Alberto Esparza, Head of Agencies at Meta, recently offered his expertise as a judge for Effie Awards México. The 2022 competition, which celebrated its winners in December, marked his fourth time on the jury and first time as group president (jury chair), presiding over the first and final round juries. We chatted with Alberto about the experience, where he delved into what separated this year’s judging from juries past, as well as offered advice for future Effie entrants.
As an Effie Mexico judge, what were your expectations for the day, before arriving to the session? Did you come into the experience with any key criteria for what it means to be effective?
Definitely! As a marketeer, I love to be inspired by the cases I usually judge in the Effies, and this time I was confident in the consistency and congruence we could find in all cases, due to the workshops and communication given to the industry. I expected to see a higher alignment between objectives and business results, from the goal setting to the results presented.
Did you have a favorite part of the judging experience? What was the most challenging?
I loved the debate between cases. That is my favorite part of judging in-person. The different POVs really enriched the process and raised the bar for the Effies. My favorite debate was around awarding the Grand Effie.
Were the judges generally in agreement around the campaigns’ effectiveness?
I had the chance to be president of my groups in the two evaluation phases, and both were full of debate, all driven and encouraged by a clear goal—make certain the work is Effie worthy.
What was your impression of the campaigns you reviewed – either in overall quality or trends in the work? Any good takeaways/learnings from the work or experience that will stick with you?
I was surprised by the tech adoption and evolution from most of the cases I evaluated, especially when cases were adding cost-efficient results attributed to the campaign. If I compare the last Effies vs this year’s competition, these cases improved considerably.
What advice would you offer to future Effie Awards entrants?
Be bold and make sure your cases are 100% aligned with the category you’re submitting, as well as the business impact. Also, be mindful to not fall under vanity results (engagement, likes, comments), without a causality to the measured and positive business impact.
Alberto was a judge in the 2022 Effie Awards México competition. See the 2022 winners.
