A total of 176 entries were submitted for the Singapore Media Awards (SMA) 2009 this year, 10 less than last year. In light of the recession, the number is a mark of the strong resilience of the media industry against the hard times.
The campaign entries were judged by a panel of judges comprising senior people from advertisers, creative agencies and media owners. The jury noted that the 52 finalists in the entry categories really upped the competition with more original campaigns this year.
It appears that the economic circumstances may have put the media agencies on the mettle to produce the most innovative and effective solutions. “This year, there is a lot of utilisation of new media. I suppose with the economic downturn people are maximising the media to its best advantage,” said Mr Vincent Lim, Managing Director of Eu Yan Sang (Singapore).
Attesting to the quality of entries this year, Pat Lim, Chairman of SMA 2009 added, “It was no easy feat judging the entries this year. There were some very closely fought categories where the jury panel was divided on which entry to award the winner. However there could only be one winner, which took careful deliberation and re-evaluation of the merits of the tied entries against the judging criteria to arrive at the final decision.”
With the list of finalists out, all eyes will be on the coveted Grand Prix Award and the Media Agency of the Year Award as the winners will be announced during the SMA gala dinner on 30 September at the Shangri-La Hotel.
