CEO, Andrew Human, certainly believes the latter is true of the contemporary Loeries. He equates the value of winning a bird with competing for a gold medal in the Olympics - a representation of how high you can raise the bar in improving performance and delivery.

He cites the Loeries Official Rankings as the yardstick by which to gauge an agency's standing in brand building by applying measurable criteria to the number of awards they have won. In addition transparent judging, in that entries are anonymous and the focus is on the quality of the work and not who produced it, also adds credibility to the process.

"Therefore winning a Loerie adds value as it provides a realistic incentive for agency staff to aspire to greater creativity," Human explains.

Watershed moments

Besides the obvious kudos of winning an award, Human illustrates the value of industry recognition by outlining some of the watershed moments in the evolution of the event. The shift in venue from glitzy Sun City to the small coastal town of Margate raised a few eyebrows at the time, but was driven largely by financial constraints. In retrospect, however, Margate may have been the catalyst in reinventing the worth of the awards.

"In 2004, we decided to start afresh and focus on the fundamentals. The Loeries are there to represent innovation by doing things differently," Human says. By limiting access to the event at Sun City to agencies it became insular and what he terms a "creative wank". In other words it had taken on the mantle of an old-boys' club of mutual admiration and back slapping.

"It was time for the Loeries to grow up. The move to Margate represented a big shake up and the Loeries shifted into the realm of the common vernacular of consumers."

Consumers have a bigger voice than in the past

Human points out that consumers have a much bigger voice today than they did in the past when it comes to their brand experience. Twenty years consumers could only express their opinions through letters to newspapers, but the advent of talk radio changed their ability to communicate. Social media has provided an even wider and more instantaneous platform, and some brands have learned the lesson of not managing this space effectively to their detriment.

When the Loeries relocated to Cape Town in 2009, it brought with it its own set of challenges. Feedback from the industry indicated that the city was too sprawling for an easily accessible cohesive programme. So the concept of a "village within a city" was born, and in turn generated a plethora of sub-brands that appear to have added more depth and vigour to the Loeries.

Beating the 'sprawl' factor

"We've created nodes of activity focusing on Cape Town City Hall, Long Street, the CTICC and the Waterfront," Human says. The programme kicks off with Loeries Creative Week, which dovetails neatly with the city's World Design Capital celebrations next year. The days running up to the two nights of ceremonies encompass the Loeries judging, an expo and a host of seminars and networking functions for agencies and marketers. There is also more focus on education and raising the next generations of innovative brand builders. A select group of students from South Africa's top tertiary institutions will showcase their best work to the industry at the Student Portfolio Day exhibition on Saturday.

Human mentions the International Seminar of Creativity on Friday as a highlight of the week. In the past judging was done in Joburg prior to the event, but now it takes place in Cape Town as part of it. The seminar capitalises on having the Loeries international jury chairmen, as well as other global leaders, in situ and gives agencies and marketer the opportunity to hear their take on worldwide trends in brand communication.

New category

Besides the full diary planned for this week, this year's Loeries will see another category added to its line-up with the introduction of the Effective Creativity Award. The rationale behind this category is that measuring the success of a media campaign in relation to returns on a business's bottom line takes time. The award therefore gives agencies and brands the platform to show the results of their award-winning work from up to two years after receiving the original Loerie award.

By demonstrating that outstanding creative communication drives effective business results, the hope is that the entire brand communication industry will be strengthened, thereby contributing towards higher standards.

At the end of the day - to use a well-worn South Africanism - it must be said that Human has made a strong case for the significance of awards such as the Loeries in the greater scheme of things.