Now in their third year, Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year awards runs across four continents and provides a global arena where agencies can compete directly with each other.
The awards are judged by a select panel of global and regional chief marketing officers; the people in a position to hire shops and authorise budgets.
Here, a selection of Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year Awards judges share their hopes and fears for the industry on a global basis.
Sujit Patel, vice president and head of corporate brand and communications, Godrej Industries and Associate Companies, India
What will be the biggest opportunities and challenges for global marketers and their agencies in 2023 and how will they affect brands?
The world economy has suffered multiple impediments recently: Covid, the war, global slowdown. The IMF has predicted that global growth will slow to 2.7 per cent in 2023, and anticipates the year will feel like a recession across the world. With an uncertain global macro-economic scenario, pressure on cash flows and a cluttered media, marketers and agencies will be kept on their toes in 2023. Challenges of hiring the right talent, agility in turning around campaigns, while keeping up with technological advancements and demonstrating ROI, will continue for agencies and brands. Recent happenings have brought to the fore authenticity, empathy and enhanced relevance of purpose. All of this, laced with increased use of AI, metaverse and immersive technologies, means communication professionals will have a tremendous opportunity to create immersive campaigns that are effective and have a good impact on brands and business.
The global agency sector performed well in 2022 after a strong recovery in 2021. Why do you think that is, and to what extent have you seen agencies change and evolve since the pandemic?
The biggest driver was the rise in use of digital and the use of technology platforms. Costs came down due to lower volume of travel, reduction in real-life events and office usage. Agencies and most in-house teams have gone back to the drawing board and redefined what is needed. There has been an increased sharpness in use of technology. The pandemic has affected our priorities, the how, when, and where we work from. Only time will tell how good or bad it is, but there has been a new beginning.
What are you most looking forward to about judging Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year Awards?
I am looking for excellence, a raising of the bar, cost-effective campaigns, and the thoughtfulness demonstrated by agencies in addressing the consumer mindsets formed due to the pandemic and looming recessionary times.
To what extent do you think global awards schemes like Campaign’s Global AOTY Awards act as an enabler for increased international collaboration?
I don’t know about international collaboration, but what such platforms do is bring some amazing work to the fore. Global awards schemes are apparently very encouraging for the winners to do better work and share with the world. It only ups the game of effective communications.
Angela Broad, head of marketing & design, Coca-Cola Europacific Partners, New Zealand
What will be the biggest opportunities and challenges for global marketers and their agencies in 2023, and how will they affect brands?
I’m fortunate to belong to a system that lives and breathes the importance of brands and leans into investment during tougher times. The opportunity from CMO side is to really sit in that driver’s seat for growth – keep that balance between the long and the short – the brand and performance. The ongoing chatter around recession will only serve to reinforce those that choose to hold back or redeploy spend away from brand. As an agency, seek to find ways to truly partner and offer grit in thinking before letting the creative fly. There’s no shortage of objective, empirical work that shows the laws of share of voice and how brands behave in recessions – package this up for clients that exist in numbers-driven businesses – it’s compelling stuff. Remember, your success depends on theirs.
The global agency sector performed well in 2022 after a strong recovery in 2021. Why do you think that is, and to what extent have you seen agencies change and evolve since the pandemic?
Like all businesses, agencies have needed to become smarter with resources and more attuned to their value proposition (and cash flow). In my view, it is a huge balancing act for leaders in the industry to become increasingly savvy without killing the creative heart and soul of the agency. From what I’ve seen, those that have survived have come through scarred but stronger.
A new challenge has emerged post-border closures; many of our under-30 workforce are heading off on the great Australasian tradition – the OE (overseas experience) – leaving our fair shores was likely inevitable, however reopening of borders means the quantum of people leaving is magnified.
For those of you who run agencies in the markets that traditionally attract our OE youth (particularly the UK), our loss is your gain. But it’s leaving a gap here, which will require creative and media agencies (and others), to rethink their employer value proposition and ensure diversity in creative thinking, from a youth perspective.
What are you most looking forward to about judging Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year Awards?
I’m expecting an incredibly high calibre of entries at this level. I look forward to the special few that ignite a solid panel discussion and show real thought leadership in content, and integrity in how they’re composed.
To what extent do you think global awards schemes like Campaign’s Global AOTY Awards act as an enabler for increased international collaboration?
It’s very easy for the advertising/client eco-system to remain blinkered and limit exposure and focus to what’s in front of our noses (local agencies and local campaigns) while we are all busy focused on ‘doing the doing’. Global award schemes are a great opportunity for clients and agencies alike to enjoy and learn from others’ great work – work that often is highly awarded locally yet not world famous or easily searchable. If your agency is part of a network, understanding the power that can bring, while retaining strong local roots, is one to leverage more.
Dhiren Amin, chief customer officer, Income Insurance Ltd, Singapore
What will be the biggest opportunities and challenges for global marketers and their agencies in 2023, and how will they affect brands?
The biggest challenges are the pressure on costs, driven by a combination of high inflation on account geopolitical factors like China’s lockdown impact and the continued attack on Ukraine, GDP slowdown in most regions and a foreseeable flattening of income for people in the short term. Tough times like these create a unique challenge for marketers – the need to drive short-term sales/profitability impact, while building long-term value and marketing needing to drive strong sales numbers through dramatically growing newer channels like e-commerce, social commerce, and modern trade. The days of marketing being just a brand-building function are gone. We are expected to be a short- and long-term business-driving function, which is both an opportunity and a challenge.
The global agency sector performed well in 2022 after a strong recovery in 2021. Why do you think that is, and to what extent have you seen agencies change and evolve since the pandemic?
The recovery was driven by an uplift in marketing spends across sectors to regain business scale post-pandemic. To that extent, the growth has been organic. However, agencies are showing a real intent, not just lip service to provide a solution-focused agency ecosystem for marketers, which is a refreshing change.
What are you most looking forward to about judging Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year Awards?
I’m looking forward to seeing the best in the agency business and specifically how Asian agencies stack up against their global counterparts.
To what extent do you think global awards schemes like Campaign’s Global AOTY Awards act as an enabler for increased international collaboration?
They don’t, just yet. But they certainly can. Part of being a judge on this esteemed is to find the best-in-class and then subsequently seek opportunities to work with them to grow our business.
Magdelena Kotek, chief marketing officer, Asia Pacific, Invesco, Hong Kong
What will be the biggest opportunities and challenges for global marketers and their agencies in 2023, and how will they affect brands?
Riding through the volatile cost pressures of the upcoming year due to economic disruptions, the potential of an economic recession or soft landing in some markets. Marketers must recognise the need to be bold and continue to stick by the principles and purpose of the brand.
The global agency sector performed well in 2022 after a strong recovery in 2021. Why do you think that is, and to what extent have you seen agencies change and evolve since the pandemic?
Smart agencies have been thinking critically about their offerings and organisational structures to respond to the client needs. The agencies that understand their clients and markets best, and take risks or invest to stay with their clients are the most successful. There is also a lot of pent-up demand after Covid restrictions.
What are you most looking forward to about judging Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year Awards?
I love the diversity of work from across the globe and the ability to zoom into markets. I love seeing how different agencies are tackling some of the most interesting brand problems in unique ways. I also really love seeing entries from Asia (where I have been working for many years) and from up-and-coming agency markets in Latin America, Africa, and Eastern Europe.
To what extent do you think global awards schemes like Campaign’s Global AOTY Awards act as an enabler for increased international collaboration?
Very much so. The awards give an opportunity to showcase strong work and to create connections among the entrants as well as the judges.
Zeeshan Khan, head of marketing, Legoland Resort, Malaysia
What will be the biggest opportunities and challenges for global marketers and their agencies in 2023, and how will they affect brands?
The world has changed quite drastically since 2020, and the shocks reverberating from the crisis seem to have taken root in other natural and man-made issues with conflicts, uncertainty and climate change creating economic havoc. Keeping track of changing realities is both a challenge and an opportunity for marketers, and agencies – being close partners – have to follow suit. This might sound clichéd but keeping consumers at the heart of the business will drive both innovation and purpose in how brands market and create more relevance for themselves.
The global agency sector performed well in 2022 after a strong recovery in 2021. Why do you think that is, and to what extent have you seen agencies change and evolve since the pandemic?
Business models have evolved, bringing with them changed ways of working. The emphasis on people, growth and balance has to be bigger than ever. Agencies play a huge role as brand and communication custodians for thousands of advertisers out there, so it’s imperative that their pace of evolution is in line with how the market and consumers are changing. The biggest change coming down the pipeline is the role that agencies play now vs future expectations and the concept of fair compensation and transparency, which are still tough topics to breach.
What are you most looking forward to about judging Campaign’s Global Agency of the Year Awards?
The perspective of different agencies: their people, their work, their collaboration, and the appreciation of the art and science, that goes into the millions of man-hours that are generated across brands, which all have their own playbooks. Surely nothing can be more fascinating than that.
To what extent do you think global awards schemes like Campaign’s Global AOTY Awards act as an enabler for increased international collaboration?
These awards honour the best of the best across geographies and disciplines, and enable the industry to recognise and applaud the best ideas, consistency, people and approach. Collaboration is part-and-parcel of this forum, and really something that drives that best and outstanding work ethic across teams.
See the full list of last year’s winners here: Campaign Global Agency of the Year Awards 2021
Request entry guidelines for 2022 here: Home – Aoy Global Awards
