The countdown for submission of Malaysia Effie Awards to recognize the year’s most effective marketing communication campaigns in Malaysia has begun.

The official closing date is 25 July, 2008. Late entry before 4 Aug will incur a late payment fee. All agencies and brand owners – whether from multinationals, SMEs or SMIs - are urged to make their submissions for this inaugural award which is jointly organized by the Malaysian Advertisers Association (MAA), Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) and Media Specialists Association (MSA).

For submission details, log into www.malaysiaeffie.com. The official judging in August 2008, followed by the Awards Ceremony in October 2008.

“We welcome all effective marketing campaigns to compete in the Effie Awards as it has become the most recognized and prestigious award by agencies and advertisers alike. This award raises the bar for branding effectiveness in Malaysia,” says Dato’ Noharuddin Nordin, newly appointed Chairman in the Executive Council of Malaysia Effie Awards. He is also CEO of MATRADE.

Effie Awards is not just another creative award. Its main focus is to identify marketing communication campaigns that have met or surpassed their goals. Chief Judge of the Malaysian Effie Awards, Dr. Sattar Khan, has earlier stated that a good entry has the ingredients of clear objectives, insights and ideas, results and storyline.

The Effie Awards celebrate 40 years of awarding Ideas that Work - the great ideas that achieve real results and the strategy that goes into creating them. Clinching an Effie means the winning advertisers have gained effective returns on their investments, and the winning agencies have shown they have created ideas that work in the marketplace.