JUDGING PROCESS

The Chairs of the Judging Committee and the Blue Print Committee will brief the judges on the procedures and their responsibilities.

The Chairs of each panel at the outset will outline the system, the norms and the rules that must be followed.

Local agency judges will not vote for the work produced by the agency they represent. It is mandatory that the International judges vote for ALL the work, irrespective of whether it was produced by the agency they represent.

There will be 2 rounds of judging. However, if any category requires it, the Chairs may decide to have an additional round to further eliminate the entries prior to the said 2nd round of judging.

Round 1
This will be an elimination round. The judges will look at all the entries from all the categories in that section to evaluate all the submissions. After which they will conduct a vote for each entry on an In/Out basis. Based on the majority decision the submissions will enter the next round.

Round 2
All submissions entering this round will be evaluated on the criteria specified for this particular category. They will vote by a show of hands for each entry as per round one but will do so after viewing all the finalists. According to the majority decision by a show of hands the metals; Gold, Silver and Bronze will be awarded..

At this juncture in the absence of an interim round, the panel under the jurisdiction of the Chair, will determine if all the entries in this round are to be termed finalists. If not, the Jury Chair in consultation with the jury will determine the finalists by discussion or a show of hands.

The interim round is an optional round which might be conducted as determined by the Jury Chair, to further eliminate the entries prior to the selection of metal winners. In such an instance all work entering the next round will be termed finalists.

The collation of the results which would mean the counting of the votes in both rounds will be the responsibility of the auditor under the supervision of the judging committee in partnership with the moderator. The audit firm as documentary proof will retain all the results.

Note: The information provided in the entry form pertaining to the background, the target audience and the desired response will be available with the moderator to clarify any questions that may arise.

The decisions taken by a jury at the conclusion of that particular jury’s sitting cannot be revisited nor can the said jury be reconvened for another sitting following the formal approval of the results.

RE-VOTING

In all rounds, if a judge is of the opinion that a particular piece which was exceptional was not available for the said round, he or she may request for a revote on that entry. If 3 or more judges agree to a revote the said piece will be included in to the said round as the case may be. This will ensure that good work does not get rejected unfairly. No judge could speak for work from their own agency.

MODERATORS

Senior professional/s holding senior positions in established marketing companies which are independent from the advertising industry will serve as the lead moderators for the panels. They will not serve on the panel of judges but will sit-in throughout the judging process to answer queries and to clarify any issues that may arise. The moderator will brief the panel of their responsibilities prior to each category and round of judging to ensure that the judging focuses on the specified criteria etc. Questions pertaining to eligibility, classification etc. will be addressed by him or her.

These moderators will be assisted by deputy moderators who will help throughout the judging process and attend to the prior arrangements for the judging as well as the post judging administrative responsibilities. The lead moderators should be assigned to specific panels and their details should be made known at the agency briefing.