Been in existence for more than 54 years now, The ABBY Awards over time has become a brand in itself owing to the fact that it has remained relevant and contemporary over the years. And truly so, the coveted gala has changed and evolved with due course of time, rather than remaining rigid in past glory.
Speaking to Marketing Mind on the evolution of The ABBYs to that of being The ABBY Awards powered by One Show three years back, Ajay Kakar, Chairperson of Awards Governing Council, ABBY Awards 2024 powered by One Show, and Managing Committee Member, The Advertising Club, stated that the reason behind the coveted gala awards still being relevant in the industry lies in its key differentiation- it is the only award show which is for the industry, by the industry and of the industry.
In his views, what this essentially means is that, even though the name of the awards show has changed from The ABBY Awards to The ABBY Awards powered by One Show, it has only been in existence to promote the industry and be a platform to encourage, incentivize and inspire the larger advertising, marketing and media industry.
Unlike other awards shows which may/may not be commercialized as part of the larger businesses, The ABBY Awards powered by One Show owing to the fact that the same is for, by and of the industry, every year has an open house where people share their views and feedbacks on what needs to be evolved or even added to the coveted gala and thereby help in the foreseeable journey of The ABBY Awards powered by One Show.
Commenting on the perception of the industry towards The ABBY Awards powered by One Show as against The Effies, he, who has himself looked after the Effies for about five years if not six and The ABBYs for two years if not three, believes that both Effies and ABBYs are two sides of the same coin with the end having to be celebrating creatives that are effective.
“If you look at the winners of both the ABBYs and the Effies, you’ll find out that most of the campaigns that the industry deems fit to call good work are today winning on both fronts and that’s what’s exciting because creative awards like Abbys inspire one to think out of the box and Effies is the proof that they do work to a brief. The fact that both of them are finding similar wins proves the point that we are not here only for the sake of art,” he said.
According to Kakar, The ABBY Awards 2024 powered by One Show has seen an all time high of receiving 3,506 entries from 273 companies which includes media agencies, creative agencies, publishers, broadcasters, content companies, PR companies, video craft companies, design companies, NGOs, branded content companies and corporates amongst others. Last year, the total entries for the awards show summed up to 3301.
Sharing the breakout of the total entries received this year, he mentioned that while the entries from creative companies went up from 2282 in 2023 to 2248 this year, the entries from media agencies surged to 1258 this year, as against 1019 last year.
With this, he also pointed out that the participation for The ABBY Awards 2024 Powered by One Show from media agencies went up from 63 to 73 on a YoY basis, followed by creative companies which increased from 181 in 2023 to 198 this year.
Upon being questioned if the rise in the number of entries received for the coveted awards gala is a result of the Goafest and The ABBY Awards powered by One Show taking place in Mumbai’s Westin Powai this year rather than the usual spot- Grand Hyatt, Bambolim (Goa), Kakar replied that he personally shares the opinion that with Mumbai, being the Capital of all things advertising, be it brand, branding, marketing, media, and so on and so forth, the doors are open for all the more people to attend as taking permissions from the senior authorities becomes comparatively easier and no extravagant monetary assistance is required.
“It was due to a compulsion- the Lok Sabha elections as we all know that the venue had to be changed. But if the IPL, which is considered to be the biggest cricketing property in the country, had to go to the Middle East because of a similar reason some years back, so can the Goafest and The ABBY Awards 2024 powered by One Show. Eventually, it is the show which has to and must go on. Celebrating good work and getting inspired by good work is more important than the venue, because the venue is all but a matter of convenience and I think that we’ve moved it to a place which is more convenient than ever,” he said.
Throwing light on to the agencies which have returned to the 55th edition of the awards which celebrates creative excellence- The ABBY Awards 2024 Powered by One Show, and that too in a big way, Kakar pointed out that one of the agencies that has stayed away from creative awards for a very long period now- Lowe Lintas, along with the newly rechristened WPP agency- VML, McCann Worldgroup India, DDB Mudra and Famous Innovations are all back and participating in The ABBY Awards 2024 powered by One Show.
“We have all the big people from the agency who have chosen to be with us today and it is only because we are relevant, contemporary, and stringent as the One Show which has partnered with us comes with its own set of policies, processes and quality control. And therefore, people have started to realize that if they win at The ABBY Awards powered by One Show, there’s a good chance that they will win at the OneShow or/and at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity,” he added.
Furthermore, he also mentioned that doubling down on its stringent independent verification, The ABBY Awards 2024 powered by One Show has also partnered with KPMG from an external perspective, year after year.
Keeping true to the relevancy and contemporary quotient of The ABBY Awards powered by One Show, Kakar pointed out that since the ambition is to not just be the best in India but across the world, The Awards Governing Council after conducting its annual Town Hall to listen and understand the industry’s perception of what they believe the world is today and the change that needs to reflect at The ABBY Awards powered by One Show has introduced three new age categories– Digital, Mobile, and Technology.
Interestingly, what has happened in the aftermath of the inclusion of these categories in this year’s edition of The ABBY Awards powered by One Show is that the three of the categories have collectively garnered 626 entries from 75 companies, which is about 20% of the total entries received this year.
Additionally, what has also been included within the existing categories for The ABBY Awards Powered by One Show are the subcategories like Best Use of AI in both digital and technology verticals and Copywriting for web and digital craft in still digital and digital verticals.
Moreover, an entire new vertical- Health has been added this year to The ABBY Awards powered by One Show with sub-categories such as OTC Oral Medicines, OTC Products, Nutraceuticals among others along with a new specialist agency award being introduced as Health Specialist of the Year for the best performance by a company in the same.
Delving into the jury lineup for The ABBY Awards powered by One Show, Kakar stated that since the awards gala comprises 23 categories, there are 23 jury chairs and 204 jurors who form the holistic jury lineup. That being said, what has happened this year is that 53 new, young and award-winning judges were introduced to the process, making an impressive 26% of jury.
“Since inclusivity is not something that we look at because the world asks us to but because it is in our DNA, we have 68 females in our jury lineup contributing to a ratio of 33:67 when compared to males and of the total 23 jury chairs, we have nine females contributing to a ratio of 40:60,” he added.
With this, he also went on to point that the jury selection process for the awards gala is extremely ruthless for it doesn’t take into account if an individual is young or old or even male or female, but just one thing- contemporary, which is why the jury for The ABBY Awards powered by One Show only includes those who have earned recognition and respect in the industry, be it in the domestic or international market and are keen to participate because the committee at the end of the day doesn’t want a jury member who believes that he/she is good for judging but not participating.
“The people we have selected as part of our jury are the ones who want to be there and have earned their right because they are doing award-winning work themselves today,” he said.
