Let the Search for Outstanding Media Campaigns Begins!

KUALA LUMPUR, 26 February 2016 – Media specialists in Malaysia should brace themselves for an exciting time ahead! The prestigious Malaysian Media Awards (MMA) is back for its 12th year running, giving media talents yet another golden opportunity to showcase their strategic media innovation to the nation.

The industry’s most coveted award, MMA was initiated in 2004 by Media Specialists Association (MSA) to recognise outstanding media campaigns that have yielded excellent results through inspired execution. 12 years on, MMA’s stringent entry and judging criteria remain widely accepted as the gold standard to which all industry players adhere and aspire in the creation of exceptional works.

Kagee Chew, Organising Chairman of MMA 2016 stated that:movie Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

“MMA not only celebrated the best media campaigns; it has also crucially served to attract, retain and inspire the crème de la crème of the industry, thereby effectively raising the standards of advertising and media industry in Malaysia. We are coming to the point where we are now producing world-class work, which has positively impacted the growth of our clients’ businesses.”

In 2013, the MSA Talent Learning Programme was incorporated into MMA’s reward structure in an effort to elevate greatness and recognition within the industry. Cash prizes were awarded to all gold winners under the programme; the funds of which were then channelled towards the financing of personal or professional development programmes of their choice.

Building on that, MSA has introduced yet another initiative to the award this year to continue championing local talents, particularly among its members. Participation in MMA 2016 is now open only to MSA members.

Speaking on the change, Kagee said, “Our renewed focus on activating non-active member participation in 2016 will enable us to further push for friendly competition among MSA members and raise the standard of the industry overall. We sincerely hope to see all members, no matter their size, participate and showcase their work in MMA 2016.”

For first-time entrants, she continued, MSA will be funding professional writers to assist members in crafting and producing their video submissions for two of their best works. Participants requiring the services should contact the MSA Secretariat at 03-7660 8535 before 4 March 2016. The first two entries will be exempted from submission fee.

MMA 2016 features 12 distinct competing categories. They include:

  • Best Use of Television/Cinema Screen
  • Best Use of Sponsorship
  • Best Use of Branded Content on Screen
  • Best Use of Digital (online/interactive/mobile)
  • Best Use of Digital Performance Marketing (formerly Best Use of Performance Marketing)
  • Best Use of Social Media
  • Best Use of Out of Home/ Point of Sale (POS) Media
  • Best Use of Activation/Events
  • Best Use of Small Budget (Under RM100,000) – Excluding Digital
  • Best Use of Newspaper/Magazine (ABC Audited publications)
  • Best Use of Radio/Audio
  • Best Integrated Media Campaign

There will also be 3 special awards to be conferred – The Advertiser of the Year Award for the campaign with the highest cumulative points from all categories, The Grand Prix Award for the individual entry with the highest score and best overall entry, and Agency of the Year Award to the agency with the highest cumulative points from all categories.

MMA 2016 is now open for MSA members to submit their entries both electronically through MMA’s website and in hardcopy, complete with a write-up of not more than 300 words. Online submissions and further entry guidelines can be obtained at mma2016.mymsa.org.

Deadline for all submissions is by 5pm on 18 March 2016 with a fee of RM400. Late submissions are acceptable up to 5pm on 25 March 2016 where a late fee of RM600 will be levied. All entries are subject to 6% GST.

The Malaysian Media Awards 2016 award ceremony is set to take place on 2 June 2016 at One World Hotel, Petaling Jaya. For more information, log on to mma2016.mymsa.org.