MUMBAI: The Digital Asia Festival Awards, honouring the best digital marketing communications across Asia Pacific, has announced this year’s shortlist.
Chaired by Jason Kuperman, vice president of Omnicom Digital Asia Pacific, India, Middle East and Africa, the jury consists of 40 industry professionals with a mix of leading client marketers, digital media practitioners and agency strategists, judged 506 pieces of work based on strategy, creativity and innovation, execution and results with a total of 80 entries making it onto the shortlist. Japan leads with the most shortlisted entries (14), followed by Australia (13), New Zealand (10), China (9), Hong Kong (9), India (7), Singapore (7), The Philippines (5), Malaysia (4) and Thailand (2).
Commenting on the judging process so far and the quality of the work, some jury members had the following to say in a release:
“I found this year’s entries seamlessly integrating technology into the creative leap turning the communication into truly refreshing and engaging consumer experiences. Several of the shortlists had started with a fabulous consumer insight and market/media opportunity that had never been explored before. We saw a lot of first-of-its-kind innovations and we could see technology playing along beautifully with the big idea. That's a very encouraging sign,” said Tigress Tigress founder, CEO and CCO Meera Sharath Chandra.
“Judging the DAF awards this year demonstrates that the region is thinking big and acting big in digital. It's no longer just an add-on to a TV campaign, but brands and agencies are genuinely looking at how they can build participation throughout their initiatives. In a world where we often seem to be obsessed with daily posts on Facebook, it's brilliant to see how much scale and impact can be really achieved with digital innovation,” said Iris Worldwide planning director, APAC regional Paul Gage.
“The work that stood out for me was based on a single sharp insight and a strong idea - simply presented and well executed. Several entries made me go, Aha, wish I had thought of it,” said Infosys global head - digital marketing Ashok Lalla.
The winners of the 2013 awards will be announced online through www.digitalasiafestival.com on 18 November.
