Warc 2013: 17 out of 38 shortlisted entries are from India

The next highest shortlists are from China (five) and Malaysia (four).

Warc, which recognises insightful marketing strategies, has released the shortlist for Warc Prize for Asian Strategy, 2013. Out of the total 38 papers listed for the finals, 17 are from India, five from China and four from Malaysia. Interestingly, in Asian Strategy 2012, nine out of the 32 shortlists were from Indian agencies.

The shortlisted entries came from 10 different markets around Asia, and from a mix of major networks and local independents. For the third year running, India supplied the largest number of shortlisted entries. The award has received a total of 143 entries this year, of which 53 are from Indian agencies.

Warc, the marketing intelligence service, will award the $5,000 Grand Prix to the region's best strategy case study, and five Special Awards of $1,000 each. The final winners will be announced in an event to be held on September, 26 in Singapore.

Five out of 14 judges in Warc Prize 2013 are Indians, including Partha Sinha, managing partner, BBH India, who is the only one from an advertising agency; Ajay Kakar, chief marketing officer, financial services, Aditya Birla Group; Siddhartha Loiwal, head, marketing development and strategy, Marico; Rohini Miglani, director, brand building, integrated communication, P&G Asia; and B V Pradeep, VP, consumer and market insight for D&E markets, Unilever.

"We were particularly impressed with the number of entries that challenged category norms and behaviour, and found creative solutions that were breathtakingly simple yet amazingly effective," says Leanne Cutts, president and managing director, Japan at Mondelez International and the 2013 chair of judges.

"Finally, we were reminded once again that budget is no prediction of the quality of strategy thinking, creative idea or effectiveness in the real world."

The entrants were asked to specify the media channels used in each case. On an average, the shortlisted campaigns used 8.4 channels each, higher than the average of 7.4 used across all entries. For the first time in the competition, social media was the most used media channel, ahead of television. Across the shortlists, 74 per cent of campaigns used social media, compared to 61 per cent that used television. Across all entries, the figures were 57 per cent for social media and 53 per cent for television.

For the record, Warc is the global provider of ideas and evidence to marketing people. Warc's online intelligence service, warc.com, includes more than 6,000 case studies and a huge resource of articles on new thinking and best practice across all areas of marketing.