Malaysia's 4As announces major changes for Kancil Awards

MALAYSIA - The Kancil Awards will undergo a major overhaul with revamped categories and the addition of online viewing of submissions starting the next award season slated to begin in the first quarter of 2017.

A statement released by the Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) said the changes are initiated to promote transparency and institute inclusiveness. The channel-based categories implemented until recently will be replaced with four new categories under different aims: 

• Business: Elevate creativity to overcome complexity of marketing.
• Channel: Recognise the importance of using the right channels and effective targeting.
• Craft: Distinguish good crafting and its values towards brand building and storytelling.
• Special awards: Applaud all talents involved in brand building including public relations, insights and strategy, technology and big data.

Tan Kien Eng, Kancil Awards Creative Council chairman, confirmed that the move to introduce a month-long public viewing of submissions uploaded online is intended to re-establish the credibility of the awards.

Eight awards won by Dentsu Utama were revoked last year over plagiarism accusations; the episode resulted in representatives of the agency resigning from 4As. 

"The public is encouraged to share their constructive opinions and raise concerns if they encounter any suspicious submissions to allow the 4As to investigate and take appropriate action before judging commences," said Tan. To promote better understanding of great advertising work, a client representative will be included in each judging panel made up by international and local creative leaders.

Apart from the revamped categories and judging procedure, other changes include a new entry format that allows agencies to submit creative work either as a single entry or a campaign. For example, a five-piece work submitted for a campaign cannot be re-entered as five single entries. The new date will make way for the full body of work created by agencies this year to be eligible for the awards next year.

The facelift marks the first transformation for Kancil Awards in 20 years. Tan said the industry's continual transformation—the use of big data, convergence of multiple disciplines and media platforms, disruptive technological advancement—mandated change for the awards. Johnny Mun, 4As president, said the revamp is required for the annual award to remain relevant and adaptable to changing business models. "The 4As collectively agreed to restructure the Kancil Awards to be more inclusive to all business sectors and talents, and be transparent in the work submissions and the judging process," said Mun.