Submission Deadline
Entries have now closed. If you missed the deadline and still want to submit, give us a shout:
Email: info@pitcherfestival.com
WhatsApp: +234 909 330 8747
Celebrating Creative Excellence Across Africa
Now in its 7th edition, the Pitcher Awards is one of Africa's most valuable and internationally respected accolades. Every year our esteemed jury, made up of experts from across the region, come together to review and benchmark creativity expressed across Africa through various media including print, film, audio, outdoor, PR, Entertainment, Digital, as well as creativity that has been specifically deployed for the good of mankind. Entries into Pitcher Awards are open to all work created, released or implemented anywhere on the African continent. This means that even projects created outside of Africa but designed specifically for implementation or release in Africa are eligible to enter.
Change for 2024
We recommend that you download and read the entry guidelines for 2024, even if you are familiar with the entry requirements for Pitcher Awards. There has been the introduction of 2 new categories in the Pitcher Awards 2024 edition. Some of the old categories have also been revised. The new categories are Effectiveness and Culture. The Effectiveness category has 2 subcategories, Business Impact and Societal Impact. The Effectiveness category will honour works that can demonstrate creativity and at the same time show a measurable successful impact on business, environment, or society. The eligibility period is from 1 January 2019 to 31 March 2024. So, past winners of the Pitcher Awards are welcome to enter, but previous winning is not a requirement for this category. Also, the entry is open to both profit and nonprofit organizations.
The Culture category focuses on PR initiatives and campaign ideas that spark or transform pop-culture, consumer behaviour or internal corporate and value chain. There are 6 subcategories here: Use of Cultural Insights, Media Relations & Brand Storytelling, Internal Culture & Employee Engagement, Excellence in PR, Public Affairs and Lobbying. The other 2 subcategories, Use of Influencers & Brand Ambassadors as well as Corporate Image and Reputation Management were migrated from the Channel category to enable the jury focus more on core media topics. The Culture category will follow the regular eligibility period from 1 January 2023 to 31 March 2024.
The new subcategories in Channel are Use of Integrated Media, Excellence in Media Planning and Excellence in Media Execution. Integrated Campaigns subcategory has been added to the Heritage category to acknowledge the creative ingenuity required in delivering a successful campaign in 3 or more media formats that work together excellently.
Finally, we have 2 new special awards in 2024 to recognize agency networks that are doing great work at various locations across the continent - the Africa Agency Network of the Year and the Africa Media Agency Network of the Year.
New: Work created for the benefit of the African Diaspora communities worldwide are now eligible for entry.
Submission Profile
Before you start completing your entry forms, you'll need to register first to create your profile. This ensures that you do not have to repeat basic personal and company information each time your complete an entry. After creating your profile, you may then proceed to submit your work on the Entries Platform.
Entry Timeline & Fees
The standard fees apply to entries paid for in January and February 2024.
Fees paid between 1 – 30 November get a 10% Early Bird discount.
Fees paid between 1 – 31 December get a 5% Early Bird discount.
Fees paid between 1 – 31 March 2024 get a 10% late entry surcharge.
Fees paid after 31 March 2024 attract a 15% late entry surcharge.
Judging
The Pitcher Awards uses a very transparent judging process. Judges are appointed based on their experience and reputation. As much as possible emphasis is placed on appointing professionals working in Africa in line with the Awards vision of promoting the creativity of the region and the people behind them.
There is a jury dedicated for each category. That is 6 independent juries will be judging the entries. . Each jury is headed by a jury president working with other reputable members. There is no separate shortlist jury, each work is seen and judged by each juror to ensure that the same level of fairness is applied across board. Jurors that have their work or deemed to have an interest in any work submitted in the category they are judging will be asked to abstain from voting for the work.
At the end of rigorous voting and discussion sessions, the jury will award the prestigious Pitcher Awards to deserving entries. The awards range from Shortlist, Bronze, Silver, Gold and Good to Grand Prix.
Winners to be Announced 18 May 2024
The Pitcher Awards Show is the climax of the Pitcher Festival of Creativity and will hold on 18 May 2024. The show will be streamed online and broadcast on major TV Networks across Africa. Winners will be announced at this event. Each winning entry will also have its own dedicated page on our website.
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The Pan-African Benchmark for Creative ExcellenceNow in its 7th year, the Pitcher Awards has become one of the most valuable and internationally respected accolades for creative work coming out of Africa. Every year our esteemed jury members from across the region come together to review and benchmark creative excellence in print, film, audio, outdoor, PR, Media, Entertaintainment, Digital as well as campaigns and initiatives for societal good and in the end honour deserving entries with the prestious Pitcher Awards. Enties are open to all work created, released or implemented anywhere on the African continent. This means that even projects created outside of Africa, but designed specifically to be implemented, run or released in Africa are also welcome to enter.
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New For 2022. Craft & Integrated Digital CampaignsBased on feedback from the industry, we have created a new Category for Craft. This category will honour excellence in Audio Craft; Design Craft; Digital, Mobile & Social Craft; Film Craft and Outdoor Craft. Also new for 2022 is a subcategory for Integrated Digital Campaigns under the Digital category. This subcategory will review the overall strategies adopted to promote the campaign across all digital platforms.
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Get Upto 10% Discount for Entries Completed QuicklyStart submitting early to take advantage of the 10% discount for entries completed before December 31 2021 and 5% discount for entries completed before 31 January 2022. Entries are only deemed to be complete after payment.
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You Only Need to Register Once to submit All Your EntriesBefore you start completing your entry forms, you'll need to register first. This ensures that you only have to input your contact details and your company details once. You may then proceed to your work on the Entries Platform.
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Winners to be Announced 21 May 2022The Pitcher Awards Show is the climax of the Pitcher Festival of Creativity and will hold on 21 May 2022. The show will be streamed online and broadcast on major TV Networks across Africa. Winners will be announced at this event. Each winning entry will also have its own dedicated page on our website and in print in the special Pitcher Awards Showcase publication. Previous editions are now available for purchase on Amazon.
Watch Demo
Here’s a simple guide to the Pitcher Awards 2024 entries platform showing how to easily access the entries registration page and begin to submit your work.