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In the news
What are intermediaries looking for as judges?

Over the years, IAS personnel have been involved in judging awards such as AdFocus, where agencies are rated on how well they partner with their clients to deliver on business creativity, reach and revenue.
Then, the DMASA Assegai Awards - billed as “a mark of victory in integrated marketing excellence” - require intermediaries to provide valuable insights in determining how an agency ranks across the board. As part of the Assegai Awards, Credentials Awards are judged specifically on an agency’s ability to put together a credentials set that will drive new business acquisitions.
We seek creativity in how the agencies actually present their credentials. Any agency’s focus on improving their credentials and noting their new business hit-rate is what ultimately impacts on their success in pitches, making them important points of judgement.
Effie Worldwide’s Effie Awards review effectiveness in marketing and ideas which is the area that the IAS loves to evaluate.
Understanding agency effectiveness
In all these awards, intermediaries review the areas of agency effectiveness, which is precisely what we encourage clients to look for when choosing an agency.
The fact that we review attributes that directly impact the business ranking of an agency during the judging process means we have even greater knowledge of how the organisation operates - and we store this information for when marketers need recommendations.
Being able to look deeper into how an agency is judged on the various criteria by a diverse panel of judges brings adds depth to intermediaries and their recommendations.

About Johanna McDowell
MD of the Independent Agency Search and Selection Company (IAS), and partner in Scopen Africa, with a background that includes being on both the agency and the client side of the fence, Johanna McDowell is well-placed to offer commentary on marketing and advertising in the South African and international contexts. She built her career in marketing and advertising since 1974, holding directorship in both SA and British advertising agencies. She was MD of Grey Phillips Advertising in 1988.Related
AdForum Summit includes key meeting with Omnicom Advertising Group leadership 6 May 2025 IAS Media Assurance Masterclass Series spotlights Programmatic Media 24 Apr 2025 Agency Scope South Africa 2025/26 to launch in May, with expanded categories and reach 4 Apr 2025 Master media transparency: The IAS Media Auditing Masterclass Series 4 Feb 2025 Levergy shines with 19 wins at the Assegai Awards 22 Nov 2024 Today’s Holy Grail: Strategic creativity 8 Oct 2024
