Farewell DMA Awards judging week, hello DMA Awards shortlist

It’s exciting, it’s adrenaline-fuelled and it’s almost over. DMA Awards judging week ends today when our head judges pick the Grand Prix winner. You’ll have to wait until Awards night in December to hear who the winners are but the DMA Awards shortlist is out.

OgilvyOne is out in the lead with 23 nominations, and three agencies share second place with 14 nominations each - MRM Meteorite, Wunderman and Proximity. We’ve also got a grand total of 57 agencies and brands in contention for 37 Golds and the Grand Prix.

Huge congratulations to everyone who made the shortlist. Having listened in on some of the heated debates between our judges as more than 350 senior marketers worked through a record 540 entries, I know first-hand what a fantastic achievement this is.

Passions were running high as the judges in the 37 award categories tried to win each other and explored the campaigns from every angle. In-between sessions there were huddles, hugs and industry chatter over coffee and cakes.

Then, yesterday evening as the results from the final categories filtered to the DMA Awards control room and we started compiling the shortlist, our judges headed to the rooftop bar for drinks and canapés. Who knew that the Royal College of General Practitioners had such a cool bar with city views?

Roll on 2 December and Awards night. Can’t wait to hear who the top dogs in one-to-one marketing are.