Printers now have until June 10 to get their entries in for the Australian Catalogue Awards, which recognise achievements in communication strategies, creative design and styling in one of print’s most popular channels. More than 500 submissions are already in, with organisers anticipating a record of more than 700 entries for this year’s competition, on the back of a growth in online retailer and agency participation. Kellie Northwood, executive director of the ACA – which is hosting the annual competition – says the awards showcase the brightest minds in print, design, retail, advertising and marketing, with an emphasis on the effectiveness and popularity of catalogues as a key tool in the marketing landscape.
Kellie Northwood, executive director of the ACA
She says, “We have had an overwhelming response for this year’s awards with more than 350 entries from retail, advertising, marketing, design and printing sectors in the last two weeks alone. “We have seen print catalogue entries from online retailers increase significantly on last year, a trend that emphasises the emotional connection readers have with the tactility of paper. “It is encouraging to see the catalogue industry growing every year. We have seen a great increase in young talent emerging, in the number of entrants in the Best Young Talent and Designer of the Year awards with prizes of $1,000 and $5,000 respectively.” Last year the biggest winner on the night was IPMG, which printed 18 of the 39 winning jobs, including two of the three catalogues of the year. PMP printed eight winning catalogues for Beacon Lighting, Dan Murphy’s, Dick Smith, Domayne, Harvey Norman, Mitre 10 and Woolworths. Franklin Web won six categories through Focus on Furniture, Kmart, Stockland, Super Retail Group and Telstra. AIW printed one of the catalogues of the year, for RB Sellers, and also produced two winning entries for Rebel Sport.
The catalogue awards aren’t just for the big commercial web printers, smaller printers including Melbourne firms Mystique and Print Bound each printed one winning entry as did Sydney firm Carbon8 and regional New South Wales operation Evolve Printing. Kate Langbroek, TV and radio personality and MC of the awards night to be held in Melbourne on Friday August 29, dubs the awards the ‘Catalogies’. This year’s contest will feature 14 categories, including new awards for Best Young Talent, Creative Design and Judges’ Choice for Excellence in Craft. With entries to close on May 31, a panel of 40 industry leaders specialising in agency creative, production, accounts and representing a number of retailers will judge entries according to the role of their catalogue, their target market, objective, layout, design and art direction. Best Young Designer and Best Young Talent will receive an Apple iMac $5,000 and $1,000 Visa Gift Card respectively. The presentation night is slated for the Palladium Room at Crown, Melbourne on August 29. Further information can be found at https://catalogue.asn.au
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