By A Correspondent
Ever since he took charge in late 2011, Mindshare India boss Ravi Rao has been living out of his suitcase and smartphones. The back-to-back meeting with clients and pitches leaves him little time for much else. While we don’t think these cruel hours at work are healthy, the hard work is paying off. Mr Rao is delighted by the “good, all-round show – right from the effectiveness award for Slice, Pepsico to HUL winning on the back of strong entries”.
The competition was indeed tough, including that coming from within the Group M stable. At the Festival of Media Asia, the premier destination for media agencies and professionals, Mindshare was the Network of the Year.
Other than Mindshare, the top honours went to Million Reasons to Believe in Thailand (Campaign of the Year) submitted by Initiative Thailand for Coca-Cola, OMD Hong Kong (Agency of the Year). The winners in these categories were determined by a points system based on entries appearing in the shortlist and the list of highly commended and winning entries.
Winners were selected from a shortlist of 117 campaigns, presented to an expert panel of 27 industry judges, led by Leonardo O’Grady, ASEAN Integrated Marketing and Communications Director, Coca-Cola. The gruelling two-day judging process saw much deliberation and debate, resulting in the final list of winners.
The 2013 Festival of Media Asia Awards were presented at a gala event at the Sentosa Cove in Singapore last night (March 5). Awards were presented to winners vying across 15 open categories, with an additional three grand prix awards. There were over 400 submissions from over 10 markets across the region.
“We held every entry to the highest standard,” said Leonardo O’Grady, ASEAN Integrated Marketing and Communications Director, Coca-Cola. “We had to make some difficult decisions. Many of the entries were of such a high quality that we struggled to find a clear winner, and one of the things that emerged was that the lines between content and communication have become blurred.”
Mr O’Grady continued, “The Best Communications and Mobile categories were hotly contested and we have also seen some great wins from Thailand, Australia and India.”
“Each and every one of these winners deserves the recognition they have received from the jury.” said Charlie Crowe, Founder of the Festival and CEO of C-Squared, the organizers of the event. “We have seen some exemplary campaigns that have been able to change minds and move people. They represent the best work coming out of Asia, and demonstrate the sheer creative energy and calibre of the industry in this region.”
The Awards ceremony was the grand finale for the three-day Festival of Media Asia 2013, held in Singapore for the second time. This year’s event brought together over 600 influential delegates and over 40 speakers from across Asia and the globe.
The Festival included case studies, panel discussions, and presentations focused around the theme of Mobility. The Festival’s day programme ended with M.A.P, a speed round of presentations from innovative companies looking to be named Hot Company of the Year (according to audience votes) which saw Future Ad Labs emerging on top, as well as the Rising Star Award for promising young talent which went to Stella Su (Yen-Wen Su) from Starcom Taiwan.
- Ravi Rao
As for Ravi Rao, he’s sitting back, delighted. At the shortlists revealed for the Media Abby at Goafest, his agency leads with 20 shortlists. Back to the FOMA wins, he told MxMIndia: “I am extremely proud of the teams including those that made it and got shortlisted.” And what’s next: “Another year and now Goafest beckons.” Well said.
The full list of Festival of Media Asia Award winners is available online at www.festivalofmedia.com/asia/awards.
