Having spent seven years at its helm, departing CEO, Andrew Human is well placed to give us the lowdown on The Loeries, which, from humble beginnings in 1978, is now the event on the South African brand communication industry’s calendar
In early October Andrew Human revealed he’ll be stepping down as The Loeries CEO in February 2012, though he’ll be staying on as advisor and committee member. This called to mind shots’ first question to him, weeks prior to the announcement: ‘so, what’s your job when you’re not running The Loeries?’. Human greeted the query with a knowing smile and a nod of the head, as if to indicate that he’d been asked this question many times before. “I’ve been asked this question many times before,” he qualified through a thin smile.
The main event that is South Africa’s premier national ad awards is held over one weekend in September, but the other activities that have been introduced in recent years means it is more than two days of awarding and back-slapping, of high-jinx and hangovers. It’s also a self-published, post-awards book, a bi-annual magazine, a travelling exhibition and a student scholarship programme. All of this means that Human needed all of his available time, to make The Loeries the success that it is.
The Human touch
Commenting on Human’s resignation, Andy Rice, advertising analyst and founding partner of brand consultancy Yellowwood says, “Thanks to Andrew, the Loeries is now a very efficient and almost self-sustaining machine and it was inevitable that he would look for new challenges sooner or later.”
During his tenure Human oversaw the event’s move from Sun City to Margate – a town near Durban – in 2005 and then in 2009, to its current home of Cape Town. Each year the event adapts to reflect the changing media environment, too. “The Loeries were created by our national broadcaster, the South African Broadcasting Corporation, to promote TV advertising,” explains Human. “TV was only introduced into South Africa in 1976 and in 1978 the SABC created The Loeries to say ‘hey, this is a new medium, let’s celebrate it.’”
“Slowly The Loeries grew,” Human continues, “and radio was added, then print and then more and more media until, today, we no longer see it as simply advertising, it’s a brand new communication programme where we try to incorporate any touch point between a brand and its consumer. Now we celebrate PR, architecture and interior design.”
The Loeries differs from many other national ad awards in that it garners a lot of interest from the general public. South African consumers know about it and interact with the show and the travelling exhibition. Human thinks that’s good for the industry as a whole. “We get a lot of national press coverage and there’s a 30-minute special TV broadcast about the show. It’s great because it’s got this sort of rock-star status now, but it’s also important as it means consumers are seeing The Loeries and demanding great ads from brands.”
Though he modestly claims it’s been a team effort, part of Human’s legacy is a large increase in delegate numbers. “In 2004, there were about 1,200 people at the final night awards, this year there were 2,500, so it’s a big gig,” he admits.
Brands wake up to the awards
As for The Loeries’ future, Human sees it as increasingly client focused. “In the past most award shows were owned by the creatives and agencies and the clients were less a part of it,” he says. “But now brands are becoming much more involved and realising the value of a creative advertising award. So, I think [The Loeries] is moving into a realm where creativity is accepted as being relevant and effective.” And as for his own future? “I’m staying on the committee as an advisor so I won’t be departing completely. Other than that, I am going to take some time off and then hopefully fix the South African rail infrastructure or solve some similar ‘unsolvable’ problem.
