The 2015 edition of the Bookmarks Awards, which aim to recognise the best work in digital media and marketing, took place tonight in Newtown, Johannesburg. Given the internet’s love of animals, it should hardly be surprising that a campaign starring four penguins was one of the night’s standouts. And in a year that featured national and provincial elections, it’s also not all that surprising that politics featured heavily.
No ad to show here.
But none of that was evident as South African YouTube comedian Anne Hirsch made her entry onto the stage amid a group of beret-clad drummers.
In her opening monologue, Hirsch made reference to the fact that Gareth Cliff, the last person to host the awards show, had launched his own online offering a few months later. Hirsch said that she planned to do things a little differently. Unlike Cliff, she said, her venture would be successful.
Now in its seventh year, the event saw a marked increase in the number of awards handed out to smaller agencies.
That said, there were still big wins across a number of categories for the likes of Quirk, Native VML and Ogilvy.
The standout campaign, however, was the Penguin Run by Utopia. Without achieving quite as much attention, it was the closest this year’s awards came to 2013’s tweeting badger (which still managed to get a shout-out).
On the publishing front, there was possibly even more evidence that smaller players can have as big an impact as their larger counterparts, with major wins for the likes of Daily Maverick, ZANews, and Between 10and5.
Another interesting, if controversial feature, was the presence of content built and produced by agencies in a number of the publishing categories. If nothing else, it shows how valuable good content is becoming to these companies’ marketing efforts.
Here is the full list of winners from the night:
The 2015 IAB Bookmarks Awards winners
CORE AWARDS: Websites/Microsites/Mobisites
Brand, Commercial & Retail Websites
- Capitec Bank Website – Quirk (SILVER)
Collaborators: Capitec Studio - Chas Everitt Website – Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize (BRONZE)
Microsites
- The Journal – Hellocomputer (SILVER)
- Ride Epic – Injozi (SILVER)
- HerdTracker: The world’s first app to track Africa’s great migration – Discover Africa (BRONZE)
- Meet Your Match: Whisky Profiler – Punk/King James Group (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Narrative Truth/We Love Jam - An ordinarily extraordinary South African Adventure Microsite – Fogg Experiential Design & Ireland Davenport Joint Entry (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Bouffant Productions/Jury Music
Public Service Sites
- The Penguin Run – Utopia (GOLD)
Collaborators: OUTSRC – web developer - Social feed – Hellocomputer (BRONZE)
Publisher Sites (Mass Appeal)
- EYEWITNESS NEWS – Primedia Broadcasting (SILVER)
- DRUM – Media24 (Pty) Ltd (BRONZE)
Collaborators: OnNet /Spacestation - www.etv.co.za – Creative Spark (BRONZE)
- Sowetan LIVE – Times Media Live (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Grenade
Specialist Publisher Sites (Smaller, Niche Audiences)
- Between 10and5 / www.10and5.com – Between 10and5 (GOLD)
- ZANEWS – Both Worlds (GOLD)
- The Journal – Hellocomputer (SILVER)
- Eatout.co.za relaunch – OnNet (BRONZE)
CORE AWARDS: Advertising & Search
Branded Content
- One Rand Man – King James Group/Society/Atmosphere (GOLD)
Collaborator: Rob Smith - Through the Eyes of a Child (“What do our children really learn from us?”) – Society/Punk/Atmosphere/King James Group (SILVER)
Collaborators: Narrative Truth - Castle Lager BraaiPhone – Retroviral (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Gloo, Studio Republic - Johnnie Walker Kings of Flavour – MECGroup & King James Group (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Exponential Cape Town/PUNK Digital - Kreepy Krauly Wrangler – Retroviral (BRONZE)
Display Advertising
- The Unskippable Skip Ad – Ireland/Davenport (SILVER)
Media Plan
- Vodacom 20 Years – Lighthouse Digital (SILVER)
- BMW 2 Series – Are you 2 Enough? – Gloo & Vizeum (BRONZE)
Native Advertising
- Comedy Central “Own a piece of South Park” – OgilvyOne South Africa (GOLD)
Collaborators: Hogarth Cape Town - Smirnoff Ice Double Black With Guarana – Explore The Night – MECGroup & AdVine (BRONZE)
Collaborators: JWT Cape Town
Search Marketing
- Woolworths – Always On Media Campaign 2014 – Quirk (GOLD)
- RE/MAX: Website Migration Recovery –R.O.I. Digital (SILVER)
- Chas Everitt Search Campaign – Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize (SILVER)
- FIFA World Cup 2014: Increasing Leads While Maintaining a Low CPA – The-Media-Image (BRONZE)
- Capitec | Credit Acquisition Campaign – PHD Media South Africa (BRONZE)
- Sun International SEO Campaign – Quirk (BRONZE)
- Direct Axis Illumination Campaign – Rogerwilco (BRONZE)
Publisher Trade Marketing Campaign
- Sony E3 Experience powered by Sony Experia Z2 – Burn Media (BRONZE)
Collaborators: MediaCom
CORE AWARDS: Email Marketing
Email Campaign
- What’sForDinner Wigwam – Liquorice (BRONZE)
Email Publication
- Spree.co.za Newsletters – Spree.co.za (SILVER)
- First Thing & Weekend Thing Newsletter – Daily Maverick (SILVER)
CORE AWARDS: Social, Community & PR
Social Media Campaigns
- Get me to 21 – Lowe and Partners Cape Town (SILVER)
Collaborators: GSDH/Digital Match Creative/Resource Agency - The Penguin Run – Utopia (SILVER)
Collaborators: OUTSRC – Web developer
Social Media Properties
- FNB Ideas Can Help – Gloo (SILVER)
- SuperSport social media – DStv Digital Media (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Levergy/Neo@Ogilvy - Chamber of Mines South Africa: What’s yours is mined – Quirk (BRONZE)
Use of User-Generated Content
- FNB Ideas Can Help – Gloo (GOLD)
- Design Indaba, ABSA Sponsorship – Make Think Become Did – BNRY & Jupiter Drawing Room Johannesburg (SILVER)
CORE AWARDS: Application & Tools
Browser-Based Software
- News24 Elections Maps – 24.com (GOLD)
- OMO Fast Kids – Liquorice (SILVER)
- Vicinity Adserver Platform – Vicinity (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Group M/Native/OMG/Mediashop/PHD/Yonder/Lighthouse. - WeChatBuilder – Swipe Interactive (BRONZE)
Games and Gamification
- Ride Epic – Injozi (SILVER)
- Smuggle the Rainbow. Taste the Rainbow. – DDB South Africa (BRONZE)
Collaborators: B4Shaw/The Digital Union/Egg Films - PoloTag – OgilvyOne South Africa (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town/Ogilvy PR Cape Town/Geometry Global/South Africa Motion City Films - What’sForDinner Trolley Dash – Liquorice & Mindshare (BRONZE)
CORE AWARDS: Integrated/Mixed Media
Data-Inspired Creative
- News24 Elections Maps – News24 (BRONZE)
Digital Installations and Activations
- The Penguin Run – Utopia (SILVER)
Collaborators: OUTSRC – web developer - Chocnology – NATIVE VML (SILVER)
Collaborators: Niki Hattingh/Elise Ruddle/MEC – Media/Theunis Uys/Soft Light City/Bouffant/Stefan Hurter - Dinnercam – Society/Atmosphere/King James Group (BRONZE)
Collaborators: ThingKing - Design Indaba, ABSA Sponsorship – Make Think Become Did – BNRY & Jupiter Drawing Room Johannesburg (BRONZE)
- PoloTag – OgilvyOne South Africa (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town/Ogilvy PR Cape Town/Geometry Global/Motion City Films
Integrated Multi-Platform Campaign
- One Rand Man – King James Group/Society/Atmosphere (GOLD)
Collaborator: Rob Smith - FNB League of Innovators – Gloo (SILVER)
- Comedy Central “Own a Piece of South Park” – OgilvyOne Cape Town (SILVER)
Collaborators: Hogarth Cape Town - BMW 2 series – Gloo & Vizeum (SILVER)
- Smuggle the Rainbow. Taste the Rainbow. – DDB South Africa (BRONZE)
Collaborators: B4Shaw/The Digital Union/Egg Films
Integrated Mobile Campaign
- BMW 2 series – Gloo & Vizeum (GOLD)
- PoloTag – OgilvyOne South Africa (SILVER)
Collaborators: Ogilvy & Mather Cape Town/Ogilvy PR Cape Town/Geometry Global/Motion City Films
CORE AWARDS: E-Commerce
E-Commerce Site
- Unilever Deals – Thumbtribe (SILVER)
- Spree.co.za – Spree.co.za (BRONZE)
CORE AWARDS: Mobile
Mobile Application/Tool
- Bookly – NATIVE VML (GOLD)
Collaborators: Stefan Hurter
- News24 Elections – 24.com (SILVER)
- Vodacom “Java App” – Lighthouse and Gloo (BRONZE)
Mobile Publication
No awards
Mobile Site
- Soccer Laduma – Swipe Interactive (SILVER)
Rich Media Advertising for Mobile Devices
No awards
CRAFT AWARDS
Editorial (Media – News, Magazines, Radio and TV Stations/Networks)
- mg.co.za – M&G (SILVER)
- Cerebra Editorial – Cerebra (BRONZE)
Collaborators: You & Me Design, Consillium Legal - 947 – Primedia Broadcasting (BRONZE)
UX Design
- Pam Golding Properties Capture – New Media Labs (SILVER)
- Capitec Bank Website – Quirk (SILVER)
Graphic Design
- Meet Your Match – Punk/King James Group (SILVER)
Collaborators: Narrative Truth/We Love Jam
Tech Innovation
- Blok app: a new tool for off-plan property sales – Formula D interactive (GOLD)
- Amarula 25th Birthday – Liquorice (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Draft FCB - Chocnology – NATIVE VML (BRONZE)
- SnappBox – Snapplify (BRONZE)
- Webfluential – Webfluential (BRONZE)
- Anglo American Mining Indaba Interactive Projection Table – HKLM and The Kinetic (BRONZE)
Collaborators: IXD
Copywriting
- Comedy Central “Own a Piece of South Park.” – OgilvyOne Cape Town (GOLD)
Collaborators: Hogarth Cape Town - One Rand Man – Society/King James Group (BRONZE)
Collaborators: Punk/Atmosphere/Rob Smith
Use of Online Video, Audio and Music
- The Walking Dead iPad Activation – Ireland/Davenport (SILVER)
- Meet Your Match – Punk/King James Group (SILVER)
Collaborators: Narrative Truth/We Love Jam - #RoadToRancho – MotionCityFilms (BRONZE)
Newswire
- TEAMtalk Media Newswire – TEAMtalk Media (SILVER)
Research and Insights Projects
- Vaseline Skin Analysis In 60 Seconds – Liquorice (BRONZE)
INDIVIDUAL & TEAM AWARDS
Best Editorial Team
- ZANEWS – Both Worlds
Best Digital/Media Strategist
- Mike Jones – NATIVE VML
Best Creative/Designer/Copywriter/Content Writer
- Emile Rohlandt – Hellocomputer
Best Young Gun
- Joe Crann – Soccerladuma
Best Community Manager/Social Media Marketer
- Keenan Harduth – Cerebra
Best Account/Client Service Manager
- Estelle Visser – Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize
Best Search Marketer
- Brett Pringle – Rogerwilco
Best Journalist
- Richard Poplak – Daily Maverick
Best Editor
- Branko Brkic – Daily Maverick
Best Blogger
- Diary of a Zulu Girl
Best Ad-Ops Team
- MECGroup Ad Ops – MECGroup
SPECIAL HONOURS AWARDS
Best Agency
- Gloo
Best Publisher
- EYEWITNESS NEWS
Best Marketing Organisation
- Unilever
Best Individual Contribution
- Fred Roed – World Wide Creative
