MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The 2023 Cresta Awards has opened for entries with a call for renewed attention by the advertising industry to the “work that makes and changes business, culture, and society.”
“It’s a self-evident fact the communications industry does not always do its best job on promoting the immense value it brings to the business and the wider communities it helps,” said Cresta CEO Lewis Blackwell. He announced this year’s Cresta Awards would bring renewed attention to pulling out the stories that help shift the perception of creativity in advertising and marketing. “We can all learn more from the best work we do in this industry, we need to grow a wider appreciation of the creative work. Cresta takes that as the key part of its mission.”
“This year we will increase resources behind sharing winners’ stories more widely and in particular highlighting how outstanding creativity leads to outstanding performance. Our category development, and shaping and advice to the jury, further reflects this.”
Cresta has updated its categories with a stronger focus on both Social Impact and also Creative Commerce. Other areas of development areas include Brand Storytelling, Start-Up businesses, Direct Marketing, B2B, and Craft areas.
“There is a need to be more sensitive and insightful on how brand work is recognized,” added Cresta President Alan Page. “Cresta aims to give entrants every possible opportunity to demonstrate how their creativity can advance business and social agendas. We’re still open for suggestions of further improvement.”
The organizers say they intend to survey and promote the best creative achievements the awards recognize, playing back the best from around the world to the client community.
Besides adding new categories, Cresta has doubled-down on its commitment to being “the most fair and sustainable global creative award.”
Lewis said Cresta aims to “be the most fair in what we judge, how we judge, what we charge for participation, and how we reward.”
The competition is distinctive in having a large rolling jury, where some members stay on for several years while others rotate, the overall selection is carefully balanced to reflect a globally diverse range of creative agencies and their clients.
This year’s competition is opening with a Super Early Bird offer, where participants can benefit from a $200 saving on the standard rate per entry.
Cresta’s trophy was redesigned five years ago by the leading designer Fernando Gutierrez and is highly sustainable. Made purely of certified timber and anodized aluminum, renewable and fully recyclable, it claims to be the most hand-crafted of all trophies, with a simple geometric design based on the golden section.
“We are proud to offer a beautiful piece of design as our trophy, an indicator of how all products need to be more sustainable. It’s a standout and, we hope, a pioneer in this industry,” added Lewis.
