APG STRATEGY AWARDS
ENTRIES NOW OPEN
APG Strategy Awards 2016
Welcome to the 2016 APG Strategy Awards – a search for brilliantly influential strategic thinking.
These awards showcase the best of our planning community and provide you with a unique opportunity to
demonstrate your strategic thinking. This year the awards have been updated to reflect the wider remit of modern
planning, and the different types of planning across a range of agencies, from creative, to media, to digital, PR
and beyond. This will be judged in newly created categories to ensure that like is judged with like. Awards will be
allocated for Gold, Silver and Bronze, with a best in show Grand Prix awarded for overall excellence. Our judges are
looking for evidence of how your strategy or strategic input has had a significant influence in terms of solving the
challenge.
A series of special prizes is also available for entrants to showcase areas of specific focus. Use the entry details
following to guide you through preparation of your papers.
Good luck!
APG Australia
Why we have these Awards
To reward influential thinking that demonstrates the value of strategy.
What the Judges are looking for
The awards recognise thinking that has provided a
strategic solution to a real business, brand, marketing
or communications challenge. Judges will be looking
at the difficulty of challenge, the nature and quality of
your strategic input, the influence that strategic thinking
had and lastly, whether there is anything new that
planning can learn from this. In all cases, the thinking
should be robust, intelligent and above all influential. In
1200 words, your submission will show the judges, how
your strategy was developed and the influence it had
throughout the evolution of the idea/ solution.
Winning submissions are those that best demonstrate
how the strategy influenced and therefore maximised the
opportunities for the brand, product or client.
Considerations for structuring your paper
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What was the client challenge? Why was this hard
to solve?
What was your strategy, how was it developed?
What did you have to solve/overcome to get to it?
Identify the strengths of the strategic thinking
What influence did this thinking have? On who,
what, when? Why was this significant?
What lessons can we learn to enhance the
planning process?
What insights or data helped you get there?
© 2016 The Communications Council | [email protected] | Ph 02 8297 3800 | communicationscouncil.org.au
HOW TO ENTER
Entering a Case Study
Case studies may be entered on behalf of corporate, government or charitable organisations. Papers may be
submitted by an individual or more than one person.
All papers are judged on individual merits, within the relevant category. The judging panel will determine the
allocation of awards based on the calibre of all entries, with an overall Grand Prix awarded.
1. Choose a Category
Please choose which category or categories you wish to enter (you may enter more than one). Each category is
judged separately and incurs an entry free. Please orient your paper to the appropriate category it is entered in.
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Business Planning (i.e. how strategic thinking helped a business to grow/overcome barriers using marketing
levers other than communications - e.g. pricing, distribution, product etc.)
Brand and / or Creative Planning (inc. brand strategy and/or creative & campaign planning across any channel)
Connections Planning (inc. channel, context etc.)
Responsive Planning (inc. real time, reactive, optimization)
Special Prizes
If you believe your entry demonstrates excellence in a specific element of planning, you can increase your trophy
pool by nominating your entry for any, or all, of these special prizes (only shortlisted case studies will be eligible to
win):
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Best insight or input
This could be consumer, strategic, competitive or social insights or non-insight specific input (eg. redefinition of
the problem or audience) that has contributed significantly to the influence your strategy has had.
Best Use of Data
Using data / statistics in order to derive more influential strategy.
Best approach to research
New methodologies or use of research to inform/inspire influential strategies
Best strategic collaboration
Successful collaboration with other agencies/parties to develop a an influential strategy (or complementary
strategies) together.
Judges Awards
In addition to the special prizes, judges may award the following, depending on the calibre of entries submitted.
Entrants are encouraged to prepare papers with these prizes in mind, however you are unable to nominate your entry
for consideration in these prizes. These prizes will be based on stage 2 judging.
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Best written paper
Best presentation
Best ‘against the odds’ (reflecting the role that planning can play in turning unpromising starts or set-backs into triumph)
© 2016 The Communications Council | [email protected] | Ph 02 8297 3800 | communicationscouncil.org.au
THE RULES
Please ensure you comply with the rules set out below, entries may be disqualified if they do not meet these
requirements. And that would be time and energy you won’t get back.
1.
APG and corporate members of the Communications Council are entitled to member prices. To join APG, click here for more information
2.
The written entry must not exceed 1200 words (excluding titles, charts, appendices). Please state your word count on the cover of your entry
3.
Whilst you may include other evidence in addition to the creative work, such as video clips, a written paper is mandatory. Ensure that your
written paper includes appropriate references to all creative work and/or output/activity.
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Your entry must be signed off by your company’s senior management and by your client.
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A planner who has left an agency may write a paper under their own name on behalf of that agency, subject to agency and client approval.
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An agency may submit a paper if the client has since left the agency, provided they have approval and sign-off from that client.
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An agency may submit a paper if the planner who did the thinking has left, provided that the planner is credited.
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All entries must indicate Author of Strategy and Author of Paper, even in instances where this is the same person.
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For winning papers, the Award trophy will be presented to the principal author of the strategy. Co-authors and contributing thinkers will be
credited and will have the option of purchasing further Award trophies.
10. All entries must be received by 5pm Wednesday 28 September 2016 together with an entry form and payment of the fee. One entry form per
case study.
11. The fees are outlined in the entry form, they must be paid in full prior to the entry deadline.
12. Special prizes are awarded at the judge’s discretion to those papers that have been shortlisted.
13. You must nominate and pay for a special prize in order to be considered for a prize.
14. There will be no refunds for disqualified entries or withdrawals after the closing date.
15. The creative work must have run in Australia and/or New Zealand between 1 October 2014 & 1 September 2016.
16. Written papers must be supplied as a PDF file.
17. All images must be supplied as separate files (jpegs: 300dpi or high grade PDF files with fonts embedded)
18. Creation of campaigns should be in line with all relevant industry codes and regulations, including The Communications Council Code of Ethics.
19. World copyright of all entries passes to the APG Australia and all winning and shortlisted entries may be published on the WARC &
Communications Council websites as well as trade press & trade publications
20. The APG reserves the right to exclude any entries that do not meet with these rules and technical guidelines.
21. APG reserves the right to not award a prize where deemed not appropriate.
JUDGING CRITERIA
Know your judge
To write a winning paper, you’ll need to know what the judges are looking for. Keep in mind your paper will be one of
many so make your big ideas and clever insights leap off the page.
Quite simply, make them wish they’d thought of it themselves.
How judging works
Papers are judged in two stages. Stage 1 papers are judged by Senior Planners and Planning Directors from creative,
media, digital and PR agencies. Entrants who are shortlisted are then asked to present at Stage 2 judging in person,
to a panel of Judges. Shortlisted candidates will be advised of the presentation expectations and requirements once
announced. If you are successfully shortlisted, this is your chance to bring your ideas to life and convince the judges
of your unfailing belief in the power of planning! Criteria:
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How difficult was the challenge?
What was the process and evidence of strategic thinking around the issue that led to the strategic solution?
How strategically intelligent and original is the strategic solution
How influential was the thinking? (How well does it deliver on the issue? What difference did it make?)
What can planning learn from this?
© 2016 The Communications Council | [email protected] | Ph 02 8297 3800 | communicationscouncil.org.au
Special Prize Criteria:
Best insight or input
Was the insight or input valuable and unique?
What did this influence and to what degree?
Best use of data
Was the approach unique, interesting, relevant?
What did this influence and to what degree?
Best approach to research
Was the approach unique, interesting, relevant?
Did the approach lead to influential insights?
Best strategic collaboration
Who were the collaborators? What roles/rules of engagement?
Did collaboration create a more influential strategy?
Judges Prizes
You are not required to nominate for these prizes but knowing what the judges are looking for will help guide you, as
you prepare your paper.
Best written paper
Crafting a well-written paper is an essential planning skill. Make the story compelling; be clear, concise and
interesting.
Best presentation
The presentation is an opportunity to tell the story behind the strategy. Harness your enthusiasm and belief in the
strength of the strategy to convince the judges.
Best ‘against the odds’
Planning can play an instrumental role in turning unpromising starts/briefs or set backs along the way, into triumph.
This award will be given for the case that best demonstrates an unlikely success that has been created/ influenced by
a strategic input.
2. Start writing
Don’t leave it too late to start. You will need client and management sign off and final preparations always take
longer than you think. Start now and get your ideas together. For hints on how to structure the paper, take a look at
previous APG winning case studies. The best papers read like a story with a clear purpose, engaging narrative and
concise conclusions.
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Start the process by taking a look at other awards you and your agency may have entered – Effies is a good place to start.
Talk to your clients, they should be involved and securing their input will help demonstrate the value of planning for their business.
Ask your colleagues and other agency partners. If the thinking was the result of agency collaboration, then let’s see it!
Read other papers – in addition to the Australian papers, APG UK is a great source of excellent planning papers.
© 2016 The Communications Council | [email protected] | Ph 02 8297 3800 | communicationscouncil.org.au
3. Fill out the form and upload your entry
Complete the online form and upload your entry, you will receive an invoice within 2 business days for payment.
File naming - name all files with the agency name and brand/product eg/ AgencyABC_BrandXYZ
The deadline is 5pm Wednesday 28 September 2016.
Questions?
Contact the APG on 02 8297 3800 or [email protected]
Entry Fees
Membership Type
Category Entry
Special Prize Entry
Member*
$750
$330
Non-Member
$1100
$550
*corporate and individual APG members. Price is per entry. All prices include GST.
© 2016 The Communications Council | [email protected] | Ph 02 8297 3800 | communicationscouncil.org.au