Warc offers US$10,000 prize for innovation

The inaugural Warc Prize for Innovation is free to enter and is open to teams and individuals working in any communications discipline, from any country, and for any product category or size of budget.

The winner will receive a cash prize of US$10,000.

Jonathon Mildenhall, vice president of global advertising strategy and content excellence, for the Coca-Cola Company will lead the judging panel. He says he, and the other senior brand managers and agency executives on the jury will look for evidence of market knowledge, strategy, proven performance and sustainable learning in each entry's approach.  "Successful brands today have to create ideas so contagious that they cannot be controlled," he said. "Innovation has a key role to play in this process and I'm excited to be leading this global hunt  for the best example of communications innovation."

The prize is distinct from the Warc Prize for Ideas and Evidence, held last year, and the Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, awarded earlier in 2011. Warc says these competitions are helping to build a bank of evidence-based case studies from around the world.

Carlos Grande, editor of Warc, said the timing was right to now look at the key subject of innovation. "At a time of global uncertainty, we wanted to invest in finding and celebrating the people who create genuine success through innovation in communications," he said. "We therefore decided to create a prize with innovaytion at its core and no cost or category barriers that could prebent anyone from entering worldwide."

In addition to the main prize, Warc plans to publish all entries on its website. Entries close on 31 January next year.