UPDATED: Romanian Effie Awards 2014 designated its winners

(adds info & statements from the Effie winners)

The winners of the 11th edition of Romanian Effie awards were announced last night, in a Gala that took place at Romanian Atheneum in Bucharest.

During the awards ceremony, there were handed 40 prizes, including one Grand Effie, 11 gold, 15 silver and 13 bronze. The winners were 18 communication agencies, namely Cohn & Jansen JWT, Geometry Global Romania, GMP Advertising, Graffiti BBDO, Jazz, Leo Burnet & Target, Lowe & Partners, McCann Erickson,  Mindshare Media, Next Advertising, Papaya Advertising, Propaganda, Publicis Bucharest, Starcom MediaVest Group, The Geeks and Wunderman Romania.

The grand prize of the competition went to McCann Erickson Romania for “Ghita The Social Shepherd”, client Vodafone. The agency also won 5 other prizes, among which 3 Gold for Mega Image – “Play with your inspiration”, Rom – “Bucharest not Budapest”, and Vodafone – “Ghita The Social Sheperd”.

According to a press release from McCann, this is the 2nd year in a row when the agency wins the grand prix of Effie Romania

Creativity sells. It isn’t a myth, it isn’t a slide from the presentations of those who want to look good to different events. And it isn’t creativity in the sense of “Let’s write a funnier dialogue for the TV ad”. It is about big and innovative ideas that grow businesses. Ideas that surprise their public, not underestimate it. And as if it needed a proof, the faith put Effies and Cannes Lions in the same time. While Rom was scooping Gold at Effie in Bucharest, it  was receiving, in the same time, in Cannes, the first Lion for Romania in 2014. While Ghita was winning Grand Effie, it already was shortlisted 4 times in Cannes competitions. And we are still waiting for the final results with the champagne kept cold. We are as proud of the other clients that went up on Effie stage. Mega Image, Coca-Cola, Dorna. Big and curageous brands

Catalin Dobre,

Executive Creative Director McCann Bucharest

Courageous, daring and decided partners are needed to start this kind of journey. Our clients! I am proud to be part of a circle with clients that are permanently cultivating our partnership and that allow us to actively participate in developing their businesses. It is their achievement as much as it’s ours. Moreover, in the end, the biggest winner is the consumer, the one that votes for the brand he understands the best and which invests in the relationship with him

Sagit Tzur Lahav,

CEO McCann Bucharest

Graffiti BBDO  went home with 7 awards, including 2 Gold, one for Ursus Cooler Launch and one for “A chance for life” campaign for React. The other awards went to Lay’s, Antrefrig, Raraul MBS launch, Petrom – Made in Andrei’s Country and Alive! for Secom.

GMP Advertising & Webstyler got double Gold for Gandul campaign “Why don’t you come over”, Leo Burnett scooped one Gold for BRD Team Spirit Campaign and another gold went to Lowe & Partners for “Văru’ te rezolvă” campaign for tocmai.ro. Propaganda and Napolact also won a Gold, same as Publicis Bucharest and Pegas

Other agencies that took home more than just one trophy were Geometry Global (two silvers and two bronze), Leo Burnett & Target (one Gold, two silvers),  GMP Advertising (3) and Cohn&Jansen JWT, Jazz, Lowe & Partners and Mindshare Media (two trophies each. Among the brands that won multiple awards are Gandul, P&G Multibrand, Vodafone and Lay’s.

The winning works forCohnandJansen JWT were Aqua Carpatica – “Return To Purity” (Silver) and Tassimo – “Tassimo Woman’s Day” (bronze).

The win for Aqua Carpatica comes after a Gold Effie in David & Goliath last year and a bronze in 2011. CohnandJansen JWT works for 4 years on Aqua Carpatica account and started with the brand from zero and realized the entire brand and communication strategy.

For 4 years, all the common agency-client efforts, the strategy and different approach in a crowded category transformed Aqua Carpatica from a new brand into a strong brand. Aqua Carpatica assumes a cause that serves all Romanians, becoming the most courageous and beautiful brand for which I had the opportunity to work. All the efforts turned until now in very good results and, in the future, we wish to continue building Aqua Carpatica’s story

Arina Stoenica,

Senior Account Manager CohnandJansen JWT

We are very happy for this prize and we must thank especially to the client, because a very significant part is due to the client. We hope to continue these very good years with as good results

Alex Negoescu,

Deputy Creative Director CohnandJansen JWT.

Sustained Success is a very important award for us, because it proves that performance takes place year after year and it’s not a happening. We are happy that Aqua Carpatica brand got recognized for its spectacular evolution, as we’re talking about a brand that reached in top 3 out of 4 mineral waters in an extremely fragmented market

Monica Radulescu,

Head of Digital CohnandJansen JWT

The bronze for Tassimo is also a welcomed recognition for a courageous and innovative brand.

We are happy that, after 3 years of communication for Tassimo, we managed to win a prize that would recognize the sustained efforts to win leadership within the category

Ana-Maria Olaru,

Senior Strategic Planner CohnandJansenJWT.

The award makes us happy, like any recognition to an important level for our work. Still, I think I like even more this  Effie considering we are working since the launch in Romania for Tassimo, a modern brand, with a beautiful identity. Besides this, I like to think that the relation and the way of working with Mondelez team surpassed already for a long time the form of a conventional client-agency relation. I want to thank to Theo Filos for appreciating our team’s ideas and for allowing my colleagues Viorela Turcu, Rares Cinteza and Alex Stanciu to make this campaign the way they knew best (…)

Andrei Ignat,

Deputy Creative Director.

Lowe Group got, in total, 3 awards at Romanian Effies, awards that recognize efficiency. According to group’s officials, having 3 awards in an efficiency competition represents a reason to be proud.

Effie awards are recognizing, annually, the most efficient advertising campaigns, so we are proud that, this year, our group’s agencies developed or were involved in conceiving and implementing this kind of campaigns. Lowe&Partners created Văru’ to solve everything that moves and he became a pop culture character, Medic One can take pride with a circle of genius firls, while Dots Anywhere campaign, developed for Bancpost, is based on a creative concept that challenges people to not deny themselves anymore the holiday or the couch they longing for. I profit of this opportunity to thank all those involved in developing those campaigns

Veronica Savanciuc,

President & CEO Lowe Group.

Besides the awards won by the group in itself, agencies from Lowe Group were involved in other campaigns that were awarded Effies: Initiative was the support media aency for Bergenbier Repositioning and When it matters to you campaigns, which received Silver and Bronze Effies, while SeniorHyper was support agency in winning a Bronze in Packaged Food for Delikat 365 fairytale chicken dishes campaign.

Leo Burnett Group’s agencies were also awarded at Effie, receiving recognition with campaigns for BRD, Oral-B Power, Bergenbier and Samsung.

BRD Team Spirit received Gold in Financial Services, 2 Silvers went to Oral-B Profesional (Personal Care Products & Services) and Bergenbier (Alcoholic Beverages – Beer)

Generally, each brief has its particularities, but the 3 winning campaigns had different categories and different requirements. The received awards are showin our capacity to always find the proper solution for our clients, no matter the industry or the brand

Victor Stroe

Planning Director Leo Burnett

A flexible concept and a good online strategy were essential to amplify the campaigns in digital. In an environment where consuemrs are more presents every day and in which the messages must be more and more relevant and specific, calibratin the communication and a clear understanding of the consumer made possible achieving the image and sales objectives on which the 3 campaigns were built. Online communication proves, with these results, that it is a must have of the marketing strategy oriented towards immediate and measurable results

Andreea Boaca

General Manager iLeo

On the other hand, Digital Star and Starcom MediaVest scooped, with Manifesto for Creativity for Samsung, Bronze at Effie after being also awarded at IAB MIXX Awards Romania.

Samsung’s presence in our clients portfolio helped us identify the opportunity to initiate a conversation on creativity, a discussion missed for years by young people and adults around them. (…)Samsung offered us the reason and the way to open this subject and our understanding of the final consumer and amplifying the message targeting him lead us to a campaign with significant results

Alexandra Iavorschi

Managing Director Starcom MediaVest

It was a real challenge for us to find the way to resonate with a public that faced until now only stereotypes related to the jobs using creativity. Jobs like lawyer, doctor or notary were considered, not a long time ago, the only ones that could offer financial stability and prestige so they were perceived as being the only ones safe for the future. With the campaign, we presented the reality of creative people, one in which parents and teachers can see young people evolving and prosperin

Laurentiu Dumitrescu

Managing Director Digital Star .

When it comes of Jazz, that scooped 2 Effies, the awards are even more important as this is agency’s first participation to the festival of efficiency in advertising. The winning works for Jazz were Lay’s Safety Deposit Box and Provident

Lay’s Safety Deposit Box is part of a longer series that is running for already 3 years. It is impressing even us, the authors of this series, that we managed to reinvent this promotion every year, to innovate in terms of mechanics and communication and to bring better than expected results to Lay’s both in terms of sales and in terms of brand indicators. We are very happy this promotion from 2013 (…) didn’t have only awards to give (….) but it also brought a so desired prize at Effie. We thank Lay’s team and Graffiti team for winning this prize

Diana Benko,

Partner & BTL Director Jazz.

The money in bag promotion is a Lay’s project for which both the client and the agency are working a lot, more and more every year. The Safety Deposit Box with money from 2013 was well thought and beautifully executed. This year’s suitcase with money is even better and I have big expectations for an Effie next year

Valentin Suciu,

Creative Partner Jazz.

When it comes of Provident, the campaign managed to impress with its results and its idea. According to Jazz representatives, the challenge was to find positive inspiration in a business model that faces prejudices, especially among those that don’t have a direct experience with Provident.

During the last years, I met people from the industry that were looking at our client with a lack of trust, not analyzing more attentively its business model. Due to the change in communication that we started in 2013 together with  Ina Negoita, Marilena Barliga and Provident’s marketing team, more and more ordinary people consider Provident a company to trust, to which they are proud to be associated. And I am happy that jury wasn’t influenced by a subjective perception and awarded an Effie to Provident in a very competitive cateory

Valentin Suciu.

The biggest joy is that the 2 prizes are won together with our oldest clients. We are working for Lay’s since day one and from our first half of year for Provident. And each new project shows that results are coming when there is trust, talent and perseverance. We’re already preparing for Effie 2015

Irina Pencea,

Partner.

The full list of winners at Romanian Effies 2014 is as follows:

Packaged Goods

Bronze: Delikat 365 fairytale chicken dishes for Delikat (Unilever) by Friends Advertising, Senior Hyperactive, Lowe Warsaw and Syscom Digital, with Mindshare Media

Silver: 

• Easy as MBS for Raraul (Albalact) by Graffiti BBDO and Mercury 360 with Next
• More liver, liver, liver for Antrefrig (Hame Romania) by Graffiti BBDO & Kaleidscope Proximity with Media Planning Group România

Snacks, Confectionary and Deserts

Bronze: Lay’s Vault of Crunchiness for Lay’s (PepsiCo România) by Jazz with Graffiti BBDO and MediaCom

Silver: Lay’s – The Duel for Lay’s (PepsiCo România) by Graffiti BBDO, Jazz, Caan Media and OMD

Gold: Bucharest Not Budapest for Rom (Kandia Dulce) by McCann Erickson, MRM WorldWide and Universal McCann

Personal Care Products & Services

Silver: Oral-B Power Campaign for Oral-B (Procter & Gamble România) by Leo Burnett & Target and ileo Marketing Interactiv

Household Supplies & Services

Bronze: Dero 1st December for Dero (Unilever) by Mindshare Media with Engines and Image PR

Alcoholic Beverages – Beers

Bronze: Entering Top 3 beer brands in Romania for Ciucas (Ursus Breweries) by GMP Advertising

Silver: Bergenbier Repositioning for Bergenbier (Bergenbier S.A.) by Leo Burnett & Target, ileo Marketing Interactiv and Initiative Media

Gold: Ursus Cooler Launch for Ursus Cooler (Ursus Breweries) by Graffiti BBDO, Kubis Interactive, Gavrila & Asociatii and Media Investment

Durables

Bronze:

•  Tassimo Women’s Day for Tassimo (Mondelez International) by Cohn & Jansen JWT, with Starcom MediaVestGroup
•  Manifesto for creativity for Samsung (Samsung Electronics România) by Starcom MediaVest Group

Silver: Mini Wreck for Opel (Opel Southeast Europe LLC – Romania Office) by Geometry Global România

Gold: Childhood Bike for Pegas, by Publicis Bucharest and Starcom MediaVestGroup

Retail

Bronze: Million Ways to Enjoy for eMag by Geometry Global România

Gold: Play with your inspiration for Mega Image by McCann Erickson and United Media

Financial services

Bronze:

• “When it matters to you” for Provident (Provident Financial România) by Jazz and Initiative Media
• “Dots anywhere” for Bancpost by Lowe & Partners and Media Investment

Silver: “The Mother in Law ” for BCR by Next Advertising and MEC Media Agency

Gold: BRD Team Spirit Campaign for BRD by Leo Burnett & Target and ileo Marketing Interactiv

Media & Entertainment

Silver: “Love has changed since once upon a time” for Love Building (ActorieDeFilm) by Papaya Advertising

Gold: Why Don’t You Come Over for Gandul (Mediafax) by GMP Advertising & Webstyler

Telecommunications internet and data

Gold: “Ghiță the Social Shepherd” for Vodafone by McCann Erickson and UM România

Healthcare Products and services

Bronze: Alive! – the multi-multi-multivitamin for Alive (Secom) by Graffiti BBDO and MEC

Silver: “Smart Girls Circle” for Nuvaring (Merck Sharp & Dohme România) by Lowe Medic One, Senior Hyper, Mobile Works and Brand Programming Network

Others

Silver: “Place an ad on Mercador” for Mercador.ro (Allegro Group România) by The Geeks and Optimum Media Direction Plan & Buy SRL

Gold: Văru’ te rezolvă for tocmai.ro by Lowe & Partners, Golin Bucharest and Initiative Media

Sustained Success

Silver: “Return to purity” for Aqua Carpatica (Valvis Holding) by Cohn & Jansen JWT and Media Investment

Gold: “As it used to be” for Napolact (Friesland Campina) by Propaganda and Universal McCann

Shopper Marketing 

Bronze:”Time for movies” for P&G Multibrand (Procter & Gamble România) by Geometry Global România

Silver: “Roll Out Advantage” for P&G Multibrand (Procter & Gamble România) by Geometry Global România

Brand Experience

Bronze: “Go for Gold!” for Magnum Gold (Unilever South East Central Europe) by Wunderman România and Mindshare Media

Goodworks Effie – Brands (CSR)

Bronze:”Care for children” for Dorna (The Coca-Cola Company) by McCann Erickson

Silver:  Made in Andrei’s country! for Petrom (OMV Petrom) by Graffiti BBDO, Graffiti PR, Webstyler and Optimedia

Gold: Why Don’t You Come Over for Gandul (Mediafax) by GMP Advertising & Webstyler

Goodworks Effie – Non-Profit 

Gold:  A chance for life for React by Graffiti BBDO

Media Innovation

Silver:  Coca-Cola Live Tweets for Coca-Cola (The Coca-Cola Company) by UM România, McCann Bucharest and MRM WorldWide

Single Media Company Activation

Silver Coccolino Suleyman for Coccolino (Unilever) by Mindshare Media and Friends Advertising

 Grand Effie:”Ghiță the Social Shepherd” for Vodafone by McCann Erickson and UM România