The ninth edition of the MENA Effie Awards (Effies) is set to take place on November 15, 2017. The awards programme was launched to honour the most effective marketing efforts in the region and the ceremony is expected to attract more than 2,000 attendees, including the best marketing and advertising minds in the Middle East.

The call for entries is now open across 29 categories, including a new addition for this year – ‘Renaissance’. The first entry deadline is on Thursday, September 7, with the second following on Thursday, September 14, and the final deadline on Thursday, September 28. All entries must be made before 6pm Dubai time on the specified dates.

Alexandre Hawari, Co-CEO of Mediaquest – the organiser of the MENA Effie Awards – commented: “We are delighted to be opening the call for entries for the ninth edition of the MENA Effies, which has become one of the most prestigious awards programmes in the region’s marketing calendar. The programme has been designed to encompass the entire marketing world and give companies a real opportunity to display their innovative, effective approaches to everything, ranging from sector-specific marketing to branded content and media ideas. The entries have been of an increasingly high calibre year on year and we are confident that 2017 will be no exception.”

The programme boasts a wide range of industry-specific categories, including ‘Automotive’, ‘Banking, Finance & Insurance’, ‘Cosmetics & Fragrances’, ‘Electronics’, ‘Food & Beverage – FMCG’, ‘Non-Food FMCG’, ‘Healthcare Services’, ‘Personal Care Products’, ‘Retail & Luxury’, ‘Entertainment & Sports’, ‘Telecommunications, Mobiles & Internet’, and ‘Travel, Tourism & Transportation’.

Entrants are encouraged to showcase their marketing and branding innovation in categories such as ‘New Products & Services’, ‘Media Idea’, ‘Brand Experience’, ‘Branded Content’, ‘Media Partnership Activation’ and ‘Seasonal Marketing’.

The programme also includes a dedicated ‘Shopper Marketing’ category, two ‘Youth Marketing’ categories – one for children and one for teenagers and adults – and two ‘Social Good’ categories for corporate brands and non-profit organisations.

Winning an Effie has become a global symbol of achievement and participants will be battling it out for the ‘Grand Prix’, as well other prestigious accolades including ‘Marketer of the Year’, ‘Most Effective Advertising Office of the Year’, ‘Most Effective Media Office of the Year’ and ‘Most Effective Agency Network of the Year’.

Alongside the Effie Awards ceremonies taking place across the world is the Effie Effectiveness Index, the most comprehensive global ranking of marketing effectiveness. It identifies and ranks the world’s most effective agencies, marketers and brands by analysing finalist and winner data from 40+ worldwide Effie Award competitions.

The 2017 Effie Effectiveness Index has just been released and is compiled from 3,601 finalists and winning entries from worldwide 2016 Effie Award competitions, with winners including Unilever for ‘Most Effective Marketer’ and Vodafone for ‘Most Effective Brand’. The winners of the MENA Effie Awards 2017 will become part of the ranking process for the 2018 Effie Effectiveness Index.

The MENA Effie Awards aims to establish a gold standard of creative marketing brilliance in the region and is being generously supported this year by Choueiri, Main Sponsor; DMC, Strategic Sponsor; ATL and IPSOS, Category Sponsors; Cicero & Bernay Public Relations, Official PR Partner; and Communicate, Gulf Marketing Review and The Media Network, Media Partners.