Sponsor 
ASIA PACIFIC – Warc today launches the 2014 Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, a cash prize for the smartest marketing strategy in the region. The Prize returns for its fourth year with a Prize fund of US$10,000.
Warc will award Gold, Silver and Bronze awards to the best strategy case studies, plus a $5,000 Grand Prix. In addition, Warc will award five $1,000 excelling in specific areas. This year Warc has included a new Research Excellence Special Award to recognize the best use of research in strategy development.
Freddy Bharucha, CMO, Procter & Gamble Asia, will chair a judging panel of senior client-side marketers and strategy experts from around the world. Other judges will be announced shortly.
Once again, the Prize is completely free to enter, and is open to brand owners and agencies in any discipline. Entrants must submit a case study detailing an example of strategic marketing thinking, and the impact of that strategy. Further details can be found on the Prize website, www.warc.com/asiaprize
The purpose of the Prize is to showcase great strategic thinking – the ability to turn insight into breakthrough marketing ideas that transform brands.
“When a strong strategy is brilliantly executed, it translates to immediate share results,” said Bharucha. “Strategy is all about creating competitive advantage through intentional choices. We will be looking for a clearly differentiated message that drives the brand’s strategic advantage and competitive edge in the minds of the chosen consumer tribe.”
The five Special Awards were developed after industry feedback that the Prize should recognise major Asian strategic challenges. They are:
• The Market Pioneer Award for the best example of a brand creating a category or targeting a new market – for example, lower-tier or low-income consumers, or an otherwise underserved market.
• The Research Excellence Award for the smartest use of research in developing strategic ideas.
• The Channel Insight Award for the best example of a brand building its strategy around new understanding of media consumption and other touchpoint behaviour in Asia.
• The Local Hero Award for the best example of a challenger Asian brand using smart marketing strategy to take on bigger competitors.
• The Asia First Award for the best example of insight or innovation that the rest of the world can learn from.
The deadline for entries is 13 June 2013, and the winner will be announced in September. All cases that win an award will be showcased in the Asia Strategy Report, a study of smart strategic thinking in the region published after the competition has ended.
“After three successful years, the Prize has established itself as the leading showcase of Asia’s breakthrough strategies,” said David Tiltman, Warc’s Head of Content. “We’ll be looking for smart thinking that makes a real difference to a brand’s performance.”
The 2013 Warc Prize for Asian Strategy Grand Prix was awarded to a paper from BBDO Guerrero on the ‘It’s More Fun in the Philippines’ tourism campaign. The social media-led campaign allowed the Philippines to outperform its major rivals on a fraction of their marketing budget. In total, 18 case studies were awarded prizes, and more details on last year’s winners can be found here.
To find out more about the Prize, visit www.warc.com/asiaprize. For any other prize-related queries please email warcprizeasia@warc.com.
