Tel Aviv - The Effie Awards in Israel took place on 4th November 2012, with BBR Saatchi & Saatchi Group receiving 3 Gold and 3 Silver awards, as follows (short descriptions below):

Gold (FMCG - food): Elite Wafers
Gold (Transport - Cars): Ford
Gold (Building and Real Estate): Carmel Tunnel
Silver (Non-profit): Blood Relations
Silver (Building and Real Estate): Park Hadera (Shikun&Binui)Silver (Toiletries): Gillette

Gold (FMCG - food): Elite Wafers
Elite Wafers were experiencing a drop in popularity and faced aggressive competition from private labels and foreign brands. To reawaken interest in its wafers, Elite leveraged an old Israeli debate on how the product's name should be pronounced - "vaffel" or "baffle"?  The public was invited to vote in an integrated, nationwide campaign which made this simple question a viral hit.  Based on a real local insight, the campaign increased sales by 35% and led to a steady, significant market share growth, making Elite Wafers loved again.

Gold (Transport - Cars): Ford
In recent years, the Ford Focus' popularity in Israel gradually decreased. It was seen as a "tired" brand, innovative market categories gained ground, and competitors offered more VFM.  The launch of the 2012 Focus provided an opportunity for reinvigoration. The "New Power" campaign addressed different lifestyles by presenting several new-and-improved Focus models and showcasing the car's advanced technological features. Thanks to the campaign, the Focus became a dominant player again - sales rose dramatically, making it the best selling family car in Israel, with a brand new image.

Gold (Building and Real Estate): Carmel Tunnel
Haifa suffers from endless traffic congestion. The Carmel Tunnel was built to reduce congestion in the Haifa area, allowing people to cross the city in just 8 minutes. We wanted to open the tunnel with no queues in sight, and to do so we had to get as many people as possible to sign up in advance, with the straightforward tagline: "Cross Haifa in 8 minutes!"

Success! 47% of vehicles using the tunnel in the first month belonged to subscribers, increasing by a further 35% over the next three months.

Silver (Building and Real Estate): Park Hadera (Shikun&Binui)
Hadera has a pretty grey reputation as a city, so promoting  Shikun&Binui's "Hadera Dreams Park" as the realization of the Israeli dream, was a true challenge. Our idea to help make the city seem more desirable, was termed: ‘Hadera wakes up refreshed'.

We teamed up with the municipality to tell the city's true story, and the ‘Chever' organization to set up a visitor centre in the area, hosting an event aimed at buyers and investors, offering them a 20% discount. 235 flats were sold, which means ₪259m, in one evening!

Silver (Non-profit): Blood Relations
The Blood Relations campaign succeeded in bringing together those with most reason to hate - bereaved Israelis and Palestinians - and got them to share their blood instead of spilling it. In a historic and emotional meeting, both communities came together to donate their blood to hospitals on the ‘other side'. This inspired mutual blood swaps between Israelis and Palestinians, and Jews and Muslims around the world, and caught the attention of the world's media - and of world leaders, such as Hillary Clinton, the US Congress and the UN.

Silver (Toiletries): Gillette
In past years Gillette struggled to grow shares in the competitive deodorant market and remained stagnate. Surveys indicated that the strongest purchases influencer in category is WOM. Thus, the decision to become the main sponsor of the biggest sport event in Israel, The Tel-Aviv Gillette Marathon, bringing to life the APDO superior performance benefit. We distributed Gillette deodorants to runners creating mass trial during marathon torture test conveying the brand message. The outcomes: 80% of men declared-Gillette is the best deodorant. Additionally, product trial grew +13%.