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 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 the concept or proposal for an object, process, or system. The word ''design'' refers to something that is or has been intentionally created by a thinking agent, and is sometimes used to refer to the inherent nature of something ...

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 Direct may refer to: Mathematics * Directed set, in order theory * Direct limit of (pre), sheaves * Direct sum of modules, a construction in abstract algebra which combines several vector spaces Computing * Direct access (disambiguation), ...

& Experiential Marketing, Media,

Business-to-business Business-to-business (B2B or, in some countries, BtoB) refers to trade and commercial activity where a business sees other businesses as its customer base. This typically occurs when: * A business sources materials for its production process for ...

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. Pu ...

, 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 coo ...

, 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

Th
Epica jury
consists of senior writers and reporters from newspapers and online news portals around the world. Each jury member is selected based on certain criteria. The jury includes representatives from 290 renowned publications such as Forbes, Entrepreneur, National Geographic, The Australian, Vogue, GCC Business News, Ad Week, People, Arab News, Indian Express and Business Insider. 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 States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, London, Paris,

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, Moscow,

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a population of 1.4 million in the Urban area of Copenhagen, urban area. The city is situated on the islands of Zealand and Amager, separated from Malmö, Sweden, by the ...

Minsk Minsk (, ; , ) is the capital and largest city of Belarus, located on the Svislach (Berezina), Svislach and the now subterranean Nyamiha, Niamiha rivers. As the capital, Minsk has a special administrative status in Belarus and is the administra ...

, Milan,

Kyiv Kyiv, also Kiev, is the capital and most populous List of cities in Ukraine, city of Ukraine. Located in the north-central part of the country, it straddles both sides of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2022, its population was 2, ...

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 of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, Brussels,

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

, Moscow, London,

Zurich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

, Düsseldorf,

Warsaw Warsaw, officially the Capital City of Warsaw, is the capital and List of cities and towns in Poland, largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the Vistula, River Vistula in east-central Poland. Its population is officially estimated at ...

, Lisbon,

Helsinki Helsinki () is the Capital city, capital and most populous List of cities and towns in Finland, city in Finland. It is on the shore of the Gulf of Finland and is the seat of southern Finland's Uusimaa region. About people live in the municipali ...

, Prague,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

, Dublin,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, Stockholm,

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, 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, north of the country, along the Sava river, at the southern slopes of the ...

Ljubljana {{Infobox settlement , name = Ljubljana , official_name = , settlement_type = Capital city , image_skyline = {{multiple image , border = infobox , perrow = 1/2/2/1 , total_widt ...

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 Amsterdam for ElaN *FILM GRAND PRIX: "High School Girl?" by Watts of Tokyo for

Shiseido is a Japanese multinational cosmetic company founded in Tokyo, Japan in 1872. Its product categories consist of: skin care, makeup, body care, hair care, and fragrances. The company is one of the oldest cosmetic companies in the world an ...

*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 very small two-door, four-seat car, produced for four decades over a single generation, with many names and variants, by the British Motor Corporation (BMC) and its successors British Leyland and the Rover Group, and finally ...

*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