Effie Behind the Scenes: Johan Vandepoel
The Effie Award, owes its reputation to renowned marketing professionals over the years. In this blogpost, we showcase this legacy through 'Effie Behind the Scenes', featuring Johan Vandepoel, CEO of ACC, who shares his notable Effie experiences.
Since its inception in the late 1980s, the Effie Award's legacy has been shaped by esteemed marketing professionals, generation after generation. To highlight this economic and cultural heritage, we exclusively feature the segment 'Effie Behind the Scenes' in this newsletter, where we interview a privileged stakeholder and witness about their most memorable Effie moments. Our guest this month is Johan Vandepoel, the CEO of ACC and an Effie standout.
"Perhaps I'm one of the fortunate few who have witnessed every edition of the Effie Awards. Initially, as a young lad marvelling at Prince Albert sitting in the front row. What an impact! His presence immediately elevated our industry to the same level as the renowned Auto Show. Later, as a regular submitter of Effie cases in a time when there were no strategists to craft thorough submissions. And even later, as the most awarded submitter of Effie cases at the now-defunct Young & Rubicam and at BBDO with their 'We Create Effectiveness' slogan. Holding the title of record submitter of Effie cases was something I was exceptionally proud of for a long time. It certainly benefited both agencies!
One pleasant anecdote with a slightly less pleasant edge from that time dates back to when, with Young & Rubicam, we had just won the Grand Prix at the CCB Awards for De Standaard and were candidates for the very first Grand Effie thanks to our Gold Effie for Leo. A advertising Grand Slam indeed.
The tension was palpable as all the laureates stood on stage, with the entire jury behind us and presenter Anne De Baetzelier slowly opening the envelope while one of the jury members whispered in my ear, 'You've got it!'. And with Jean Bosco Safari walking onto the stage with a guitar in hand, singing 'Leeo, Lee-e-e-o' at the top of his lungs. A magical moment, albeit slightly spoiled by the premature revelation. But one that I still often reminisce about; just last week when - nearly 35 years later - I saw the newest Leeo, Lee-e-e-o commercial on TV.
Even after my departure from BBDO, I remained closely involved with the Effies as a shareholder for ACC on the board of directors, alongside UBA, UMA, and BAM. There, we work collegially and thanks to the drive of a small team of professionals, we contribute to the growing success of Effie.
ACC's mantra for the next three years is 'We are VALUE C.R.E.A.T.O.R.S.', where the C and the R stand for Client Connection and Reputation. These are not coincidentally two ambitions closely aligned with what Effie stands for: strong relationships between agency and client, based on a mutual ambition to create more effective work that brings value to the brand and strengthens the reputation of the industry. If the Effie Award didn't exist, they would have to invent it!"