HOW ECHO JUDGING WORKS

The International ECHO Awards represent the oldest and most prestigious honor in response based marketing. Supported by the DMA, the ECHO is the only international award where judges rigorously assess entries based on strategy, creative execution and results — recognizing the whole picture of a campaign's success.

This focus on balanced judging assessment, combining top-notch, experienced judges and outstanding entries year in and out, has played a major role in the ECHO Awards representing the best that direct and digital marketing have to offer.

Entry Categories

ECHO entries are judged by business category. There are twelve separate categories representing business segments. Categorizing entries by business segment enables entries to be evaluated by judging panels of direct and digital marketing professionals with actual experience in the relevant business category. This leads to a more intelligent and insightful evaluation of entries.

3 Rounds of ECHO Judging

All International ECHO Award winners go through three rounds of judging.

Round 1 is a screening round so the main objective is to determine which entries should be considered as ECHO Award contenders with a chance to make it through to Round 2. Through a combination of individual reviews followed by collaborative discussion, judging panels determine which entries represent an effective balance of strategy, creative execution and results; and which move on to the next round. Ultimately the scoring will be: “PASS” or “FAIL.”

Round 2 is a “Scoring” round so the main objective is to identify entries or campaigns that should be considered for one of the five tiers of awards. The judges determine if an entry is “superb” or “above average” in the campaign strategy, execution and results and if this entry should be considered as an “ECHO Award contender”, with a chance to advance to Round 3.

Judging in this round is done individually. For every campaign, the judge assigns a score from 1-30 for each of the 3 distinct areas - strategy, creative and results.

Round 3 is a “FINAL Scoring” round, meaning the judges identify the campaigns that are eligible for one of the five categories of awards and determine if a campaign’s strategy, execution and results are “superb”. Ultimately the judges are helping to decide which entries will have the opportunity to win the prestigious Diamond ECHO. In Round 3, entries are reviewed individually by three senior level judges, all of whom are the most experienced direct and digital marketers.

Each entry carries its Round 2 score into Round 3. The Round 2 score is an average score based on the sum total and the number of judges. Scores will range from 54 to 90 based on the category as some categories are scored higher or lower than others. In order to move on to Round 3 an entry’s score must: = or > than the category average. Each Round 3 judge reviews each entry in the three areas - strategy, creative and results - and awards a score of 0-3 for each. This is the “last 9 yards” which will ultimately determine which award the entry will receive.

Special ECHO Awards

The ECHO Board of Governors, along with award sponsors, will determine potential eligibility for seven special awards. The Diamond, ECHO Governors Strategic Innovation Award, Hoke Award, and USPS Gold Mailbox awards are selected by pulling from the highest scoring entries from Round 3. Other special awards – Green ECHO, ECHO Search Marketing, and Pitney Bowes Personal Connections ECHO – are chosen by members of the Board and other experts in those fields from the top scoring entries that meet the specific award qualifications.

Judge Representation

For the 2011 International ECHO Awards, Round 1 judging took place in Copenhagen, Melbourne and New York City. Rounds 2 and 3 judging were in New York. Overall, participating judges came from cities across the United States, as well as from UK, Sweden, Spain, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Scotland, Finland, Norway, Portugal, Hungary, Australia, New Zealand, France, Brazil, South Africa, Slovenia, India, Ireland, and Malaysia.

2012 Judging

For more on the benefits of participating as a 2012 ECHO judge, experienced direct response marketers should contact Barbara Parker at bparker@the-dma.org or 212.768.7277 x1450.

For a list of the 2011 ECHO jury, click here.

ECHO Judging and Rules Committee

Chair:
Tedd Aurelius – VP, Account Director, The Martin Agency

Members:
Eamon Boyle – Director of Analytics, The Martin Agency
Karina Pena Garcia – Senior Director of Marketing, Direct Marketing Association
Ethan Harlow – Client Support Services, OMNI Solutions Group, Inc.
Angella Hubbert – Director, Print Production, Russ Reid
JP LaFors – Director of Client Service, Gyro
Matt Leonard – CIPP
Jennifer Monaghan – SVP, Management Supervisor, Campbell-Ewald
Barbara Parker – Director of Award Programs, Direct Marketing Association
Lori Savage – Advertising & Media Planning, United States Postal Service

The International ECHO Awards: Celebrating Great Work that Works Great

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