertising awards, first select “Agency Details” and ensure that the type of agency is reflected in the drop-down menu that (for example large, medium and so on) corresponds with the award category you'd like to enter, then click “Save”. Next select “Entry Details” for the questionnaire. 
  

You’ll note that each questionnaire requires supporting documents (such as a case study or BEE certificate) to be uploaded. To upload these documents, simply click on the “Upload Files” button at the bottom of the page. Once uploaded, the filenames of these documents will appear in a list below the button, which will serve as confirmation of your upload.

5. Once you've completed the relevant questionnaire click the “Submit” button. 

Entries close at midnight on September 12 2024.

Advertising and sponsorship opportunities

As always, the results of this year's awards will form the basis of the annual FM AdFocus Awards supplement published by the Financial Mail.

For advertising and sponsorship opportunities, email Kay Naidoo or Debbie Montanari at Arena Holdings, the publisher of Financial Mail, or Dean Ebden at Oxygen Media.

For more information about the awards, visit the FM AdFocus Awards website.