Mumbrella Awards 2018 entries now open with new transparency initiative for winning entries
Entries into the 2018 Mumbrella Awards, Australia’s biggest and hardest-to-win media and marketing awards, are now open.
In a new move designed to maximise transparency, in the weeks after winners have been announced, Mumbrella will carry articles celebrating the winners in each category, accompanied by the winning entry document.
This change follows Mumbrella’s investigations late last year into wins by Sydney-based agency Atomic 212 in other industry awards, in which a series of incorrect or exaggerated claims were made in its winning entries.
Mumbrella revealed that:
- In its winning entry for independent agency of the year in the B&T Awards, Atomic had incorrectly stated it had been named agency of the year by New York Festivals, Mumbrella and AdNews – none of which was correct.
- In its winning entry for the AdNews Awards, Atomic had claimed a string of account wins when the clients were with other agencies.
- In his winning entry for agency head of the year with Campaign Asia Pacific, which was obtained by Mumbrella, Atomic boss Jason Dooris had incorrectly claimed several account wins.
Mumbrella content director Tim Burrowes said: “In the eight years since we first ran the Mumbrella Awards, we’ve put together the industry’s most experienced panel of jurors. And as the only awards which includes a face-to-face stage of judging in every category, we’ve worked hard to create the conditions where the most deserving winners, win.
“That live judging round sees our jurors ask tough questions, and they do not award unless they are happy with the answers.
“We realise that the new layer of transparency may limit the level of confidential information that can be shared in an entry. However, we believe that full transparency about why entries have won takes precedence.
“As a positive celebration of industry best practice, sharing greater detail about winners is a new opportunity for the whole industry to learn from the best.”
After the awards, Mumbrella will publish a series of articles celebrating the work of each winner, accompanied by the winning entry.
Last year saw a record-breaking number of entries for the Mumbrella Awards, with 560 entries across 30 categories, judged by 120 industry leaders. The same categories will return this year.
For creative agency of the year and media agency of the year, juries will travel to the agencies, while all the other categories see a final round of presentations at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney. The one exception is the best ad category, which will once again be voted by a public opinion poll.
Outside of the agency and campaign awards last year, awards that attracted high entry levels included the Mumbrella Award for Bravery, the Mumbrella Award for Culture, Social Idea of the Year, Under-30 Achiever of the Year and the Mumbrella Award for Insight.
Entries into the Mumbrella Awards can be made online and the awards portal is now open. The closing date is Friday, March 16 while late entries (with an additional fee) will be accepted until Friday, March 23.
Live judging takes place at the Hilton Hotel in Sydney on May 23, whilst finalists in the Media Agency of the Year category will receive a visit from a judging panel on May 22. Creative Agency of the Year finalists will be visited by a judging panel on May 24 or 25.
The awards will be handed out on June 28 at The Star in Sydney, with The Sydney Morning Herald as the headline sponsor. Last year’s event attracted more than 1,000 industry executives who witnessed Clemenger BBDO Melbourne take home the coveted Agency of the Year Award.
Full details of how to enter the Mumbrella Awards are available here.
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