DDB Group Singapore's ad campaign for DBS Bank Ltd wins Grand Prix at SPH iink Awards 2014

SINGAPORE - The results of the SPH iink Awards 2014, organised by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), were announced at the SPH iink Awards Celebration Night tonight at The St. Regis Singapore before a crowd of more than 300 guests from the advertising industry. Awards were given out to the creative agency, media agency and advertiser responsible for the winning advertisements.

The SPH iink Awards, now into its tenth edition, is one of Singapore's biggest advertising awards. With the theme Celebrate the Imaginative, this year's SPH iink Awards celebrates the kaleidoscope of creative rebels, dreamers and thinkers who inject vitality and excitement into the local advertising scene.

This year's big winner was a campaign by DDB Group Singapore for their client DBS Bank Ltd. The campaign, entitled "DBS Private Bank", won Gold in the Print Single - English category (for "Test Us") and garnered a Silver in the the Print Campaign - English category.

The campaign also won the much coveted Grand Prix award, which saw DDB Group Singapore bagging a cash prize of $8,000.

Points were allocated to the winners and finalists of each category. The Grand Prix winner was the entry that scored the highest number of points, while the highest scoring creative and media agency across all categories were crowned the SPH iink Creative Agency Of The Year and the SPH iink Media Agency Of The Year, respectively.

DDB Group Singapore won the title of iink Creative Agency Of The Year, while OMD Singapore was named iink Media Agency Of The Year. DDB Group Singapore previously won the Creative Agency of the Year award in 2011, while OMD Singapore had won the iink Media Agency Of The Year in 2013.

The nine award categories this year were: A1: Print Single - English A2: Print Campaign - English A3: Print Single/Campaign - Chinese A4: Print Classified/Recruitment/Notice A5: Print Creative Media Buy B: Digital C: Radio D: Out-of-Home E: SPH IS ON Campaign

The winning advertisers from Categories A (A1 - A5) and E, as well as the Grand Prix winner, will each receive a full-page advertising space in either of SPH's flagship newspapers - The Straits Times or Lianhe Zaobao.

The winning advertisers from Categories B to D (Digital, Radio and Out-of-Home) will each receive $30,000 worth of ads / digital airtime in their respective media category.

Readers' Choice Award

In addition to the winners of the nine award categories, the winner of the Readers' Choice Award was also announced during the awards presentation. "Lost and Found" by Certis CISCO Security won over the hearts of readers and took home the award.

Mr Leslie Fong, Senior Executive Vice-President of SPH's Marketing Division, said: "As Singapore's marketing and advertising industry becomes more crowded, the creativity that consumers see in any advertisement becomes the X-factor that makes the ad stand out from the competition. We are proud that the SPH iink Awards has grown to be one of the biggest, recognised and most important advertising awards in Singapore, and remains the only award that recognises the effectiveness and importance of the tripartite relationship comprising creative agencies, media agencies, and advertisers."

The awards, formerly known as the SPH Ink Awards, was originally launched to honour the best print advertisements and the creative people behind them. In 2012, three new categories - Digital, Radio and Out-of-Home - were introduced to recognise creative and effective advertisements on SPH's other media platforms. It was also renamed the SPH iink Awards, with the additional "i" representing "Integration".

To be eligible for the SPH iink Awards, entries must have appeared in at least one of SPH's media platforms during the period of June 1, 2013 to May 31, 2014. Registration for SPH iink Awards opened on May 5, 2014 and closed on May 31, 2014.

More information can be found at www.sphiinkawards.com.sg.