Effie Learning Festival Co-Chairs on Why This Year’s Judges Are the Toughest Yet
This year’s Effie Singapore Learning Festival 2024 (ELF) has been extended to a full-day event for the first time, a testament to the growing interest in elevating marketing effectiveness.
Now in full swing, the event aligns with the 21st anniversary of the Effie Awards Singapore. The festival will highlight keynote presentations from Effie APAC Grand Prix-winning campaigns, complemented by insights from some of Singapore's foremost marketing experts.
LBB spoke to the Effie Award Singapore co-chairs, Dhiren Amin and Rowena Bhagchandani, to learn more about the festival’s significance and the rising number of entries despite tougher judging standards being applied this year.
LBB> With ELF being extended to a full-day event this year, what does this expansion signify about the industry's growing focus on marketing effectiveness?
Dhiren and Rowena> The Effie Learning Festival was launched in 2023 as an endeavour to emphasise the role of marketing in driving business effectiveness, through spotlighting the best-in-class Effie cases from the region and from Singapore. In 2024, our objective remains but the change to a full day reflects the interest we have received from the industry. This year, we’ve seen a 50% increase in the attendees who have expressed interest to attend the Effie Learning Festival. We hope that the selfless pursuit of creative effectiveness continues to inspire us and position the Effie Learning Festival as the leading platform for it in years to come.
LBB> What are some of the key insights or trends that you hope attendees will take away from the keynote presentations, particularly those featuring Effie APAC Grand Prix-winning campaigns?
Dhiren and Rowena> We are keen on ensuring that practitioners take away confidence in connecting creative solutions to strong business results. The cases are best-in-class examples and learnings towards achieving that.
To this end, key insights from the 2023 Effie APAC Grand Prix-winning campaigns, such as "Whisper: Changing the education system to keep girls in schools" and "This is Kiwi. and Partners Life: Last Performance Campaign," will focus on showcasing how innovative strategies can connect social impact while achieving business objectives. The Whisper campaign was effective because it tackled the stigma around menstruation, keeping millions of girls in school through education and product access. It linked societal change with brand growth, driving awareness while boosting sales. The Partners Life campaign succeeded by emotionally connecting with consumers, portraying life insurance as a ‘final performance’. This humanised the product, increasing both engagement and policy sales. Attendees will learn not just how these creative approaches contributed to measurable success, but how marketing can drive both societal and business outcomes.
LBB> Given the stricter criteria and balanced jury composition introduced for the 2024 Effie Awards Singapore, how do you believe these changes have influenced the overall quality and innovation of the entries this year?
Dhiren and Rowena> The stricter criteria are in place to ensure a benchmark of quality, to truly demonstrate marketing effectiveness. We had also intentionally appointed a balanced jury, with stronger representation from marketers who are held directly accountable for business impact.
These changes push agencies and brands to be more innovative and encourage a new level of excellence, where effectiveness and originality are at the forefront of every submission. It does not reflect a reduction in the number of medals. On the contrary, there will be more metals awarded in 2024 in comparison to 2023.
LBB> What were some of the challenges in curating this year's festival and awards, especially with the heightened standards? Conversely, what opportunities did these challenges present for elevating the event's impact?
Dhiren and Rowena> There remain gaps in terms of understanding of what “effectiveness” means, which shows in the writing of the cases. The definition of what construes business results and how it can be directly influenced with creative solutions is not universally understood. For the past two years, our jury chairs and heads have been upholding a consistent quality standard, and the changing the jury composition reflects the deep commitment to effectiveness. This is also where the Effie Learning Festival presents itself as a massive opportunity to become the beacon of learning for creative effectiveness within the region.
LBB> Looking ahead, how do you envision the role of the Effie Singapore Learning Festival in shaping the future of marketing in Singapore? What new initiatives or focuses might we expect in the coming years?
Dhiren and Rowena> We hope for Effie Singapore Learning Festival to become the learning platform for creative effectiveness in the region and its scope will grow in service of this objective. Future editions will see the invitation of Global Effie Grand Prix winners presenting their learnings and have the world’s best marketers share their effectiveness success stories. Most importantly, Effie Singapore Learning Festival should be a platform for Singaporean cases to showcase their excellence. Just as Singapore stands out as a little red dot for its quality across the world, we hope that Effie Singapore Learning Festival will stand out for marketing effectiveness globally.
