The Epica Awards are an annual series of communication awards, created in 1987 and based in Paris, France. Having originally focused on the

Europe, Middle East and Africa EMEA is a shorthand designation meaning Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The acronym is used by institutions and governments, as well as in marketing and business when referring to this region: it is a shorthand way of referencing the two ...

region exclusively, the awards became global in 2012. 585 agencies in total submitted to work to the Epica Awards in 2015, representing 75 countries. Epica's aim is to reward outstanding creativity and help communication agencies, film production companies, media consultancies, photographers and

design A design is a plan or specification for the construction of an object or system or for the implementation of an activity or process or the result of that plan or specification in the form of a prototype, product, or process. The verb ''to design'' ...

studios to develop their reputations beyond their national borders. The awards are judged during the third week of November by journalists representing the trade press. This jury aims to achieve objectivity and widespread coverage of the results. The best work is also published in the annual ''Epica Book'' and shown in the Epica on Tour showcase.

Awards

The awards encompass all main communication disciplines: TV, Press, Outdoor, Digital, Mobile, Social, Radio, Promotions, Direct & Experiential Marketing, Media,

Business-to-business Business-to-business (B2B or, in some countries, BtoB) is a situation where one business makes a commercial transaction with another. This typically occurs when: * A business is sourcing materials for their production process for output (e.g., a ...

Public relations Public relations (PR) is the practice of managing and disseminating information from an individual or an organization (such as a business, government agency, or a nonprofit organization) to the public in order to influence their perception. P ...

, Branded Entertainment, Design,

Packaging Packaging is the science, art and technology of enclosing or protecting products for distribution, storage, sale, and use. Packaging also refers to the process of designing, evaluating, and producing packages. Packaging can be described as a co ...

, Integrated Campaigns, Film Craft, Photography and Print Craft. Complete results of the annual awards are announced in the press and confirmed on the Epica website during the last week of November every year. Category winners (gold, silver and bronze) receive an Epica crystal pyramid. Gold, silver and bronze winners also receive certificates. The Epica Awards are open to all communication agencies, film production companies, media consultancies, digital agencies, PR specialists, photographers and design studios worldwide. Only work that has been approved by clients and used, published or broadcast since 1 July of the previous year is eligible to enter.

Jury and judging criteria

The Epica jury consists of editors and senior reporters from marketing magazines and websites; as of 2014, it included journalists from 42 different countries. The Epica Awards are the only industry awards to be judged solely by journalists. Epica entries are judged on the basis of two criteria only: the originality of the creative idea and the quality of its execution (except in the Craft & Imagery categories where only quality of execution is taken into consideration). The Epica results are determined by category. The highest scoring entry in each category wins gold, on condition that the work surpasses a minimum score that qualifies it as a category winner. Other entries in each category that achieve this score win silver or bronze. When no entry meets the standard there are no winners in the category. Four Grand Prix are awarded to the best overall film, press, outdoor and digital entries. These are selected from all the category winners. The agency and network with the most awards are given the Agency of the Year and Network of the Year trophies.

''Epica Book'' and Epica on Tour

All the winners and a selection of other high-scoring entries are published in the annual ''Epica Book'', which they receive a free copy of. The book showcases more than 800 TV commercials, posters, press ads, radio spots, PR projects, promotions, internet sites, graphic design projects, integrated campaigns, direct marketing, branded content and innovative media entries honoured in the previous year's awards. Film winners are also compiled and shown in the Epica on Tour showcase. In 2016, the showcase toured

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

, London, Paris,

Stockholm Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...

, Moscow,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Minsk Minsk ( be, Мінск ; russian: Минск) is the capital and the largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach and the now subterranean Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the admi ...

, Milan,

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

and New York City.

Ceremony and conference

The Epica ceremony is held in a different capital city each year, on the Thursday of the third week in November. Cities that have hosted the ceremony include

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, Brussels,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

, Moscow, London, Zurich, Düsseldorf,

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

, Lisbon,

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Prague,

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...

, Dublin,

Budapest Budapest (, ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Hungary. It is the ninth-largest city in the European Union by population within city limits and the second-largest city on the Danube river; the city has an estimated population ...

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, Stockholm,

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, Belgrade,

Zagreb Zagreb ( , , , ) is the capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Croatia#List of cities and towns, largest city of Croatia. It is in the Northern Croatia, northwest of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slop ...

Ljubljana Ljubljana (also known by other historical names) is the capital and largest city of Slovenia. It is the country's cultural, educational, economic, political and administrative center. During antiquity, a Roman city called Emona stood in the ar ...

and New Delhi. The ceremony is part of Epica's Creative Circle conference for industry experts, organized around a theme such as "The New Scope of Creativity".

Past results

In the 2015 Epica Awards there were Grand Prix winners from Japan, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Austria. The UK topped the country rankings, obtaining 52 awards, including a Grand Prix and 16 golds. 585 agencies in total submitted to work to the Epica Awards in 2015, representing 75 countries. *DIGITAL GRAND PRIX: "Taste the Translation" by

J. Walter Thompson J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merge ...

Amsterdam for ElaN *FILM GRAND PRIX: "High School Girl?" by Watts of Tokyo for Shiseido *PRESS GRAND PRIX: The "John Lewis Southampton" campaign by AdamandeveDDB, UK *OUTDOOR GRAND PRIX: "Mini Traffic Lights" by Demner, Merlicek & Bergman, Austria, for

Mini The Mini is a small, two-door, four-seat car, developed as ADO15, and produced by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors, from 1959 through 2000. Minus a brief hiatus, original Minis were built for four decades and sold during ...

*AGENCY OF THE YEAR: AdamandeveDDB won for the second consecutive year, with 14 awards including a Grand Prix and 4 golds. *NETWORK OF THE YEAR:

BBDO BBDO is a worldwide advertising agency network, with its headquarters in New York City. The agency originated in 1891 with the George Batten Company, and in 1928, through a merger with Barton, Durstine & Osborn (BDO), the agency became Batten, B ...

won with 43 awards, 11 of which were goldsShiseido's Gender-Shifting Makeup Ad Wins Grand Prix in Film at Epica Awards: Mini, John Lewis and ElaN Languages also take top honors
Adweek. 19 November 2015.

References

External links

The Epica Awards
Official website * {{Authority control Advertising awards Festivals in France