From the Greater China region, a notable gold winner on the night was MEC Beijing and its 'Smart: From buzz to buy' initiative for Mercedes Benz, winning gold in both the Most effective use of direct marketing and Most effective use of interactive marketing categories.
In four wins for the DDB Group, DDB China Group won silver for its McDonald's 'Chicken wings challenge' and bronze for 'Stepping into a greener future' for the China Environmental Protection Foundation. A further gold and bronze award went to DDB Group in partnership with PHD for its '70 instant message packs' campaign for Vitasoy Hong Kong.
The Ogilvy network in China scooped five awards, including three bronze and two silver nods. Ogilvy & Mather Hong Kong won bronze and silver for its 'It's in our nature' for Shangri La with its Taiwan office taking bronze for its work for PX Mart. Ogilvy PR Worldwide Beijing won bronze for its 'Pambassador' initiative for the Chengdu Government and OgilvyOne Worldwide Beijing took home silver for 'Iter' for IBM China.
In other wins for the Greater China region, TBWA Tequila Hong Kong took home bronze for Levi Strauss' 'Rule the night' and Grey Hong Kong won silver for its 'Umbrella bags' work for the Lotus Light Charity Society.
A total of 15 gold, 20 silver and 18 bronze awards were handed out across the region on the night hosted by committee chair and global CEO of Ogilvy PR Worldwide Chris Graves.
Clemenger BBDO Proximity Melbourne won the coveted Platinum award in addition to a further six awards for its 'How hiding a restaurant proved that Yellow Pages worked better than ever' for Yellow Pages Australia. The campaign won gold in the Best integrated marketing campaign, Most innovative use of media and Best idea categories.
Speaking at the judges feedback session, Rob Campbell, regional head of strategy at Wieden & Kennedy, said, “We’ve got to make sure we can quantify effectiveness in the right way. It’s not just about sales. Clients are paying money to enhance their brands and build future strength. Anyone can achieve sales, but unless you can quantify against a longer-term vision as opposed to a campaign vision then it doesn’t deserve Platinum.”
Click here for the full list of winners.
The Asian Marketing Effectiveness Festival took place on 12 and 13 May at the Pudong Shangri-La in Shanghai. Close to 400 delegates were in attendance for the first day of sessions which focused on marketing insights from around the world. McCann Worldgroup's Dave McCaughan kicked off day two with a talk on changes in Japan since the earthquake. McCaughan drew on research to show that encouragingly, while a greater sense of caution has entered the public mindset, the overall sentiment points to a relatively fast recovery. Catch more highlights from the Festival in Campaign's selection of galleries.