CaribPR Wire

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CaribPR Wire, BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, Tues. Nov. 26, 2013: The Caribbean Advertising Federation (CAF) took home an impressive number of ADDY awards in 2013, confirming that the talent coming out of this region is bright and widespread.

On Wednesday December 4^th, 2013 the Caribbean Advertising Federation (CAF) will be hosting a workshop at Accra Beach Hotel & Spa, Barbados for attendees to view last year’s national ADDY winning submissions. To win an ADDY at national level means to create advertising that stands out against over 40,000 competing pieces.

The CAF workshop serves to showcase the brilliant work created here in the Caribbean, to not only our regional counterparts, but also to our wider audience across the USA. It will also teach attendees how to use this year’s newly developed software for submissions, which are due on January 4^th, 2014.

Winning Caribbean ADDY pieces are entered into the fourth district competition along with South Florida winners.  In last year’s awards, agencies that are part of the CAF took home an impressive amount of awards in almost every category. Everything Slight Pepper won a Charlie Award for Best of Sales Promotion and also a Gold ADDY for Single Unite Packaging for 3ZERO Rums by 3ZERO Ltd.

2013 was the first time in history a Caribbean agency has won a district Charlie Award. Trinidadian agency McCann Erickson took home the District’s coveted Mosaic Award that recognises cultural diversity.

Terri Brown, our founder and ADDY Chair, won The Jack Phillips Gold Medal award. This is the highest honor in the AAF Fourth District. This award is given in recognition of outstanding contributions to advertising and furthering the industry’s standards, creative excellence, and public service.

This not only shows the superior level of talent our Caribbean Universities and Colleges are churning out, but also how this talent is being used to create such dynamic advertising.
CAF members, marketing agencies, freelance talent, creative students, and marketing managers are the attendees who will be part of the workshop on the December 4^th.

The purpose of this workshop is to launch and review the process for this year’s award submissions.  The new software will make submissions easier, less expensive and less time consuming than previous years. Terri Brown will be hosting this part of the workshop and providing an overview as well as tips for this year’s submission.

“The CAF was able to shine in last year’s submissions, but in seeing all the great package designs on our shelves and moving to radio jingles, there is a whole lot more that is award-worthy.  We are looking to make this the best year yet for CAF,” says Renae Quinton, President of CAF.

Once the software is learnt and the agencies are ready, we are looking forward to seeing what they all have to offer and how many awards we can bring home to the Caribbean next year.

The ADDY deadline is January 14^th, 2014 for work published between January 1^st, 2013 and December 31^st, 2013.

CaribPR Wire, BRIDGETOWN, Barbados,  January 11, 2013: The Caribbean Advertising Federation, (CAF), is the only non-American territory chapter of the American Advertising Federation, (AAF).  CAF was established in 1997 by Terri Brown in St. Thomas to promote the well-being of advertising through a grassroots network of advertisers, agencies, media companies and educational facilities to help build the Caribbean economy. CAF also strives to assist member companies to grow their businesses within their national borders and to be recognized for superior work outside the region.

CAF accomplishes this through the annual advertising creative competition, the AAF ADDY Awards. The ADDYs recognize the best advertising across the US and the Caribbean to stimulate new creative and appreciation for the industry. The ADDY competition supports the entire profession, focusing attention on the high of level talent available in the region in all levels of advertising categories. This includes film producers, musicians, graphic designers, photographers, creative directors, social media experts and public relation specialists.

“The advertising industry is a major source of employment in the Caribbean,” says Renae Quinton, president of CAF. “The more awards the Caribbean Federation (CAF) wins the more we are able to showcase regional talent and forge new partnerships with the world’s largest advertisers.”

It is estimated that over $400 billion (KantarMedia) was spent worldwide on advertising in 2011; fifty per cent of the top 10 corporate advertising budgets have significant presence in the Caribbean.  Advertising is a creative industry that has a strong presence in the Caribbean region.

In 2012, CAF submitted the third greatest volume of entries out of 21 advertising federations in Florida and had an impressive number of winners. “Talent in the Caribbean is second to none. Several CAF ADDY winners have achieved national recognition, gaining them new huge exposure and clients,” explained Terri Brown, CAF ADDY chairperson.

The ADDY award program has three progressive tiers. The first tier is just about to come to a close on January 20^th, 2013. This is where all creatives across the Caribbean are invited to submit their best advertising work to the CAF chapter. This competition is open to all types of creatives, from a single freelance designer to a 100 person advertising agency, to a marketing manager in a corporate department or industry supplier. All are welcome to enter (www.addycompetition.com or facebook.com/CAFADDY ) once they are members of the Caribbean Advertising Federation. Winners at the local level progress to tier two to compete with winners from Florida. District winners are then sent to compete in the final phase of the competition at the National ADDY level. CAF has had numerous District ADDY winners and two National ADDY winners in past years.

Selection of the most creative entries in each category is done by a panel of experienced international judges in St. Thomas USVI. A GOLD ADDY is recognition of the highest level of creative excellence and is judged to be superior to all other entries in the competition. Entries that are also considered outstanding and worthy of recognition receive a SILVER ADDY.  Highly coved “best of category” awards are given for print, radio, TV and Internet.

The CAF has grown each year since its inception in 1997. In 2013, it is the goal of the CAF to be the largest award winning chapter across the North America, further demonstrating the strength of creative talent in the Caribbean.