Emvies 2010: Mudra Max bags the Grand Emvie; Lodestar UM grabs both TAM and RAM award

Mudra Max and Mindshare won the People's Choice Awards; Lodestar UM and Madison Media Infinity grabbed TAM awards; while Lodestar UM won the RAM award

Marking the tenth anniversary of the Emvie Awards, organised by the Ad Club of Bombay, the evening gave several media agencies ample reason to celebrate, as they were felicitated with a variety of special awards.

While the criteria for doling out awards may as well have been the decibel level of the troops of media agencies present at the Taj Land's End ballroom on August 27, 2010; the awards were presented for best media innovations across 16 categories.

Emvies 2010: Mudra Max bags the Grand Emvie; Lodestar UM grabs both TAM and RAM award

A total of 397 entries were judged over five days, by a jury of 76 professionals from the media and marketing fraternity. While 47 metals were awarded in all for best media innovations in mainstream categories, several special awards were also given out. Jury members claim that the contest was a very closely fought one this time.

The prestigious Media Agency of the Year award was conferred on Mindshare, which garnered a total of 110 points. The agency won four gold, two silver and six bronze metals, in all. Maxus and Mudra Max finished second and third, with 95 and 75 points, respectively. Mindshare won this award last year and in 2008, as well as in 2005 and 2006. The award was presented by managing director and chief executive officer, Times Global Broadcasting, Sunil Lulla.

Lodestar, another popular winner in this category over the years (2002, 2004 and 2007), didn't manage a place in the top three this year; it finished at fourth place with 70 points.

The sought after Grand Emvie was awarded to Mudra Max for its Out of Home media innovation for National Association for the Blind (NAB). The agency picked the occasion of World Disability Day (December 1, 2 and 3) to execute its 'May I Help You' campaign for the organisation. Regular menus were replaced with Braille menus at Copper Chimney restaurants in Mumbai; and just as customers looked around in confusion, visually challenged individuals appeared and offered help. The ideation helped NAB achieve its objective of sensitising citizens towards the visually impaired.

Consequently, 542 people from amongst these very customers at the restaurant enrolled as volunteers at NAB. Coincidentally, the case presentation for this campaign was one of the four that were presented at the event. These four presentations were deemed the most popular ones made on the case presentation days, earlier this month.

Speaking of popular choice, two audience awards were given out at the event. These People's Choice awards were the result of an audience vote taken on the case presentation days -- August 12 and 13, 2010. Mudra Max won a People's Choice award for their presentation on day one, on the aforementioned OOH innovation for NAB. Mindshare won the second People's Choice award for their presentation on day two -- on its TV innovation for Fair and Lovely's 'Choo Lo Aasmaan' campaign.

The TAM award for the best TV research (paper) went to Lodestar UM for the agency's tool, Sponsorship Evaluator. This tool is used to predict performance of programming properties on television. The TAM award for the best innovation on TV was picked up by Madison Media Infinity for its 'Pheli Tareekh - Khush Hai India Aaj Pehli Tareekh Hai' innovation for Cadbury Dairy Milk.

Lodestar UM was felicitated with the RAM for best radio innovation for its Station Docomo campaign for Tata Docomo.

Interestingly, to quell apparent doubts on these two awards, the host reiterated that the winners of the two awards were picked by none other than the jury members.

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