Industry first for NI advertising agency

AV Browne, Northern Ireland’s longest established advertising agency, has achieved an advertising first by sweeping the boards at this year’s prestigious Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (IPA) Area Effectiveness Awards.

The IPA Area Effectiveness Awards, held biennially, are specifically designed to recognise the causal relationship between the advertising process and the actual outcome.

The Belfast-based agency picked up an unprecedented five awards at the ceremony, including a Silver Award for the recruitment advertising campaign created for the Police Service of Northern Ireland and a Bronze Award picked up for the British Seniors Golf campaign created for Hastings Hotels. Another accolade went to AV Browne for their work for BT Northern Ireland, where the advertisement succeeded in winning business for BT’s Internet Service.

The agency was also presented with two of the seven Special Awards which were given on the night to campaigns deemed effective outside the remit of the standard awards categories. The advertisement created for Hastings Hotels received a Special Award for “The Best Use Of A Small Budget”, while the Police Service of Northern Ireland advertisement won a Special Award for “The Most Dramatic Impact Of A Campaign On A Client’s Business”.

Chairman of the Judges, James Best, summed up the judging panel’s thoughts on the campaign for the Police Service of Northern Ireland: “In the teeth of political opposition and historic prejudice, this campaign attracted Roman Catholics to apply to join the NI Police Service in unprecedented numbers.”

Speaking after the awards AV Browne Managing Director, George Lavery, added: “The IPA Area Effectiveness Awards are widely regarded in the UK regions as being the most prestigious in the industry. To be the first agency in Northern Ireland to achieve such industry recognition is a tremendous achievement of which everyone in the agency is justifiably proud. What is most relevant about the awards is that they are presented for effectiveness and are a clear indicator to our clients of the results achieved.” (AMcE)