The Effie Awards will remain the same in its brand and process, according to a spokeswoman for Effie Worldwide.
Ascential, which owns the Cannes Lions, has entered into an agreement to acquire the “commercial assets” of Effie, the organization behind the global Effie Awards, which rewards effectiveness in advertising.
As part of the agreement, Effie will join Ascential’s Lions division, which also includes the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Terms were not disclosed.
The deal was announced just two weeks after Informa Plc announced that it plans to buy Ascential.
The Effie Awards will remain the same in its brand and process, according to a spokeswoman for Effie Worldwide.
Effie Worldwide, the non-profit organization that sits within Effie, will also transform into a new global foundation called The Effie Lions Foundation which will be “dedicated to educating the next generation of talent, offering training for all marketing students, especially those under-represented in the marketing community,” according to a press release.
According to a statement by Ascential, the foundation will also provide a home for the Lions’ existing not-for-profit initiatives and provide access to some of the digital products produced by the Lions division.
“We are excited to join Lions with such a complementary, yet distinct, portfolio of brands,” Traci Aldford, CEO and president of Effie Worldwide said in a statement. “Closer collaboration between Effie, as the definitive marketing effectiveness benchmark globally, and the Lions brands is an exciting prospect for the industry as our ability to share insights and find synergies in our data will help to dissect the role creativity plays in driving marketing effectiveness overall. Together we will be able to better understand the key drivers of growth and ultimately help all businesses succeed.”
Alford will remain in her role. The deal is subject to regulatory approval.
