Don’t forget to enter the 2011 Bookmarks Awards

The Bookmarks, South Africa’s digital awards and an initiative of the Digital Media and Marketing Association (DMMA), is now open for entries.  The awards encourage all South African agencies, publishers, teams and individuals who have performed outstanding work in digital during the course of the year to submit their entries via The Bookmarks website (www.thebookmarks.co.za <http://www.thebookmarks.co.za/> ).

The Bookmarks have revamped their structure and this year there are 52 different categories and an enhanced judging system.  While the awards still recognise excellence at a publisher or agency, team, and individual level, the new category approach will open up The Bookmarks to an even wider range of entries while still ensuring that submissions are compared to relevant competitors during the judging process.

The biggest change for 2011 is that the categories are no longer split into publisher and agency awards.  Instead, they have been divided into clusters, which are open to all entrants. The clusters are: Websites and Microsites, Advertising and Search, Email Marketing, Community and PR, Applications and Tools, Games, Online Video and Audio, Intergrated or MixedMedia (all Product Awards); as well as Achievement and Special Honours; Individual and Team Awards and Craft Awards.

“We believe the enhanced category and judging system will allow for a greater diversity of entries,” says Nikki Cockcroft Chairperson of the Bookmarks and Chair of the DMMA. “As well as submissions from the industry stalwarts we are also looking forward to entries from companies, brands and individuals who have not previously entered the awards.  For example, we believe that retail is going to play a bigger role this year plus we have included new awards for Civil Society and Government/Public service” she adds.

Another interesting change to the entriesthis year is the addition of extra mobile categories.  “We have extended mobile to 5 categories this year from only 2 last year,” says Cockcroft. “We recognize the developments within the industry and growth and importance of the platform.”



The Bookmarks Awards were initiated by the DMMA in 2008 to strengthen the profile of the digital industry in South Africa and benchmark local talent against international standards. Entries are open to the whole industry and not just DMMA members. Top local and international judges will be confirmed later this month.



The Bookmarks’ entries close on the 21st October.  The Awards will be held in Cape Town on the 10th of November 2011, with workshops taking place on the 8th and 9th of November in Johannesburg and Cape Town respectively.



Thanks go to our confirmed sponsors (as at 21st September): Effective Measure, Dash of Lime, BrandsEye, DStv Online, 24.com <http://24.com/> , Nokia, IOL and Click2Customers who are category sponsors; The Media Online and Marketing Web, Marketing Mix, Memeburn, BizCommunity, Bandwith Blog, iafrica.com <http://iafrica.com/>  and marklives.com <http://marklives.com/>  who are all media partners and Hertz, Fairlawns Boutique Hotel and Spa, Colourtone, RSAWeb, Commodore Hotel and Quirk Education who are all servicesponsors.



Various sponsorship opportunities are still available for this year’s prestigious event, contact Steph Powell on 072 197 1843 or [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> .



For more information on The Bookmarks please contact: Theresa Vitale on 011 454 3534, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> or Steph Powell on 072 197 1843, [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> or use Twitter: http://twitter.com/TheBookmarks <http://twitter.com/TheBookmarks> (please use #Bookmarks2011) or Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/TheBookmarks