CEO of the Media Federation Australia (MFA) Sophie Madden, and new MFA Awards chairman, GroupM’s Greg Graham, talk to AdNews about shifts in this year's big industry event, plans to attract client-side marketers, that Monkey's win, and how to adapt to fit the changing media landscape.
Q: While many across the industry are all too aware of the MFA Awards, for those new to the arena, how would you sum up the MFA Awards? How do they serve a higher industry purpose?
SM – The MFA awards are the only awards that directly support our Media Communications Agency industry. They do this in two ways:
1. Demonstrating the value that media communications agencies bring to a client’s business, by showcasing work that works.
2. They are run by the MFA, which exists to champion our industry. The awards directly contribute to all the MFA programs, programs such as NGEN and MFA 5+.
Q: Who do they appeal to?
GG – They have general industry appeal, from our valuable media partners to the NGeners up to agency CEOs, and anybody who wants to celebrate best practice and great work. Increasingly we are also finding that the awards have greater appeal for clients, particularly as they seek greater collaboration between their agencies and because they are proud of the work when it wins. We will continue to encourage more clients to get involved and enter the Marketer of the Year category. We are also working with the IAB to promote best practice in digital and to lift digital excellence.
Q: How do the awards work/how are they judged etc/what are the metrics?
GG – The first phase of the judging takes place online, followed by face-to-face judging sessions with a panel of judges and a chairperson. This is important because the work can be discussed and debated before a worthy winner is chosen. This year we’ve improved the metrics so that in the majority of categories, the campaign results constitute more than one-third of the overall score and for ‘best demonstration of results’ its 50%.
Plus, we have hand-selected judges with the right skills and expertise for each panel.
Q: Who are the judges?
SM – The MFA awards are judged by a cross section of senior industry representatives: clients, media agency experts, industry experts and media owners. Judges are selected based on their level of expert knowledge and relevance to the category. Each judging panel is designed to ensure a balance representation from all industry sectors.
Q: How can someone/a company etc win and what constitutes as great work?
GG – As far as what constitutes great work, it’s simple: work that works and gets results for clients. To win, agencies must demonstrate real results and provide tangible proof of those results. You can’t just say a campaign was successful without showing what it achieved.
What is new this year compared to last?
SM – This year we have introduced a new category, just for our MFA 5+ community; people with 5 to 10 years’ industry experience. The MFA 5+ program aims to inspire, motivate and develop the MFA5+ community and the MFA 5+ award category has been designed to deliver to this purpose, with a particular focus on developing business skills. In addition to recognition, the winning entrant(s) receive a $5000 Business Scholarship to enhance their career. We’ve been thrilled with our members’ support of this new category and the response from the MFA 5+ community.
Q: Why do entrants now need to provide a written document and why the change?
SM – We are always evolving how we do things. Results are a key driver in our program and while client involvement on entries has always existed, introducing a written client statement in the entry process is a more streamlined and consistent approach.
Q: How have the MFA Awards had to adapt to fit the changing media landscape?
SM – Over time the awards have evolved as the landscape has, such as the introduction of channel-agnostic categories, focus on results, recognition of partners, data categories. We will continue to review the program each year to ensure it reflects the market.
Q: who pushed these changes? Was the industry calling for this or did the MFA board members push this?
SM – The MFA Awards committee has ultimate responsibility for the program. Each year the committee speaks to clients, sponsors, media owners, media experts, MFA members and the MFA Board to review the program to continuously improve what we do.
Q: What sets the MFA awards apart from the other awards?
SM – The focus on results, the judging rigour and the focus on the Media Communication Agency industry. Our industry directly benefits from the MFA awards program.
Aside from the benefits to our industry, the MFA awards also raise funds for agency charity partners through the Pam Lane Pro-Bono category as well as business partnering and raising funds for UnLtd charity benefactors, such as the ‘Lace it up’ campaign for Youth Off the Streets that has now become one of their main activities.
Q: What type of support do the awards get and from whom? Who do you want to support the event and who should get involved?
SM – The awards are heavily supported by the Media Communication Agency industry and our partners; both clients and media owners through sponsorship, entries and attendance.
Q: What contribution do to the MFA Awards have to the wider industry?
SM – The MFA works with the wider industry through joint forums, system and research development and training programs such as NGEN. Without the awards a lot of these programs and initiatives would not be possible. The awards also play an important role in recognising great work by our partners, such as the Partnership award, the Media Owner of the Year award and the Marketing Team of the Year award.
Q: Earlier this year the MFA said it is boosting the rigour of its awards judging this year. What was meant by this and do you plan on following this through?
GG – Absolutely, we are following through by more carefully scrutinising the results submitted with a new layer of rigour to the judging. As mentioned above, clients whose work is being entered must now submit a letter verifying the results. We will also call clients during the judging process to double-check and confirm the work and results submitted.
Q: What best practice tips do you have for award hopefuls?
GG – The number one tip is to get your clients involved and prove that the work has driven results and client growth. If you nail that, you have a very good chance of being successful.
Award hopefuls should also tell a story in the entry, and demonstrate how the work is innovative and pushes the envelope.
Another important piece of advice is to not leave it to the last minute for a mad dash to gather results and find that your client is not available to approve or verify your entry. Plan ahead throughout the year and your entry will benefit from the attention to detail.
Q: At last year’s MFA Awards, creative shop The Monkeys took the Grand Prix prize, which ruffled feathers in some corners of the market. What did you make of this and can we expect more creatives to enter media categories?
GG – The Monkeys winning the Grand Prix wasn’t a huge surprise to me because it’s part of a trend. Just look at Cannes, where more than 50% of the media winners this year were creative agencies. Creative shops are getting more involved in media and that is reflected on the awards circuit. It also didn’t ruffle my feathers. Rather, it inspires me to do great work as more competition enters the market.
Q: The MFA says it’s also hoping to encourage more client side marketers to enter its Marketer of the Year category. Why is this important?
SM – We all know that to deliver great work, you really need a great client who values what you do, gives great briefs and acts like a partner. The MFA has been doing a lot of work with advertisers and our members to identify how our industry can be better at what we do. Upskilling clients on how to be a great client is an area that needs more work and therefore we want to recognise and reward clients that are already working hard to demonstrate great client values and behaviour.
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