Joe Public takes top honours at the 2023 FM AdFocus Awards
Jury chair Luca Gallarelli says the winners set the standard for an industry in desperate need of confidence and examples of excellence
22 November 2023 - 20:30
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The 2023 FM AdFocus Award winners. Picture: Supplied
Joe Public is the 2023 FM AdFocus Agency of the Year, winning the hotly contested Large Agency of the Year Award and the Transformation Award at an awards ceremony held in Joburg last night.
Joe Public, said the judges, stood out for its continued creative success, its growth on the back of the Nedbank digital account win and its strong transformation story, which continues to set the benchmark in the industry.
Hot on Joe Public’s heels is TBWA\South Africa, which won both the Group of the Year Award and the African Impact Award.
This year’s FM AdFocus Awards winners are:
Overall Agency of the Year: Joe Public
Small Advertising Agency of the Year: Retroviral
Medium Advertising Agency of the Year: Grid Worldwide
Large Advertising Agency of the Year: Joe Public
Group Agency of the Year: TBWA\South Africa
Public Relations Agency of the Year: Weber Shandwick
Specialised Agency of the Year: Levergy
Media Agency of the Year: The MediaShop
Partnership of the Year (sponsored by IAS & Scopen): Ogilvy and Carling Black Label
African Impact Award: TBWA\South Africa
Adaptability: Two Tone Global
Transformation Award: Joe Public
Student of the Year (sponsored by Park Advertising): Jané Louw, Cape Town Creative Academy
Lifetime Achievement Award: Ann Nurock, Africa partner of Relationship Audits & Management
Industry Leader of the Year: Pete Case, CEO and creative chair, Ogilvy South Africa
Shapeshifter: Yatish Narsi, chief marketing officer at MultiChoice
FM Creative Challenge: Demographica
Congratulating the winners, AdFocus jury chair and TBWA\South Africa CEO Luca Gallarelli said that across categories, this year’s winners all demonstrated a strong fundamental belief in what they do while reimagining how they do business. “Without exception, they have set the standard for an industry in desperate need of confidence and examples of excellence.”
AdFocus project director Jadi Tillim said: “The FM Adfocus AdFocus Awards evening is a big event for the brand. We get to celebrate with the best ad agencies in the country and mark the end of another year of successful partnerships with our advertisers and readers. And the FM AdFocus magazine goes out on the night too. It’s the go-to publication for the entire industry — featuring a collection of opinion pieces, interviews, surveys and rankings. It’s also probably the best-looking issue we’ve ever produced ….”
The FM AdFocus Awards have become a landmark on the South African marketing and communications landscape. But just as that landscape has changed, so too have the AdFocus judging criteria, to reflect the priorities of the industry. The awards recognise agencies and individuals not just for their creative and marketing skills but also for their all-round business acumen. Industry peers make up this year’s awards jury while the judging process and results were audited by PFK.
The AdFocus Awards were presented at a ceremony hosted by Arena Events at The Empire, with Msizi James acting as master of ceremonies for the evening. Breadbin Productions, the pioneer of virtual production content in South Africa, was responsible for creative production. Heineken Silver was the pouring partner for the event. Guests and winners partied to music supplied by DJ Scara. For more information on the AdFocus Awards visit www.adfocus.co.za
The big take-out:
Joe Public stood out for its continued creative success, its growth on the back of the Nedbank digital account win and its strong transformation story, which continues to set the benchmark in the industry.
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Joe Public takes top honours at the 2023 FM AdFocus Awards
Jury chair Luca Gallarelli says the winners set the standard for an industry in desperate need of confidence and examples of excellence
Joe Public is the 2023 FM AdFocus Agency of the Year, winning the hotly contested Large Agency of the Year Award and the Transformation Award at an awards ceremony held in Joburg last night.
Joe Public, said the judges, stood out for its continued creative success, its growth on the back of the Nedbank digital account win and its strong transformation story, which continues to set the benchmark in the industry.
Hot on Joe Public’s heels is TBWA\South Africa, which won both the Group of the Year Award and the African Impact Award.
This year’s FM AdFocus Awards winners are:
Congratulating the winners, AdFocus jury chair and TBWA\South Africa CEO Luca Gallarelli said that across categories, this year’s winners all demonstrated a strong fundamental belief in what they do while reimagining how they do business. “Without exception, they have set the standard for an industry in desperate need of confidence and examples of excellence.”
AdFocus project director Jadi Tillim said: “The FM Adfocus AdFocus Awards evening is a big event for the brand. We get to celebrate with the best ad agencies in the country and mark the end of another year of successful partnerships with our advertisers and readers. And the FM AdFocus magazine goes out on the night too. It’s the go-to publication for the entire industry — featuring a collection of opinion pieces, interviews, surveys and rankings. It’s also probably the best-looking issue we’ve ever produced ….”
The FM AdFocus Awards have become a landmark on the South African marketing and communications landscape. But just as that landscape has changed, so too have the AdFocus judging criteria, to reflect the priorities of the industry. The awards recognise agencies and individuals not just for their creative and marketing skills but also for their all-round business acumen. Industry peers make up this year’s awards jury while the judging process and results were audited by PFK.
The AdFocus Awards were presented at a ceremony hosted by Arena Events at The Empire, with Msizi James acting as master of ceremonies for the evening. Breadbin Productions, the pioneer of virtual production content in South Africa, was responsible for creative production. Heineken Silver was the pouring partner for the event. Guests and winners partied to music supplied by DJ Scara. For more information on the AdFocus Awards visit www.adfocus.co.za
The big take-out:
Joe Public stood out for its continued creative success, its growth on the back of the Nedbank digital account win and its strong transformation story, which continues to set the benchmark in the industry.
Here are the 2023 AdFocus Awards finalists
2022 FM AdFocus Awards winners announced
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