Bookmarks announce judges for 2016 awards

The IAB SA has announced the judging panels for the 2016 edition of its annual Bookmarks Awards.

The awards, which aim to reward the best in digital publishing, advertising, and marketing, have been in existence 2008 and have seen consistent growth in entry numbers. In a bid to ensure that the best quality work is rewarded, the awards organisers made a number of changes to the categories and entry criteria for this year’s edition.

There also seem to have been concessions to the judging process, with entry mechanisms altered for the sake of brevity.

Heading up the jury is John Dixon, CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi Brandstock. In his role as Jury President, Dixon will oversee all judging assisted by three Jury Chairs in the publishers, marketers and builders divisions – including Deirdre Ingpen, head of commercial at 24.com; and Kerry Friend, executive creative director at Isobar SA.

“It is exciting to once again be a part of the Bookmarks jury. Together with the strong panel of judges, I look forward to seeing the innovation and creativity present in this years entries,” says Dixon.

A board member of the Association of Communication Agencies (ACA), Dixon has served on the Financial Mail Adfocus and Finweek AdReview jury panels and is once again acting as the Jury President of the Bookmark Awards.

Friend meanwhile heads the innovation programme NowLab, aimed at accelerating innovation through technology. Deirdre has been head of commercial for South Africa’s largest digital publisher for four years, giving her an excellent grasp of the digital publishing industry and where it is going.

The first of two rounds of judging takes place remotely, where judges independently score entries online. In the second round, the judges discuss and debate each entry before allocating final scores. Final scores are to be signed off by the Jury President.

“We are excited about the quality of this year’s entries and to showcase the innovative ways in which digital advertisers adapt to a rapidly changing industry. We believe that our panel of judges will bring unique and interesting perspectives to this year’s awards, owing to their various roles and experience within the industry,” says Josephine Buys, IAB SA CEO.

The awards, along with the IAB Digital Summit, take place on 3 March 2016. Tickets are available online.

Details of the full judging panels can be found below:

Judges for the marketers panel:

• Paul Binikos, Quirk
• Nkanyezi Masango, Y&R
• Pete Case, Gloo @ Ogilvy
• Phillip Ireland, Ireland Davenport
• Bronwen Auret, MetropolitanRepublic
• Eric van Rookhuyzen, MECGlobal
• Nalisha Lalloo, Pernot Ricard
• Muzi Khuzwayo, Freelance
• Dan Pinch, King James/Society
• Ryan McManus, Native VML
• Ben Evans, Ogilvy

Judges for the builders panel:

• Camilla Clerke, hellocomputer
• Gareth McPherson, Publicis Machine
• Shaune Jordaan, Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize
• Sammy-Jane Every, World Wide Creative
• Antonio Petra, Rocketseed
• Kabelo Moshapalo, TBWA Digital Arts Network
• Miles Murphy, Liquorice
• Ivo Brodnik, Freelance
• Jakes Redelinghuys, Rogerwilco
• Andy Gilder, Publicis Mahcine

Judges for the specialist panel:

• Hannes Prinsloo, Opera
• Yaron Assabi, MMA
• Alex van Tonder, Woolworths
• Andy Gilder, Publicis Machine
• Matthew Arnold, Native VML
• Leila Davies, WWC
• Graeme Stiles, Quirk
• Victoria Smith, Saatchi & Saatchi Synergize
• John Beale, MECGlobal
• Natasha Fourie, TheSpaceStation
• Brent Tollman, MemeGlobal: Africa
• Melissa Attree, Ogilvy
• Warren Moss, Demographics
• Brian Carter, Liquorice
• Stephen Buchanan, Manmademedia
• Dylan Kruger, M&C Saatchi Abel
• Ruaan Uys, Isobar
• Prof. Melius Weideman, Cape Peninsula University of Technology
• Willem Labu, Flint n Tinder
• Evan Summers, Saratoga Software

Judges for the publishers panel:

• Claire Cobbledick, Gumtree
• Marc du Plessis, Caxton
• Lisa MacLeod, TMG
• Wesleigh Lloyd , Metropolitan Republic
• Alistair Fairweather, Publicis Machine
• Moshoeshoe Monare, Times Media
• Annel Malan, eNCA
• Peta Krost-Maunder, Freelance
• Tanya Pampalone, Conversation Africa