Inside the mind of a SLIM DIGIS 2.1 Judge

Organised by the Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing (SLIM), the national body for marketing in Sri Lanka, the final call for applications for SLIM DIGIS 2.1 will be drawing to a close on 25 November. The highly-anticipated SLIM DIGIS is the only awards ceremony that celebrates Sri Lankan’s best digital marketing endeavours, innovation and talent and recognises the region’s growing influence on the global digital industry. 

Over the years, digital marketing has become a key focus for mainstream marketers and as a platform, SLIM DIGIS aims at recognising digital marketing professionals by empowering every digital marketer to become a master of their own destinies with a clear-cut focus on key deliverables that need not be backed by big budgets in comparison to mainstream advertising.  

According to SLIM DIGIS 2. Jury Chair Imal Fonseka 1, a stand out entry would always have three key components: The campaign, the case and the presentation.

“The campaign must break through the clutter and surprise the jury. The case of your entry must be compelling-in that, its goals, strategy, execution and results have to have a clear ‘linear relationship’. Finally, its presentation; has to be impactful. The applicant must understand that the Jury has gone through many entries, and therefore for the applicant’s presentation to grab the judges’ attention it has to stand out.”

He added that “based on past experiences, jurors do not wish to see ‘long winded,’ ‘non-linear’ submissions with ‘documentary type’ presentations”.

Both SLIM and its jury have volunteered their time to consider a fair, transparent and competent evaluation of the submissions. If applicants require further clarity on entry pre-requisites, they may reach out to SLIM via email at [email protected] or [email protected] they will be guided accordingly. 

Unlike most other campaign awards, big budgets are not a prerequisite to standing out at the DIGIS. “There are plenty of ways to create cool social media campaigns with small budgets as opposed to conventional media campaigns. Additionally, while it’s true that paid social is extremely effective, organic social serves as a strong foundation for any social media strategy, especially when there are creative marketers involved.”

He concludes, “Creati-vity matters more than big budgets.”

The entry process for SLIM DIGIS 2.1 is unique, as entries must be submitted in a video (mp4) format not more than five minutes long. Applicants must submit an entry video along with supporting annexures (data, statistics, reach, etc.) in PDF format.

In addition to the above, a practice that is common in other award events, but not adopted by SLIM DIGIS is the creation of a ‘shortlist’ of entries for evaluation/judging. All entries are evaluated by the panel of judges, and judging takes place when a primary round of submissions is validated and verified to ensure that all entry prerequisites are fulfilled.  

There are general and special categories in SLIM DIGIS 2.1. Whilst the general categories are self-explanatory when applying for the special categories, Imal advises applicants to “read beyond the title and fully understand the descriptor”.

For example, when applying for one of the new special award categories ‘The Best Response to COVID-19,’ Imal explains: “The goal is to understand if your response was based on a true understanding of consumer/customer behaviour, engagement and usage/consumption changes.” He adds: “We are not looking for a conversely generic response to a global issue.”

In addition to the above, Imal concludes: “I believe going digital has in a large extent, enabled and driven a massive focus on efficiency and cost-cutting which has resulted in a lot of short-term thinking and siloed behaviour.”

This behaviour has driven a lot of disintegration in the marketing world and Imal comments: “We’ve got a cohort of marketers that are so focused on short term marketing and efficiency, now coming out of a pandemic, marketing has to be about growth by utilising all the tools at our disposal and creating a longer-term view.”

He adds: “No medium is effective exclusively. One must leverage all communication mediums to best harness the impact of their campaigns. That’s how your marketing efforts become sustainable.”

The final call for applications for SLIM DIGIS 2.1 will be drawing to a close on 25 November. For any assistance with applications or entry criteria, please contact SLIM on [email protected] or [email protected].

For more information and updates, follow SLIM DIGIS 2.1 website at www.slim.lk or the SLIM DIGIS 2.1 social media pages on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.