By the time an Effie entry has reached the winners’ circle, it has survived two rounds of evaluation from a rigorous jury of senior industry executives focused on identifying the industry’s most effective work.
Round One
Judges receive cases across a range of categories. Judges evaluate all elements of an entry, written case and creative executions, on a stand-alone basis without comparison to other entries in the category. Brief discussion takes place as a part of the Effie Round One judging process. However, each jury member is reviewing a unique set of cases. Scoring is done confidentially by each juror.
Final Round
Finalists are judged against other finalists within their category, and like Round One, all elements of each case are reviewed and scored. Discussion is a part of the Final Round process.
All jury members in Round One and Final Round sign confidentiality forms and review work within a secure judging location arranged by Effie. Jurors are specifically matched with cases that do not prove a conflict of interest – for example a judge with an automotive background would not review an automotive case. For this reason it is critical that entrants provide market and category context in their entries. Judges are looking for great results against challenging goals – a truly effective case. Simply entering impressive numbers, without context regarding why the numbers are impressive in the context of past performance, competitive context, category context, etc. and how the communications are directly linked to the results, will not garner an Effie.
The Grand Effie
Effie awards Ideas that Work – the great ideas that achieve real results and the strategy that goes into creating them.
The Grand Effie represents the single best case entered in a given year.
There will likely be something ‘breakthrough’ about it – whether that be the way a market was re-framed…or an insight that opened new possibilities…or a creative leap that achieved real standout…or the discovery of a new way to engage with an audience…. all with the express purpose and proven capability of delivering outstanding effectiveness.
As the Grand Jury is so senior and are expressing their collective opinion, the winning case represents both the most effective case of the year and a message that will be sent to the industry about learnings for the way forward.
Only a select number of the highest-scoring gold winning cases are considered contenders for the Grand Effie award.
Scoring Criteria
Judges in Round One and Final Round are asked to evaluate a case’s effectiveness using the following scoring system:
70% of the score, equally weighted for each section:
- Strategic Communications Challenge & Objectives
- Idea
- Bringing the Idea to Life (includes the creative and media strategies and the work itself)
30% of the score:
- Results
The lense through which each case is evaluated by the jury is effectiveness. Effie jurors seek results with context against challenging goals. Jury scores determine which cases will be awarded a gold, silver or bronze Effie trophy. Each winning level – gold, silver, bronze – has a minimum score required in order for a finalist to be eligible for an award. Effie trophies are awarded in each category at the discretion of the judges scores. It is possible that a category may produce one, two, three or four winners of any level or perhaps no winners at all.
Judges share their opinions about the body of work in the Effective Entry Guide. This guide also includes detailed instructions for each question on the entry form.