News in Brief 08 January 2014

AICE Awards call for entries

AICE has announced the call for entries for the 13th annual AICE Awards competition. The 2014 AICE Awards includes 21 categories, 16 for editorial and five for other post production crafts such as audio mixing and colour grading. This year’s awards include new categories, Best of Show and Online Campaign as well as Changes Made to Alternative Media Category. The New York awards ceremony will take place on Thursday 15 May at Guastavino’s, an event space in East Manhattan. The deadline for entries is Friday 14 February. Full descriptions of categories and entry requirements can be found at AICE Awards.

Creative Circle deadline and news

The deadline for the 2014 Creative Circle Awards has been announced as Friday 24 January. All entries must be in by this date and those wishing to submit work can do so here here. Creatives interested in judging can access further details and registration information here. Creative Circle has also announced an award amnesty and if you wish to donate an old award or trophy please contact Tom to arrange collection. In other news from the organisation, it will be offering one last chance to see This is Not. An Interview with Tony Kaye at Framestore’s Secret Cinema on Tuesday 21 January. For ticket information click here.

Cannes Lions announces delegate registratio

Passes for the 61st annual International Festival of Creativity will be available from 2pm GMT tomorrow (Thursday 9 January). To see highlights of last year’s event click here and to add the festival to your calendar click here.

Global Effie entry deadline

The first deadline for this year’s Global Effie Awards has been announced as Friday 17 January. There is a last chance deadline on February 6 with a chance of additional fees payable. For any queries regarding your entry or the awards in general please contact Hope Spithaler.

ADC releases full-length digital annual

The Art Directors Club (ADC) has announced the release of its revolutionary ADC Annual 92 app for iPad, marking the first time the organisation has released a digital version in its 92-year history. The ADC Annual Awards of Art + Craft in Advertising and Design celebrates and awards work across the disciplines of design, advertising, motion graphics, photography, illustration and interactive. To celebrate the launch, ADC partnered with San Francisco-based DODOcase to create limited edition iPad cases, which will be gifted to the first 500 ADC Members who download the annual on the App Store this month. Non-members can purchase the app for $19.99. To download the ADC Annual 92 app for iPad, look for it in the App Store or visit the ADC Facebook page.

Draftfcb Worldwide Acquires Inferno in London

Draftfcb Worldwide has announced the acquisition of Inderno, a London-based independent advertising and creative agency. Inferno was founded in 2000 and is considered an expert on tech brands, having worked with the likes of BskyB, Skype and Nokia in recent years. The new company, initially called Inferno Draftfcb, will have joint capabilities spanning on and offline advertising, CRM, retail, web design & build, content creation, application development, mobile and social media, enabling it to deliver improved innovative advertising solutions for clients.

Roundarch Isobar becomes Isobar

Digital marketing agency Roundarch Isobar has announced it is to be reamed Isobar. Roundarch joined Isobar back in 2012, after being inspired by its global reach and high levels of expertise. Isobar has racked up 13 Agency of the Year awards and 12 Cannes Lion wins in the last three years. The idea of embracing a single name reflects the agency’s commitment to ideas without limits, borderless thinking and experiences that translate across markets, according to the company.

Culver City goes BARABOOM!

BARABOOM! Studios, a specialist in previsualisation, has opened a full-service production office in Culver City, California. The new office will feature a workspace for small teams of creatives in addition to an assortment of cutting edge technology. The new space also paves the way for a planned expansion of the company over the coming year, with the hiring of additional staff in the pipeline, a scanning and motion capture stage and extension to its existing services.

CMW becomes Stack

London-based integrated creative agency CMW has been rebranded as Stack. The change will be rolled out through January and follows the developments in 2013 such as the company’s foray into the world of experiential marketing projects. The name Stack was chosen to reflect the agency’s combination of capabilities and services. Stack will continue to be run by CEO Liz Wilson.

Critical Mass merges with Agency Republic

Global digital agency Critical Mass has announced a merger deal with London-based digital firm Agency Republic. The combined entity will take on the Critical Mass name and operate from its office in London with Agency Republic MD Matt Kwiecinski at the helm. Alistair Campbell, AR’s ECD will continue in the role and run the creative team in London. Campbell will also join the newly-formed Creative Council, led by new CCO Conor Brady. Critical Mass London’s former MD Susanne Jones will become SVP client partner.

Volume and BRND WGN Malta partner up

Volume, one of the UK’s leading digital and innovation agencies, has announced a formal strategic partnership with Maltese independent digital agency BRND WGN. The new partnership will benefit clients with the combined talent of B2B and B2C agencies coming together seamlessly to offer a well-rounded and fresh approach. Both companies will also dip into each other’s talent pools, experience and resources to deliver fresh ideas, combined with the ability to execute large-scale campaigns quickly and effectively.

Editing company Friendshop! launches in New York

Former Go Robot! editors Tim Wilson and Ben Suenaga have joined forces with former Ogilvy & Mather executive producer Melissa Mapes to launch new boutique editing company, Friendshop!. The venture will temporarily operate as ‘artists in residence’ at Outpost Digital in New York, while permanent offices are undergoing construction. Wilson and Suenaga, who had both been at Go Robot for more than 10 years, have worked on numerous campaigns between them including for HP, Exxon, AT&T and Powerade. Mapes previously served as executive producer and senior partner at Ogilvy New York, where she led American Express, UPS, IKEA and Stoli among others.

Believe launches Dapper

Production company Believe Media has launched a new division fully dedicated to comedy. The new entity, Dapper, will be helmed by executive producer David Lyons and director Roderick Fenske.  Joining the fun developments are award-winning comedic directors Adam Cameron, Henrik Sundgren and Short Malone with new additions planned shortly. Dapper will operate out of Believe Media’s LA office.