Digital Asia Festival Announces Winners McCann, The Philippines, Take Platinum Award

8 November 2012 – The Digital Asia Festival, celebrating the best of Asia’s digital marketing industry, has drawn to a close in Beijing with the much anticipated Awards Ceremony, where the 2012 winners were revealed and celebrated.

Ten jury members, led by Matias Palm-Jensen, European Chief Innovation Officer, McCann Erickson, were present in Beijing to view, deliberate over and decide on the worthy winners. From over 600 entries, a total of 50 winners were chosen; of which one Platinum, 10 Gold, 18 Silver and 21 Bronze trophies were awarded. The much sought after Platinum award went to McCann, The Philippines, for their entry ‘Coke OFW’ for the Coca-Cola Export Company.

Speaking about the awards, Matias Palm-Jensen says, “The jury were a refreshing group of people with great human values and were able to think from a consumer perspective rather than through the eyes of agency people. We saw work of a very high standard which puts the region close to the rest of the world in terms of story-telling and defining the challenges faced by a brand. From a digital perspective we saw work that is defining what is modern and what are the modern challenges we are encountering.”

Australia took home the greatest number of trophies with nine, closely followed by China with eight and The Philippines with seven.

2012 Winners by Country:

The Digital Asia Awards 2012 Agency of the Year Award, given to the agency that has amassed the most points across all categories, was presented to Wunderman (in partnership with Ogilvy, IKON, Naked), Sydney. Second place went to Colenso BBDO Auckland with McCann Thailand taking third.

Coca-Cola took home the Digital Brand Award, given to the brand that has used digital media to execute innovative ideas and achieve marketing success.

The Digital Asia Festival saw two packed days of content offering inspiration and networking opportunities to over 300 members of the digital industry. Some of the seminar highlights included Patrick Rona of DDB and Andrew Knott of McDonald’s APMEA discussing how McDonald’s is using digital as a strategic platform for growth; Jean Lin from Isobar in her seminar ‘Solving the Convergence 4.0 Puzzle’; Thomas Crampton from social@Ogilvy Asia Pacific and Dirk Eschenbacher of Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific with their seminar ‘Social is from Venus, Advertising from Mars’; Seng Yee Lau of Tencent Online Media Group, who discussed next generation marketing in China; and Atifa Silk, Editorial Director of Campaign Asia-Pacific who moderated the Digital Asia Festival Jury Panel with the discussion on what makes a successful digital marketing campaign.

Commenting on the 2012 awards, Terry Savage, Chairman of Lions Festivals, says “The Digital Asia Festival has provided a two day showcase of truly innovative digital work from the region, while an outstanding content programme has offered thought provoking insights and forward thinking inspiration. The jury chose some great winning work that has been honoured at the Awards Ceremony, which proved to be a true celebration of the region’s achievements in the digital field.”

The winners of the 2012 Digital Media Awards can now be viewed online at www.digitalasiafestival.com along with photos from this year’s Festival which took place across 7-8 November in Beijing.

The Digital Asia Festival
The newly-launched Digital Asia Festival, incorporating the well-established Digital Media Awards, is a learning, networking and celebration of the best that Asia’s digital marketing industry has to offer. Now in its sixth year, the awards continue to showcase and honour the expanding digital media and entertainment industries. At a time when digital expertise has never been more important, the Digital Media Awards offer clients, agencies and media owners the chance to display their digital offering. The annual awards receive over 800 entries and are judged by an independent jury consisting of leading client marketers, digital media practitioners, agency strategists and other experts in the digital field. The Digital Asia Festival presents a compelling programme of seminars, digital showcases, networking and awards and offers a great platform for brands and the online community to reach into new media and markets. The Digital Asia Festival is organised by Lions Festivals and Haymarket Media Asia. www.digitalasiafestival.com

Haymarket Media Group
The Haymarket Media Group established in 1957 is the largest privately-owned magazine publisher in the UK, and one of the fastest growing media companies globally. The principal business is centred around its consumer, business, professional and customer publications. These are complemented by digital platforms and live events, including extensive exhibitions, conferences and awards. The Group’s global expansion comes from wholly owned subsidiaries, joint ventures and extensive licensing of key magazines to other publishers. In Asia from their offices in Hong Kong, Mumbai and Singapore, Haymarket Media Ltd publish market-leading titles Campaign Asia-Pacific, Finance Asia, Asian Investor, CEI Asia Pacific and Campaign India. In addition Haymarket organise a number of the region’s leading industry awards and conferences relating to the communications and finance sectors. For more information about the Haymarket Media Group see www.haymarket.com.

Lions Festivals
Lions Festivals is the organiser of Cannes Lions and Eurobest as well as co-organisers, with its joint venture partners, of Dubai Lynx, Spikes Asia, the Festival of Asian Marketing Effectiveness, and the Digital Asia Festival.

Its flagship festival, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, is the world’s leading celebration of creativity in communications. Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes, France, and brings together professionals in the film, media, technology, PR, design and marketing industries to attend a week-long programme of exhibitions, screenings and talks by worldwide thought leaders. The Festival also awards Lions to the best work of that year across a variety of sectors and media. A Lion is regarded as the most coveted award in the creative communications industry and a global benchmark of excellence.
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www.lionsfestivals.com