The year 2020 left a major mark on our lives. We've overcome many challenges and, as always, adapted to new ways of thinking and acting. Having been forced to cancel the festival in 2020, the Golden Drum team is now pressing a Re:Start button, and with the assistance of international experts making fundamental changes to its competition. Pursuing ever-greater clarity and relevance, the Golden Drum competition is introducing new sections, groups and awards; and a revamped awards point system.
Extensive changes were made to the core of the competition, with additional emphasis given to works showcasing digital, craft, and business excellence. The sections WHAT and WHY are being replaced with four brand new sections: Creative Business Excellence Drum, Craft Drum, One-Channel Drum, and Omni-Channel Drum. A special All Juries section featuring groups focused on local spirit, social good causes, and works created in response to the Covid pandemic will be judged somewhat differently now, and will not have its own jury. Works submitted in this section will be rated by all jury members instead, and awarded by the four juries' presidents.
Which groups are completely new to the Golden Drum competition?
For its first time ever, the festival calls for entries in the Creative Effectiveness group; e/mCommerce, Community & Use of Experience group; Sustainable Business Solutions group; Innovation Craft group; Health & Wellness group; Sport, Pop Culture & Art group; and Covid-19 group.
Which awards are new?
The Bronze Drum Award and Best of Covid-19 Award have been added to the list of awards.
Who will judge the work?
Works submitted to the Golden Drum competition will be judged by a larger number of highly specialized international experts than ever, marketers included. To ensure a fair judging process, all the jury presidents are appointed from independent agencies based in countries that are not eligible to compete in the Golden Drum competition.
Which jury is entirely new?
The Creative Business Excellence Drum section will be judged by a mixed jury of the world's most accomplished marketers (ca. 75%) and agency professionals (25%), visible internationally not only for their expertise in the creative field but also their extensive knowledge in the business sphere.
What to keep in mind when entering your work?
Golden Drum 2021 has a two-year eligibility period.
Creative Business Excellence Drum (NEW)
The Creative Business Excellence section celebrates the creative business solutions that have made an impact on brands, projects, or customer experiences. This group is intended to show business excellence in a creative way, and to award the works that demonstrate exceptional solutions that have reshaped the business industry.
This section has the following groups:
1. Brand Building:
This group was previously part of the WHY section, with the following categories: Brand Introduction, Brand Reinvention, Brand Vitality. A new category, Brand Strategy and Experience (NEW), has been added this year to showcase strategic innovative solutions to specific brand problems and challenges.
2. Creative Effectiveness (NEW):
This group is new to the Golden Drum festival and measures the impact of creativity. Entries should demonstrate how their work drove tangible business results, and how integral it was for the achievement of a brand’s overall purpose. The jury will be judging works based on the creative idea, strategy, results, and impact criteria. Works presented in this group may have been active from the year 2017 to the present year, providing that the work has not been submitted to the Golden Drum Festival Competition previously. The categories in this group are: Single-country/region PROFIT, Single-country/region NON-PROFIT, Multi-country/region PROFIT, and Multi-country/region NON-PROFIT.
3. e/mCommerce, Community & Use of Experience (NEW):
This is a special new group inside the Creative Business Excellence Section, intended for entries that demonstrate the best use of e/mCommerce, community, and/or experience to reach improved business engagement with brand users. This group was previously part of the Digital & Mobile group in the section WHAT. The group has the following categories: eCommerce&mCommerce, Community Management, and Use of Experience (UX / UI).
4. Sustainable Business Solutions (NEW):
This is a new group introduced by the festival this year to support the development of Sustainable Solutions and Initiatives, and their positive impact on the planet. This group welcomes solutions created by brands and businesses that focus on the sustainability of the environment, of social groups, businesses, partners… Works can be presented in the following categories: Corporate sustainability (Data, Social, Environmental…), Product & Services, and Other.
5. Activation:
Entrants are familiar with this group from the previous WHY section, but this year new categories dividing activation across different platforms have been added: Technology-led Activation (NEW), Social Media Engagement (NEW), Mobile Activation (NEW), Website Activation (NEW) and Cross-Platform Activation (NEW).
6. Content:
Another former feature of the WHY section, with some changes to the festival categories to make them clearer and more specific: Targeted Storytelling & Experience (NEW), Cross-Platform Storytelling (NEW), Real-Time Action Content (NEW), and User Generated Content (NEW).
7. Innovation:
This group was previously part of the WHY section with no individual categories. This year, the group introduces the following categories: Communication and Media Innovation (NEW), Product or Service Innovation (NEW), and Use of Technology (NEW).
Craft Drum (NEW)
The CRAFT section recognizes creative excellence and brilliant execution in certain key segments of the advertising and communication production process. Awards in this group promote best practices that have helped raise the bar of the industry's craft standards. Craft was previously a part of the WHAT section. With a recorded growth of interest in Craft, the festival has elevated this subject and dedicated its own section with expanded groups and categories to the topic:
1. Industry Craft:
This group celebrates works showing exceptional practices in Brand Communication & Design, Outdoor Advertising, Print& Publishing, and Package Design. Works can be presented in the categories of Art Direction, Illustration, Photography, Typography, and Copywriting (NEW).
2. Motion Craft:
This group rewards best practices in the motion craft industry and is divided in the following categories: Direction, Casting (NEW), Cinematography, Production, Design/Art Direction (NEW), Original Music, Sound, Design & Adapted Music, Editing, Animation (NEW), and Special / Visual Effects (NEW).
3. Digital Craft:
This group identifies and presents exceptional design, execution and user experience created for all digital environments. Entries can be submitted in the following categories: Digital Illustration & Design (NEW), Motion Graphics Design & Animation (NEW), Music / Sound Design (NEW), Storytelling, Use of Technology, Use of Creative Data & AI (NEW), Use of Experience (UX / UI), and Use of AR / VR (NEW).
4. Innovation Craft (NEW):
This group is designed to discover groundbreaking forms and cutting edge ideas in terms of craft. This group has no sub-categories.
One-Channel Drum (NEW)
The ONE-CHANNEL section focuses on individual works that are using a single channel of communicating the message to the market. Entries in this section should demonstrate the creative use of one-channel communication, its benefits and efficiency. In relation to the Omni-Channel Drum, this section recognises individual works delivered through one communication channel exclusively.
This section has six groups, each with multiple categories:
1. Film
2. Print
3. Out of home
4. Audio
5. Digital, Mobile & Technology
6. Design
The biggest change was made in the Digital, Mobile & Technology category, which has been further elaborated. The Social Good group was moved from each of these categories to its own group, where entries presenting socially beneficial actions can be submitted.
Omni-Channel Drum (NEW)
The Omni-Channel section recognizes campaigns that were presented through multiple communication channels. Entries should demonstrate the creative use of multiple channels, their integration, and the efficiency of implementation of the communication solutions.
In relation to the One-Channel Drum, this section focuses on campaigns presented through multiple communication channels. The first three groups were previously part of the WHY section, and have now been expanded with more categories and three additional groups.
This section includes the following groups:
1. Integrated:
This group is intended for the registration of the most complex and comprehensive communication campaigns with the broadest range of means and venues of reaching the audience. In contrast with recent years, the group has been further divided into categories: Food & Drinks (NEW), Home & Electronics (NEW), Health, Beauty & Wellness (NEW), Sport & Fashion (NEW), Transport, Travel & Tourism (NEW), Media, Culture & Entertainment (NEW), Retail & Public Services (NEW), Business & Finance (NEW), Corporate Advertising (NEW), and Social Networking Solutions & Community Sites (NEW).
2. Content:
Includes campaigns or communication impulses that integrate naturally into existing original content for the promotion of products, services or brands. Entrants may choose from the following categories: Long Films (NEW), Short Films (NEW), Online & Mobile, Live Experience, Native Advertising, Brand Integration, Sponsorships & Co-Promotions, Games, Influencer Marketing, and PR (NEW).
3. Engagement:
This group is suitable for works that demonstrate how a campaign was driven by the creative use of data or technology to offer customers a better experience and achieve quantifiable business results. The group is further divided into categories: Direct, Creative use of Data, Public & Community Relations, Creative use of Media, and Real-time Engagement (NEW).
4. Digital, Mobile & Technology (NEW):
This is a new group that includes the creative application of digital technology to enrich a brand, product or service, and enhance the user experience. The group is divided into two categories: AR / VR / Voice-activation, Connected Devices, Data / Insight ; and Digital & Mobile Creativity.
5. Health & Wellness (NEW):
This is a new group intended for exceptionally engaging work promoting non-prescription health products and services, educating the public on self-diagnosis, or facilitating proactive personal care. Entrants may choose between the following categories: Consumer Products, Branded & Unbranded Health Awareness, Non-profit Health Awareness, Health Services, and Health & Wellness Tech.
6. Sports, Pop Culture & Art (NEW):
Sports, influencers, celebrities and arts are becoming more frequently used in advertising to promote brands, connect with fans and build communities. This group was added for judging the communicating and creative/original use of the aforementioned elements. The group has been divided into four categories: Sport, Influencers, Entertainment, and Art.
Additional Section: ALL JURIES (NEW)
This additional section was divided from the rest of the competition to focus on special themed groups showcasing local spirit, social good causes, and works created in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Due to these subjects' distinct nature, entries here will be shortlisted by all the juries and judged for awards by the four-jury presidents.
This section includes the following groups:
1. GENIUS LOCI/LOCAL SPIRIT:
This group has already been part of the Golden Drum Festival competition and is designed to celebrate local works that present their distinctive local spirit.
2. SOCIAL GOOD:
Another group previously part of the WHY section, comprising various executions of the social good initiative (such as film, radio, press, OOH, digital, mobile, direct) as well as events, social activations and integrated campaigns. As an independent group, it is divided into two categories: Non-profit Social Good, and Profit Social Good.
3. COVID-19 (NEW):
This group is specific to the 2021 Golden Drum festival edition, and is designed for entries that deal with the public information and participation activities surrounding the COVID-19 debate and build Covid-related public health awareness.
Jury information
One-Channel, Omni-Channel, Craft, and Creative Business Excellence sections will each have their own presidents and jury members, while entries in the All Juries section will be shortlisted by the four juries together, and judged for awards by their jury presidents. On account of this new division in the sections, we'll be welcoming more jury members who will also be more specialised, and therefore more narrowly competent, for judging the specific merits of works in the individual sections, groups and categories. For example, the Creative Business Excellence Drum Jury will consist of highly renowned marketing experts (ca. 75%) and of agency professionals (25%) known not only for their expertise in the creative field, but also extensive familiarity with the sphere of business.
Changes in the Awards section
According to new competition, structure and feedback received from entrants from previous years some changes in the award system have been made to unify it. The festival is adding the Bronze Drum Award (NEW) to its list of awards and introducing a revised points system. The single edition Best of COVID-19 (NEW) for the best work in the COVID-19 group will be given out as a special award at Golden Drum 2021.
| Award | Points |
|---|
| Bronze Drum (NEW) | 2 |
| Silver Drum | 4 |
| Golden Drum | 8 |
| Grand Prix | 12 |
| *Best of Genius Loci | 12 |
| **Best of Social Good | 12 |
| ***Best of COVID-19 (NEW) - Exclusive in 2021 | 12 |
| Best of Adriatic – Special Award | no additional points |
* Based on the jury’s decision, Bronze, Silver and Gold awards will be granted. Grand Prix is not awarded in the Genius Loci / Local Spirit Section. However, the winner will receive the Best of Genius Loci / Local Spirit Award. The recipient of this award gets 12 points. The Jury reserves the right to withhold this award.
** Based on the jury’s decision, Bronze, Silver and Gold awards will be granted. Grand Prix is not awarded in the Social Good Section. However, the winner will receive the Best of Social Good Award. The recipient of this award gets 12 points. The Jury reserves the right to withhold this award.
*** Based on the jury’s decision, Bronze, Silver and Gold awards will be granted. Grand Prix is not awarded in the COVID-19 Section. However, the winner will receive the Best of COVID-19 Award. The recipient of this award gets 12 points. The Jury reserves the right to withhold this award.
