Sid Lee Shares Effies-Judging Experience

Ahead of tonight's EACA Euro Effies 2017 Awards tonight - which reward the effectiveness of European campaigns - we caught up with Sid Lee's SVP of Global Alliances, Alex Pasini, who sat on this year's jury.

The judging is divided into two rounds - the first of which assesses the business objectives behind a campaign while the second part looks at its creative execution. Both rounds consider how these methods have contributed to the campaign's overall success.

Pasini sat on the second jury alongside 32 other jury members, which was headed up by this year's jury president, Lufthansa Passenger Airlines VP Marketing, Alexander Schlaubitz. We caught up with Pasini to find out about his experience on the 2017 panel.

How did the opportunity to judge on the Effies come up?

Effies reached out to see if I wanted to be a judge for this year’s edition. I suspect that our global head of communications pushed for my candidacy ;)

What did you most looking forward to about the judging experience?

To connect with the pan-regional advertising community that rewards effectiveness.

How, if at all, did you prepare?

I (re)read case studies from previous years and immersed myself in the neatly-packaged judging kit.

What would you say sets the Effies apart from other award shows?

It’s the most prestigious award show when it comes to effectiveness amongst the marketing communications industry.

As the Effies looks at the effectiveness of campaigns, what campaign from this year stood out for you as particularly effective?

Here are some of my personal favorites:

The Swedish Number by Swedish Tourist Association - Great creativity; simple yet efficient. The power behind the idea and its execution generated impressive PR coverage worldwide.
#callbrussels by Belgium Tourism (below) - It was a rapid and bold answer to an unfortunate series of events that tarnished Brussels' reputation. Contextual marketing at its best despite the unfortunate contexts.

The Christmas Carrot by Aldi - Nicely written spot that delivered strong business results. High salient work that cut through the Christmas advertising noise.