Starting signal for the Media Award

Entries can now be submitted for the new Media Award in four categories. The early bird phase runs until April 24, 2021, and the "Agency of the Year" will be honored for the first time.

After the pandemic-related break last year and the reorientation this year, the Media Award will be exciting in every respect! At the award show on September 14, 2021, media excellence from two years will be honored. As of now, work from 2019 and 2020 can be submitted to the most important award for outstanding media performance. Submission is now even easier: with the online toolsubmit.to, the Award for Media Excellence relies on the common industry standard. EPAMEDIA, Gewista, Goldbach Austria, Kleine Zeitung, Kronen Zeitung, ORF-Enterprise, RMS Austria and VGN Medien Holding have retooled the categories and added a new digital focus.

"In the last year, media usage has changed decisively. Flexibility and agility were necessary to align campaigns with the new usage behavior and to effectively reach people in this extraordinary situation. The Austrian media have gained massive relevance through credibility and reliability and have provided a robust environment. It will be particularly exciting to honor excellent media achievements from two different years in one award," announcesAndreas Janzek(Kleine Zeitung), President of the Media Award Association.

New glory for the agency of the year

Entries for the Media Award 2021 can be submitted in the following four categories:

• Excellent Media Strategy:The campaign is based on an exceptional strategy and strong idea and the target group-specific measures were measurably successful.
• Excellent Media Innovation:A proven medium was used in a new way or a new (special) form of advertising was created.
• Excellent use of data:The innovative and strategic use of data or technology accounts for the success of the campaign, with a focus on Austrian solutions
• Excellent content integration:The intelligent integration of relevant content in media has strengthened the brand or product message

For the first time in the history of the Media Awards, there is a special prize across all categories that gives the winner a special shine: From the sum of all shortlist placements and awards, the "Agency of the Year" is calculated, which can accumulate the most points. In addition to the national award, all bronze, silver and gold award winners collect valuable points for the globalRECMA ranking, which lists the best media agencies in the world.

Early birds have the starting advantage

With the realignment of the Media Awards, the submission phase has also been adapted. In the Early Bird phase, submitters benefit from the reduced rate of 190 euros (excluding VAT) up to and including April 24, 2021. In the regular submission phase, which runs from April 25 to May 30, 2021, the submission fee is 240 euros. The Media Award is the only award in Austria to offer an attractive package price: four entries can be submitted for the price of three, resulting in a 25 percent saving. There is no deadline for late submissions.

The shortlists are to be finalized by the end of June, from which the jury will select the winners in the summer. The awards ceremony will take place on September 14, 2021, and is planned as a real-life gala and networking event.

More transparency

In the run-up to the event, the organizers have already agreed on clear guidelines for the jury's evaluation, which will ensure greater transparency, provide orientation for entrants and make it easier to compare work on the basis of a uniform catalog of criteria.

In the "Insights and Idea" complex, the derivation and presentation of the basic idea are evaluated on the basis of the initial situation, target definition and analysis. In the "Continuation and Implementation" complex, both strategic and operational implementation as well as the development of media innovations and the implementation of data strategies for brand staging are put to the test. Finally, the measurable achievement of objectives based on previously defined KPIs is awarded in the "Impact and Results" area in the points system. These three clusters result in a standardized evaluation procedure that makes excellent media performance even more precisely ascertainable.

Submissions now open

Submissions for the Media Award can be made from now until May 30, 2021, exclusively online atmediaaward.at. Eligible for the Media Award 2021 are works that are specifically designed for the Austrian market and were placed between January 1, 2019 and December 31, 2020 with the involvement of Austrian media. While the advertising media used may also have been produced outside Austria, the media service must have been provided in this country and the media budget must have been used in Austria. All companies that played a significant role in the work, such as media, creative and advertising agencies, clients, media and marketers, are eligible to submit entries.

About the Media Award

The Media Award is the most important Austrian award for media excellence and - with the exception of 2020 due to the pandemic - has been presented annually to media agencies, advertisers and advertising agencies since 2004. It is an initiative of EPAMEDIA, Gewista, Goldbach Austria, Kleine Zeitung, Kronen Zeitung, ORF-Enterprise, RMS Austria and VGN Medien Holding. The Media Award stands for the quality of Austrian media and Austrian media excellence and has the objective of honoring the various facets of media and the associated use of Austrian media. This raises awareness of the quality of media and the lasting impact of Austrian media on advertising success. Further information atmediaaward.at