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APMA chairman lashes culture of procurement saying ‘creativity only survives against all odds’

Dave Lo speaking at the Star Awards

Dave Lo speaking at the Star Awards

The chairman of the Australian Promotional Marketing Association (APMA) Dave Lo has taken a huge swipe against the use of procurement processes by businesses to hire agencies saying it is  creating an environment where “everything is costed and yet nothing is valued”.

Lo, founder of Zoo Republic, made the remarks in his opening address at last night’s Star Awards which honour the best of experiential and promotional marketing, on a night dominated by Leo Burnett Melbourne which took home six Gold awards and the Grand Prix for its work with SPC Ardmona and Honda.

He said: “We are being asked to do more with less and many businesses underestimate the commercial power and impact of a truly great commercial idea.

“Many of us are reviewed by finance and procurement teams who have little or no understanding of creative power or our creative process, and we often find ourselves defending our worth in an environment where everything is costed and yet nothing is valued.

“So I’d like to ask all of you to give each other a big round of applause tonight just for being here, for being finalists and working in an industry where somehow passion and creativity only survive against all the odds.”

The majority of Leo’s success came for the #MyFamilyCan campaign for SPC Ardmona, which won four Golds and the Grand Prix for best in show, and two Golds for campaigns for Honda,  for the Be Our Best Critic and Magic Mobile Drive-In campaigns.

Heineken also enjoyed success with the Tui Catch A Million campaign from ApolloNation New Zealand and Momentum Worldwide’s Heineken Chauffeur campaign, while Samsung’s Sideliner by Traffik  also grabbed two Golds.

The winners:

GRAND PRIX

CAMPAIGN: #MyFamilyCan

CLIENT: SPC Ardmona

AGENCY: Leo Burnett Melbourne

APMA IGNITE YOUNG ACHIEVER OF THE YEAR

Nicole Hetherington (BMF)

BEST CAMPAIGN MOST LIKELY TO DRIVE BEHAVIOUR

Winner

CAMPAIGN: Heineken Chauffeur

CLIENT: Heineken Lion

AGENCY: Momentum Worldwide

BEST INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN (UNDER $1 MILLION)

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Tui ‘Catch A Million’

CLIENT: Heineken New Zealand

AGENCY: ApolloNation

BEST INTEGRATED COMMUNICATIONS CAMPAIGN (OVER $1 MILLION)

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Heineken Chauffeur

CLIENT: Heineken Lion

AGENCY: Momentum Worldwide

BEST SPONSORSHIP OR TIE-IN CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Samsung SlideLiner

CLIENT: Samsung Australia

AGENCY: Traffik

BEST SHOPPER MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: #MyFamilyCan

CLIENT: SPC Ardmona

AGENCY: Leo Burnett Melbourne

MOST INNOVATIVE IDEA/CONCEPT

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Samsung SlideLiner

CLIENT: Samsung Australia

AGENCY: Traffik

BEST BRAND BUILDING CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: #MyFamilyCan

CLIENT: SPC Ardmona

AGENCY: Leo Burnett Melbourne

BEST BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS CAMPAIGN (BUSINESS TRADE OR INTERNAL)

Gold

CAMPAIGN: iNova Partner Programme: Grand Slam 2014

CLIENT: iNova Pharmaceuticals

AGENCY: The Idea Shed

BEST RETAIL ACCOUNT SPECIFIC OR CHANNEL SPECIFIC CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: #MyFamilyCan

CLIENT: SPC Ardmona

AGENCY: Leo Burnett Melbourne

BEST EVENT OR EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Samsung SlideLiner

CLIENT: Samsung Australia

AGENCY: Traffik

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MARKETING IN A CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: #GivePeace

CLIENT: General Pants Co

AGENCY: Bashful

BEST CAUSE OR CHARITY-RELATED CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Queen Elizabeth tribute to 100 Years of ANZAC

CLIENT: Cunard

AGENCY: April5 Agency

BEST ACTIVITY GENERATING BRAND AWARENESS AND TRIAL

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Be Our Best Critic

CLIENT: Honda Australia

AGENCY: Leo Burnett Melbourne

BEST ACTIVITY GENERATING BRAND VOLUME

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Sealord Little Boat

CLIENT: Sealord

AGENCY: Geometry Global New Zealand

BEST ACTIVITY GENERATING BRAND LOYALTY

Gold

CAMPAIGN: #MyFamilyCan

CLIENT: SPC Ardmona

AGENCY: Leo Burnett Melbourne

BEST SMALL BUDGET CAMPAIGN ($75,000 AND UNDER)

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Queen Elizabeth tribute to 100 Years of ANZAC

CLIENT: Cunard

AGENCY: April5 Agency

BEST USE OF CREATIVE IN A CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: Magic Mobile Drive-In

CLIENT: Honda Australia

AGENCY: Leo Burnett Melbourne

BEST USE OF DIGITAL IN A CAMPAIGN

Gold

CAMPAIGN: 30 Nights of Nookie

CLIENT: Reckitt Benkiser

AGENCY: Momentum Worldwide

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