effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
the entry process
Entry into the 2016 Effie UK competition will open in November 2015 and it will be fully digital.
Begin the entry process by reviewing the information and resources available on the Effie UK
website. Be sure to review the Entry Rules & Regulations in detail. Once the Effie UK Online Entry
System opens in November 2015 and you are ready to begin an entry, you will need to initially
register to start using the system.
All entries will need to be submitted directly through the Online Entry System. The Online Entry
System collects: basic entry questions used for judging as well as additional data for research,
database, and promotional purposes.
This document outlines the entry questions used in judging. It is intended to be used as a
guideline to help you prepare the core elements of your entry.
guidelines for entry questions
To enter the 2016 Effie UK competition, your case must have run:
Between 1/4/2014 and 30/09/2015. (No results after 30th September 2015 are eligible.)
Your results must relate directly to this time period. Include a specific, verifiable source for all
data and facts presented in the case. Be specific regarding timing. Any data without a source
will not be considered. It's fine to include data prior to the eligibility period if you think it will help
judges to better evaluate the case's success within the eligibility period. This data could
include the state of the market, etc. No results after 30/09/2015 are allowed under any
circumstances. Judges appreciate concise, honest, compelling cases.
The final entry PDF (viewable in the Pending Entries tab in the Online Entry System once Parts 17 are complete) must be a maximum of 10 pages. In addition, certain questions have a
specific word limit. Page limit and word limits must be adhered to; disregarding page limits or
word limits is a reason for disqualification.
The final entry PDF (viewable in the Pending Entries tab in the Online Entry System only after
Parts 1-7 are complete) is the final case as it will be seen by judges.
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
Part 1
Category Selection
Product & service category
(Select one category from the following Product
& service list or from the Speciality list below.)
Agriculture, Industrial, Building
Automotive-Aftermarket
Automotive-Vehicles
Beauty
Beverages-Alcohol
Beverages-Non Alcohol
Culture & the Arts
Electronics
Entertainment & Sports
Finance
Government, Institutional, Recruitment
Home Furnishings & Appliances
Home Supplies & Services
Internet/Telecom
Leisure & Recreation
Packaged Food
Personal Care
Property/Real Estate
Retail
Travel & Tourism
Speciality category
Speciality Category Submissions:
Why do you think your submission is particularly
suited to this speciality category? Outline how it
meets the Effie UK speciality category criteria in
100 words or less. If entering a Product/Service
category, write “Not Applicable.” (100 word limit)
Asian Audience
Brand Experience
Business-to-Business
Social Good-Brands
Social Good-Nonprofit
Corporate Reputation
David vs. Goliath
Media Idea
Media Innovation – Existing Channel
Media Innovation – New Channel Creation
New Product/Service Introductions
Renaissance
Small Budgets
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
Part 1
Entry Details
Entry title (20 word limit)
Brand name (20 word limit)
Provide an Executive Summary of your case in
100 words or less to give judges a clear picture of
the case study they are about to read and why
they should consider it worthy of an effectiveness
award. (100 word limit)
Type/Description of the Product/Service
Do not include brand name (100 word limit)
Classification
Local
Regional
National
Dates effort ran FROM
Dates effort from TO
Ongoing?
Yes or No
What was the strategic communications challenge? (500 words limit)
Provide context on the degree of difficulty of this challenge and detail the business need the effort was meant
to address. What was the business problem the effort was meant to address? What were the specific
challenges and opportunities that the client and/or brand/product faced?
Define the audience you were trying to reach for each market. (500 words limit)
What attitudes, behaviours, demographics, culture, etc. define them?
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
What was the state of the brand’s business and the marketplace or category in which it competes before
your effort began? (500 words limit)
Provide information on the category, marketplace, company, competitive environment, and/or the
product/service that created your challenge. Provide competitive context (main competitor spend, position in
market, etc.) and category benchmarks.
What were your objectives? What were the Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) against your objectives?
State specific objectives. (500 words limit)
Your entry may have one or all of the following objectives: A. Business, B. Behavioural, C.
Perceptual/Attitudinal. State specific objectives for all of these that apply to your case and the tools you
planned to use to measure each objective. Explain why these objectives are important for the brand. Provide
a prior year benchmark for each KPI or context regarding why they are significant if no prior benchmark is
available. Provide a % or # and time frame for all objectives. Ensure that it is clear why the objectives are
important to moving the business forward and defend/rationalise the basis for the objectives selected, if you
feel it is necessary.
What was the insight that led to the big idea? How did you get to that insight? (500 words limit)
Describe what led to your idea – e.g. a consumer or business insight, a channel insight, marketplace/brand
opportunity, etc.? Explain how it originated and how the big idea addressed the challenge.
What was your big idea? State in one sentence. (50 words limit)
What was the core idea that drove your global effort and led to the breakthrough results? What was at the
very heart of the success in this case? This is not your execution or tagline.
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
How did your big idea evolve? (500 words limit)
Explain how your big idea evolved while maintaining continuity/integrity.
How did you bring the idea to life? Explain your communications strategy (including your media strategy)
and the rationale behind your channel choices. (750 words limit)
Describe and provide rationale for your communications strategy that brings the idea to life, as borne from
the insights and strategic challenge described above. How did your creative and media strategies work
together to reach your specific audience? How did you link the insight to the channel choices and how does
that play out in your strategy to bring the idea to life in the UK? Explain your media strategy and why the
channel choices were right for your audience & idea. Did your communications strategy change over time? If
so, how?
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
Part 2
Marketing Channels & Components
What channels did you use? (Communication Touch Points). Check all that apply.
Indicate below all communications touch points used in this case. You must provide detail in your written
case and show on the 4-minute video at least one example of each communication touch point you mark
below which was integral to the effort’s success. For example, if you mark 30 boxes below and 10 were
what drove the results and were integral to the effort, those 10 must be featured on the 4-minute video.
(Below is a list of communication touch point options. All answers for this question must be selected
from this list. NOTE: This box of options will not appear on the final case PDF.)
TV: Spots, branded content, sponsorship on TV, product placement, Interactive TV/Video on Demand)
Radio: Spots, merchandising, program/content
Print: Trade/professional, newspaper - print, newspaper - digital, magazine - print, magazine- digital,
custom publication
Direct: Mail, Email
PR
Guerrilla: Street teams, tagging, wraps, buzz marketing, ambient media, sampling/trial
Events
Cinema
Interactive/Online: Display ads, brand website/microsite, developed brand content for another website,
mobile/tablet optimized website, digital video, video skins/bugs, podcasts, gaming, contests, search engine
mktg (SEM/SEO), Geo-based ads, social networking sites/applications
Loyalty Program
Cause Marketing
Brand Community
Mobile/Tablet: App, in-app or in-game app, messaging/editorial/content, display ad, location-based
communications
Consumer Involvement: WOM, consumer-generated, viral
Out-of-Home: Airport, transit, billboard, place-based
Packaging
Product Design
Trade Shows
Sponsorship
Internal Marketing
Retail Experience: POP, in-store video, in-store merchandising, retailtainment, store within a store,
pharmacy
Sales Promotion
Professional Engagement: In-office, Congresses, detail/e-tail/interactive visual aids (IVAs), closed loop
marketing (CLM), continuing engagement, informational/documentary video
Point of Care (POC): Wallboards, video [HAN, Accent Health], brochures, coverwraps, electronic check-in
Other: please specify
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
Main Touch Points
Example:
Indicate the three main communications touch
Cinema
points used.
Events
Guerrilla
(Below is a list of ‘main touch point’ options. All answers for this question must be selected from this
list. NOTE: This box of options will not appear on the final case PDF.)
Cinema
Consumer involvement
Direct
Events
Guerrilla
Interactive
Internal marketing
Mobile/Tablet
Not applicable
OOH
Packaging
Point of care (POC)
PR
Print
Production design
Professional engagement
Radio
Retail experience
Sales promotion
Social networking applications
Sponsorship
Trade shows
TV
Other
Main Touch Points - Other
Please detail here if you selected 'other' for your main touch points what the other options are. You may
also use this box to elaborate on the key touch points if the selections above don't fully address what your
main touch point was. For example if you selected 'TV' but would like to elaborate that it was 'branded
content on TV'.
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
List and explain all other marketing components that were active during this time.
Select the components that were active for each country listed.
(Below is a list of ‘other marketing component’ options. All answers for this question must be selected
from this list. NOTE: This box of options will not appear on the final case PDF.)
None
Pricing Changes
Couponing
Leveraging Distribution
CRM/Loyalty Programs
Giveaways/Sampling
Other marketing for the brand running at the same time as the entered effort/campaign
Other - write in here
Explain the selected components. (750 words limit)
Creative materials included on your
4-minute video
Example:
TV
Print
Interactive
(Below is a list of ‘creative material’ options. All answers for this question must be selected from this
list. NOTE: This box of options will not appear on the final case PDF.)
TV
Radio
Interactive
Social networking sites/applications
Mobile/Tablet
Print
OOH
Direct
PR
Retail experience
Sales promotion
Cinema
Guerrilla
Events
Packaging
Product design
Consumer involvement
Trade shows
Sponsorship
Professional engagement
Point of care (POC)
Internal marketing
Other (please specify)
Creative materials - Other
If you selected 'other' for 'Creative Materials', list the other materials here.
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
Part 3
Media
What were the total media expenditures for this case from 1/4/14 - 30/09/15
(Below is a list of ‘expenditure range’ options. All answers for this question must be selected from this
list. NOTE: This box of options will not appear on the final case PDF.)

Less than £50 thousand

£50 - 200 thousand

£200 - 500 thousand

£500 - 999 thousand

£1 – 2 million

£2 – 5 million

£5 million and over
What is the average annual budget for this case? (over last three years)
(Below is a list of ‘expenditure range’ options. All answers for this question must be selected from this
list. NOTE: This box of options will not appear on the final case PDF.)Less than £50 thousand

£50 - 200 thousand

£200 - 500 thousand

£500 - 999 thousand

£1 – 2 million

£2 – 5 million

£5 million and over
By your estimates, compared to other
competitors in this category, this budget is:
Less
More
About the same
Less
More
About the same
Compared to prior year spend on the brand
overall, is the budget this year:
Was owned media or sponsorship a part of
your effort?
Yes
No
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
Owned Media
Elaborate on owned media (company owned real-estate, either physical or digital, that acted as
communication channels for case content – e.g. corporate website/social media platforms, packaging,
branded store, fleet of buses, etc.), or write “not applicable”.
Sponsorship
Detail any sponsorships you had or write "not applicable".
effie UK – Entry Questions Guidelines
Part 4
Results
How do you know it worked? (Include KPIs.) Explain why, with context, these results are significant for the
brand. You must provide proof of results. (1500 words limit)
1) Detail why you consider your effort a success. Refer to your specific audience and directly to your objectives and KPIs
described early in your entry. Demonstrate how you met or exceeded those objectives using quantitative and behavioural
metrics or other measurement tools you described. Use charts and graphs to display your results where possible and
provide a clear time period for all data shown. 2) Explain, with context, why your results are significant in your
competitive category and situation. Did your effort drive business? How? For confidential information, proof of
performance may be indexed if desired. Numerical results lacking context regarding why they are significant will be
disregarded. Provide pre and post measures and an understanding of the industry and category norm. You must show
how the individual KPIs achieved tie together and collectively impact the overall success of the case. Note: Do not include
results after 30/09/2015; this will result in disqualification.
Explain all other factors (whether or not you were involved) that might have helped drive results. (500
words limit)
Describe all other factors in the marketplace that could have contributed to results shown in this entry. Judges
are industry executives – entries that omit pertinent information will be disqualified. You may use this space to
eliminate other factors that judges may believe contributed to your results. You must answer this question or
write “no other factors.” Do not leave blank.