For over two decades, the APEX awards have honoured highly effective communications campaigns in South Africa. As with previous years, the 2017 edition of the awards sees a heavyweight adjudication panel made up of captains of industry from various disciplines including strategy, digital, creative, research, media and marketing as well as agency heads judge the ‘work that works’.
Judges will be looking for campaigns that disrupted the clutter, had extensive reach and communicated via mediums that resonate with the desired consumer. The rigorous adjudication process spans three rounds during which submissions are judged against specific criteria including rigour, degree of difficulty, clarity of evidence, compelling case, and insight.
“APEX affirms the credibility and the value of creativity in business activity. The awards, and more specifically the results attained by the communications campaigns affirm our professions’ contribution to business success. They add and reinforce credence in the profession and affirm its contribution to the broader economy and business success,” says Odette van der Haar, CEO of the Association of Communications and Advertising (ACA) which hosts the annual APEX awards.
Apart from being an essential business tool that affixes value to credentials for agencies, marketers and leading brands, an APEX award is a definitive manifestation of great ideas meeting great results. APEX recognises the work that worked; the campaigns that demonstrated effectiveness in creativity that extends beyond pictures to creative intellect and intellectual property that is the currency of the industry.
Concludes van der Haar: “For agencies, winning an APEX affirms their effectiveness and contribution to their clients’ businesses. For clients, winning an APEX affirms their contribution to their company’s bottom line. Winning an APEX is therefore the ultimate testament to the vital role that effective advertising and marketing communications play in business success.”
The 2017 APEX awards jury members are:
| JUDGE | DESIGNATION | COMPANY |
| Ana Carrapichano | Group Managing Director | Mediology |
| Bridget Johnson | Consulting Executive Creative Director | WICK Consulting |
| Daniel Naidoo | Director Interactive | Gendel Interactive |
| Doug Place | Chief Marketing Officer | Nando’s |
| Elizabeth Lee Ming | Executive Director: Strategy and Digital | TBWA |
| Elouise Kelly | Head of Marketing | SABC |
| Gareth Leck | Group CEO | Joe Public |
| Ivan Moroke | CEO | Co-Currency |
| Katlego Moutlana | Head of Strategy | Mortimer Harvey |
| Lwandile Qokweni | Chief Strategic Officer | MEC Global |
| Marlin van Noie | Creative Partner | Sugar Ray Leonard (SRL+SCC) |
| Mike Jones | Head of Strategy | Native VML |
| Natalie Otte | Head of Brand | Kantar Millward Brown |
| Neil Higgs | Independent Consultant | Retired ex TNS Global |
| Odette van der Haar | CEO | ACA |
| Priniven Pillay | Independent Strategist | |
| Roxy Maqache | Group Business Insights Executive | Tiger Brands |
| Sbu Sitole | Creative Director | The Odd Number |
| Sharon Keith | Marketing Director | Coca-Cola |
| Thabang Ramogase | CEO | Mindshare |
| Thabang Skwambane | Managing Director | FCB, Johannesburg |
| Tshego Tshukutswane | Insight Director | Co-Currency |
| Veli Ngubane | Chief Creative Officer | Avatar |
| Virginia Hollis | Managing Director | Magnetic-Connection |
The 2017 APEX awards is proudly hosted by the ACA with sponsors Kantar Millward Brown, Liberty LIfe and Unilever.
Connect with the ACA on Facebook at ACASouthAfrica and on Twitter @ACA_SA for regular updates on #APEX2017
About the APEX awards
The annual APEX Awards is hosted by the Association for Communication and Advertising (ACA) which is the recognised industry body of the advertising and communications sector of South Africa. APEX recognises and celebrates communications campaigns’ performance excellence by contributing tangibly client’s business and bottom line. Winning an APEX places a real seal on a client and agency team’s achievement because it demonstrates the contribution made by the team through its collaboration and work. Entry into the prestigious APEX Awards is exclusive to agencies that are members the ACA and their clients.
For more information about the APEX awards visit www.acasa.co.za/apex.aspx or call the ACA on (011) 781 2772/3.
The ACA is the official, representative body for the Communications and Advertising profession in South Africa, representing agencies in the profession (who at present contribute approximately 95% of South Africa’s measured ad spend) to government, media and the public. The ACA is a voluntary body formed by and for the industry, focused on and committed to self-regulation and to defending the highest standards of ethical practice.
