Effie awards come to Kiwiland

The New Zealand advertising industry will now honour its most effective members with an Effie award.

The renowned Effies, based in New York but franchised to 18 countries, will be inaugurated in New Zealand in August.

Communications Agencies Association of New Zealand executive director Lynne Clifton said the Effies promoted the role of advertising as an effective and efficient use of marketing resources.

The Effies will replace both the Marketing Awards - run for the past 10 years by TVNZ and Marketing Magazine - and the Advertising Effectiveness Awards, run since 1996 by the Association of New Zealand Advertisers and CAANZ.

Both agencies have been negotiating the deal for a year, and have now signed a licence agreement for five years. The franchise costs $US10,000 a year. TVNZ will be a major sponsor.

The 2002 New Zealand Effies will have 17 categories, with industry judges looking at the success of a marketer's campaign.