PUBLISHED BY: Advertising+Marketing
02 Sep 2021
A+M is excited to announce the shortlist for the Agency of the Year Awards and MARKies 2021 Malaysia. As the premier award show turns 12, we are honoured to be able to showcase agencies based in Malaysia, excelling with their outstanding client work and services, well-run business performance, and general management across 31 defining categories.
This year we also introduced six new exciting categories to reflect the evolving marketing and advertising industry: Analytics Agency of the Year, Experiential Marketing Agency of the Year, Full Service Agency of the Year, Lead Generation Agency of the Year, New Kid on the Block, and Performance Marketing Agency of the Year. With a focus on the people who make the magic happen, we also added three new individual categories, Agency Leader of the Year, Agency Team of the Year and Rising Star (Agency talent under 30).
Meanwhile, this year’s MARKies saw 37 categories open for entry, across two main segments – Creative Ideas and Media Usage, aimed to recognise and reward the most innovative, creative and effective campaigns spanning Malaysia’s entire marketing services industry. In the first segment, new additions included, Most Creative- Audio, Most Creative- Campaign Pivot, Most Creative- COVID 19 Response and Most Creative- Influencers / KOLs. The second segment included, Most Effective Use- Audio and Most Effective Use- Influencers / KOLs. Agencies also had the opportunity to enter our new individual categories and win awards for Best Account Manager, Best Art Director/Designer and Best Copywriter under the MARKies umbrella.
This year’s Agency of the Year and MARKies entries were judged by an independent panel of 30 client-side marketers.
Judge Tara Tan, chief marketing officer, XIXILI Intima, said, “Judging was exciting, and it makes me proud to be working in a field where you see such an active convergence of creative and innovative thought being demanded to drive holistic integrated strategies for brands who are not only competing in already hugely disrupted markets, but in an environment that has been further thrown into disorder by the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Also weighing in on the entries was Rachel Lee, general manager, marketing, The Food Purveyor who said the entries were met with a consistently high standard. “The agencies demonstrated their ability to be quick thinkers and resilience towards unprecedented event is impressive,” she said.
Judge, Derek Tan, chief brand officer, Carsome added, “Some of the entries demonstrated well thought through engagement channels and points of interest and interaction with the relevant target audience, that would stand out with both physical and integrated virtual personalised experiences”.
While the winners will be announced on 24 September 2021, lets take a look at the shortlists for the year.
Analytics Agency of the Year
• ADA Asia Malaysia
• Ampersand Advisory
• Entropia
• Webqlo
• Zeno Malaysia
B2B Agency of the Year
• Archetype Malaysia
• Edelman Malaysia
• FCB Malaysia
• Qlic Solution
• Rhingle
Boutique Agency of the Year
• 4 Thirteen Group
• Be Strategic
• Conten.T
• Mad Hat Asia
• VoxEureka
Branding Agency of the Year
• DIA Brand Consultants
• FCB Malaysia
• FOREFRONT International
• LF Creative
• M&C Saatchi Malaysia
• Yellow Leads
Content Marketing Agency of the Year
• BORN Group
• CR8 Consultancy
• Edelman Malaysia
• FCB Malaysia
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• Webqlo
Consultant of the Year
• Ampersand Advisory
• Beatnk
• Edelman Malaysia
• Entropia
• FCB Malaysia
• GO Communications
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• Meekco.Asia
• Yellow Leads
Content Marketing Agency of the Year
• Edelman Malaysia
• FCB Malaysia
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• Reprise
• Yellow Leads
Creative Agency of the Year
• Entropia
• FCB Malaysia
• FOREFRONT International
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• LF Creative
• M&C Saatchi Malaysia
• The Clan
• Wofollow
CRM & Loyalty Marketing Agency of the Year
• CLICK SERVICES
• Entropia
• FCB Malaysia
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• Wofollow
• Design Consultancy of the Year
• DIA Brand Consultants
• Entropia
• FCB Malaysia
• LF Creative
• THE FAME
Digital Agency of the Year
• ADA Asia Malaysia
• Elixus Agency
• Entropia
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• Light Up 7
• M&C Saatchi-I
• PHD Media
• Rhingle
• SearchGuru
Event Marketing Agency of the Year
• Geek Events
• Jiggee
• Light Up 7
• Qlic Solution
• Rhingle
• Star Event
• Sumo Eleven
Experiential Marketing Agency of the Year
• FrameMotion Studio
• GO Communications
• Jiggee
• Sumo Eleven
• THIRTY THREE POINT THREE
Full Service Agency of the Year
• ADA Asia Malaysia
• Entropia
• FCB Malaysia
• Rhingle
• Tigerwolves Marketing
• Webqlo
• Yellow Leads
Independent Agency of the Year
• ADA Asia Malaysia
• Ampersand Advisory
• Entropia
• FOREFRONT International
• GO Communications
• Jiggee
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• Mad Hat Asia
• Meekco.Asia
• Sumo Eleven
Influencer Agency of the Year
• Archetype Malaysia
• FCB Malaysia
• GO Communications
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• Mad Hat Asia
• PersonEdge
• Rexer
Integrated Marketing Agency of the Year
• Entropia
• FCB Malaysia
• SearchGuru
• Tigerwolves Marketing
• Webqlo
Lead Generation Agency of the Year
• Ampersand Advisory
• FCB Malaysia
• Meekco.Asia
Market Research Agency of the Year
• GfK Malaysia
• Milieu Insight
• OPPOTUS
• The Nielsen Company (Malaysia)
• Webqlo
Media Agency of the Year
• Ampersand Advisory
• Entropia
• Universal McCann
Mobile Marketing Agency of the Year
• CLICK SERVICES
• Entropia
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
New Kid on the Block
• Beatnk
• Elixus Agency
• Mutant Communications
• SPLIVE
• Tigerwolves Marketing
Performance Marketing Agency of the Year
• ADA Asia Malaysia
• Aforemention (subsidiary of FOREFRONT)
• Ampersand Advisory
• Elixus Agency
• Maxis eCommerce & Retail
• Meekco.Asia
• Reprise
• SearchGuru
Programmatic Agency of the Year
• Ampersand Advisory
• Entropia
• Matterkind
• PHD Media
Public Relations Agency of the Year
• Archetype Malaysia
• Be Strategic
• BRIDGES PR
• Edelman Malaysia
• GO Communications
• Lumos Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• Mad Hat Asia
• Mutant Communications
• VoxEureka
Search Marketing Agency of the Year
• LOCUS-T
• Reprise
• SearchGuru
Social Media Marketing Agency of the Year
• Edelman Malaysia
• Entropia
• FCB Malaysia
• GO Communications
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• M&C Saatchi-I
• Reprise
• Wofollow
Specialist Agency of the Year
• Archetype Malaysia
• FCB Malaysia
• FOREFRONT International
• Mad Hat Asia
• Maxis eCommerce & Retail
• Rhingle
• SPLIVE
• Zeno Malaysia
Video / Production Company of the Year
• Ampersand Advisory
• Creative Walk
• FCB Malaysia
• Kingdom Digital Solutions
• Light Up 7
• Rexpo
• SCM ASIA
• YEA Business
Agency Leader of the Year
• Be Strategic – Ashvin Anamalai
• Elixus Agency – Cyril Dhenaut
• FCB Malaysia – Shaun Tay
• FOREFRONT International – Darien Mah
• GO Communications – Peter De Kretser
• M&C Saatchi Malaysia – Datin Seri Lara Hussein
• Reprise – Stanley Clement
Agency Team of the Year
• BRIDGES PR
• Edelman Malaysia
• FCB Malaysia
• Mad Hat Asia
• Naga DDB Tribal
Rising Star
• 4 Thirteen Group – Jan Lee Joe Jian
• FCB Malaysia – Jamie Hendricks
• Mutant Communications – Victoria Brown
• Reprise – Nadia Iskandar van Wensveen
