MediaPost reported further on how the merger and acquisitions mania in Adland is extending to awards. An earlier story revealed Ascential—parent company of the Cannes International Festival of Creativity—is considering a $1.5 billion acquisition offer from UK-based Informa.
Now Ascential is seeking to acquire the Effie Awards, merging the effectiveness trophies with Lions prizes.
As previously noted, Ascential and Informa appear to be run by White men and White women. While the Effie Board of Directors looks reasonably diverse, the Effie Team resembles Ascential and Informa.
In short, the blended awards would display more White than gold.
Effie Soon To Live In (Cannes) Lions Den
By Steve McClellan
Events company Ascential, parent of the Cannes International Festival of Creativity and Lions Awards, has entered into an agreement to acquire the commercial assets of the Effie ad effectiveness awards.
Subject to regulatory approval, Effie will join Ascential’s Lions Division.
In addition to hosting the marketing effectiveness awards, Effie provides insights from over 125 markets, in addition to tools and training.
If the deal goes through Ascential will also enter a partnership with the not-for-profit Effie Worldwide organization, which will be transformed into a new global Foundation, The Effie Lions Foundation, Inc. It will be dedicated to training all marketing students, especially those under-represented in the marketing community. Additionally, the Foundation will provide a home for Lions’ existing not-for-profit initiatives and provide access to some of the Lions Division digital products.
Philip Thomas, CEO, Ascential, stated, “The coming together of Lions and Effie is a powerful testament to the fact that effectiveness and creativity in marketing are inextricably linked.”
Headquartered in New York, with offices in Beijing and the UK, Effie has a network of 59 partners covering over 125 markets. Effie will continue to be led by Traci Alford, President and CEO, Effie Worldwide.
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