The Effie judging for 2009 has been completed and the winners will be announced next week at the big gala event in New York. As a board member and chairman of the Global Effie committee, I got a little peak under the tent. This year’s winners shared something in common with last year’s. Social media and public relations in general were very important parts of the communications mix. In fact, advertising and a number of “traditional” media vehicles were conspicuously absent in the campaigns that produced the most effective sales results. Grassroots, “experiential,” event, and unpaid media will take center stage again this year along with programs that are in support of the last three feet of the purchase decision ( the in-store experience.)

This all bodes well for public relations and for social media in particular. Mobility is the next media that will join center stage and we’ll see a lot more of that outlet in 2010 and beyond. The Effie’s winners are very reliable indicators of what the most savvy marketers are doing. Good news for this side of the marketing mix!