AdFocus entries are now open!

Entries close at midnight on 1 September 2023.

This year, some changes have been made to the AdFocus Awards category.

Significantly, the Digital Agency Award has been dropped.

AdFocus Awards chairperson Luca Gallarelli, group CEO of TBWA\SA explains, “The digital agency as a category has become redundant. In our industry, digital is no longer a vertical and is horizontally integrated across all agencies and all disciplines.”

However, he says that if an agency is a digital specialist, then the Specialist Agency category provides a perfect home.

Specialist Agency is for any agency that is not an advertising, media or public relations agency but still operates in the creative agency sector. For example, sports, sponsorship, entertainment, promotions and activations, digital, etc.

In the main advertising awards, Large Agency of the Year and Medium Agency of the Year’s percentage of the overall score allocated to creative has been increased to 30%.

“Our industry is, at a fundamental level, about harnessing the power of creativity to drive impact. We believe that this increase better reflects this,” says Gallarelli.

An important new requirement is an affidavit from the chief financial officer or financial director of an agency to confirm and give an assurance that all financial information shared across the entry is correct.

In general, all the Adfocus questionnaires have been brought up to date to ensure they remain relevant to the industry.

In addition, all PoPAI requirements are adhered to. These can be found on the site.

The main categories of the 2023 AdFocus Awards are:

• Large Advertising Agency of the Year
  
• Medium Advertising Agency of the Year
  
• Small Advertising Agency of the Year
  
• Media Agency of the Year
  
• Independent Media Agency of the Year
  
• Specialist Agency of the Year
  
• Public Relations Agency of the Year
  
• Student of the Year
  
• The Overall Agency of the Year is drawn from the top performers across the individual categories.

Agency Awards for 2023 are:

• Agency Group Award
  
• Transformation Award
  
• Partnership of the Year Award, sponsored by the Independent Agency Search and Selection (IAS) Company
  
• Agency Adaptability Award
  
• African Impact Award

Nominated categories:

• Lifetime Achievement Award
  
• Industry Leader of the Year
  
• Shapeshifter Award

How to enter

To enter, complete an online questionnaire and submit supporting documents on the AdFocus Awards website (www.adfocus.co.za).

Here’s how to enter, step-by-step:

1. Click here to register an account on the AdFocus Awards website*.
   
2. You’ll be sent a confirmation email.
   
3. Log in to the AdFocus Awards website.
   
4. Fill in the questionnaire for the award category you'd like to enter:

   • Select 'Agency Awards' for agency award questionnaires.
     
   • Select 'Nominations' for individual award questionnaires.
     
   • For advertising awards, first select 'Agency Details' and ensure that the type of agency reflected in the drop-down menu (Large, Medium, Specialist and so on) corresponds with the award category you'd like to enter, then click 'Save'. Next select 'Entry Details' for the questionnaire.

5. Once you've completed the relevant questionnaire click the ‘Submit’ button.
   
6. You'll note that each questionnaire requires supporting documents (such as a case study or BEE certificate). To upload these documents, simply click on the Upload Files button at the bottom of the page. Once uploaded, the filename will appear in a list below the button, which will serve as confirmation of your upload.
   
7. If one agency is entering multiple categories, a new, different login will be required for each entry.
   

*Please note: If you entered the AdFocus Awards in 2022, your login details will no longer be valid. Please register a new account on the FM AdFocus Awards website to enter this year’s awards.

Further information on award categories, entry criteria and closing dates can be found at www.adfocus.co.za. For queries regarding AdFocus Awards entries, contact Danette Capper at moc.liamg@001sucofda or 082 494 4174. For advertising and sponsorship opportunities in the 2023 FM AdFocus publication, contact Kay Naidoo (acirfa.anera@AKoodiaN) or Debbie Montanari (acirfa.anera@diranatnom).