EMVIES 2004: Young people and fresh ideas dominate the show

The fourth edition of EMVIES, organised by the Advertising Club Bombay, was unique on a number of counts and one of them was the manner in which Lodestar Media, the Agency of the Year winner pipped rivals Madison and especially GroupM to the post with only six shortlisted entries to GroupM's eight and Madison's four.

Last year, GroupM had clinched the coveted Agency of the Year trophy on the basis of the sheer number of entries shortlisted, which was 10 in all (Lodestar had three entries and Madison two). But this year at the EMVIES 2004, the agency was unable to convert its advantage into victory.

Apart from this, the EMVIES this year attracted significantly more entries in comparison to last year jumping from 128 in 2003 to 322 in 2004. "The beauty about this year's competition was that not only did media agencies participate wholeheartedly, media marketers and clients also sent in their entries in earnest," says Apurva Purohit, chairperson, EMVIES Committee.

The number of categories was increased to 14 this year from 10 of last year. "An interesting introduction in terms of a new category this year was the Best Media Innovation - Never Before Used Media, which had some big winners," says Purohit.

Quite rightly, Jagran Prakashan and GroupM were joint gold winners, followed

by ZEE News with a silver in the Never Before Used Media Innovation category.

Jagran also bagged a Grand EMVIE for its Environment Day Initiatives -- the

award-winning case study in the Never Before Used Media Innovation category,

which notched up the highest points in any category.

Besides, the sheer number of people present at the awards ceremony was awesome. Compared to 250 last year, there were 435 cheering people in the auditorium this year.

The quality of work entered also showed a quantum leap, she says, which marks a trend for the good. Juror L V Krishnan, CEO, TAM Media Research, who gave away a special TAM Award for the Best Media Research at the awards ceremony, says, "The case studies were well-written. The focus was on new areas of media and research, and what was heartening to note was that the people working on these case studies/presentations were young media professionals."

Says Nandini Dias, head of Lodestar Media, " The Awards in my opinion speak volumes of the quality of work agencies are doing today. They are no more focused on TV alone, but are looking at allied media such as print, events, direct marketing and out-of-home."

© 2004 agencyfaqs!