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  25 October 2013
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Promoting the medium of radio and giving the spotlight to young media planners
 

Who are Bert Callens and Coraline Dethinne, you may ask? These are the two winners of the subject of this week’s egtabite, which features the addition of a new category to the 2013 Annual Masters of Media Awards (AMMA), an event that is designed to highlight professionalism in the Belgian media business and to encourage the market to further raise standards in the sector.

The High Potential Talent Award, supported by the sales house Var, both gave the spotlight to young media planners and placed the radio commercial at the heart of campaign planning. Whilst many national and international awards focus on creativity and big ideas, the role of the media planner – especially at junior levels – can be neglected. The High Potential Talent Award seeks to address this, as well as to place the focus on the individual rather than the media agency.

The concept

Participants from media agencies were split into five teams, each consisting of a junior planner and a media expert from separate agencies. A client – the international human rights organisation Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) – presented the teams with their brief, and they were required to develop a dynamic media strategy with radio as a mandatory medium. The teams worked in separate rooms for five hours; they were granted Internet access but forbidden to contact their agencies by any means. By making radio a prerequisite medium, the teams were encouraged to think about radio advertising in a creative way and find innovative solutions for their campaign.

The jury of five, which was presided over by the well-known advertising executive Vanessa van Dongen and included Var’s Rudi Janssens, gave the prestigious award to Bert Callens of Mindshare and Coraline Dethinne of Initiative. The team delivered a plan that used radio to drive both traffic to ASF’s online platforms as well as to increase donations, alongside other paid, owned and earned media. Below-the-line media included beer glasses showing the campaign message, which linked the cost of familiar items to the potential benefits similar amounts would have for the people the charity works to help.

Future plans

The event organisers, E-Frame, are planning to roll out a wider version of the initiative – The International High Potential Radio Award. Based on the successful category at the Belgian AMMA Awards, the objective is to carry out contests in several countries with a second round for the winners of the national awards. The prize for the eventual winning pair will be access passes and accommodation for the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival in 2014, as well as the title of “High Potential” for one year.

Danny Nijs of E-Frame will present the 2013 and 2014 initiatives at the egta Radio Marketing & Sales meeting in Zurich on 28 November.

Why this matters to egta members

Whilst there are many opportunities for media agencies and those working on the creative side of advertising to be awarded and honoured, the chances for young media planners to be recognised for the value of their work remains limited. The High Potential Talent Award is a great example of advertisers, media agencies and radio sales houses working together to promote radio as an advertising medium and to award great professionalism in planners that are starting out on their careers.

egta is committed to spreading the word about initiatives that help to raise the standards of advertising and promoting the value – and effectiveness – of radio advertising across Europe and beyond.

   
Target: Radio
 
What they said
 

» Thierry van Zeebroeck - VAR
» Danny Nijs - E-Frame

 
Background info
 

Please click on the link below to access the relevant information:

» AMMA Awards website (please click here)

 
Download in PDF
 

Please click here download the PDF version

 
Next events
 

egta RADIO Marketing & Sales Directors' Meeting

28 November, 2013
Zurich, Switzerland

Click here to register

Click here to view the draft programme