The Entertainment Lynx has seen a refresh this year with the expansion of gaming within the refreshed Branded Gaming section.
The growing trend of utilising gaming platforms as a means of creative expression has led to a notable surge in the number of submissions. This has led to increased numbers of work winning which uses gaming platforms as a channel for creativity so these changes have been introduced to celebrate work that uses gameplay to make a difference.
To be successful, work will need to demonstrate how brands successfully tapped into complex gaming communities and seamlessly added real value to the overall gaming experience while driving commercial success.
The Media Lynx has seen a refresh for 2024, aiming to align itself with the dynamic landscape of the Media industry. It has also seen a slight restructure of the categories with the addition of the ‘Insights & Media Strategy’ section. The updated Media Award seeks to celebrate the craftsmanship of harnessing media to deliver a brand message and change behaviour or engage consumers at scale.
Entries into the ‘Excellence in Media Craft’ section can only be submitted and paid for by Independent Media Agencies or a company owned by a Media Network or Independent Media Network. This section will sit outside the existing maximum limits for entry within the Media Lynx, by Media Agencies only.
For 2024, Transformation categories have been added to the Brand Experience & Activation and PR Lynx Awards.
Successful work in these categories should demonstrate how creative transformation has been successfully implemented across core business functions, leading to a positive impact and promoting the growth of the business.
Entries must demonstrate measurable transformation occurring within a three-year eligibility period.
Mobile devices are embedded in work across every channel and discipline. Over the past number of years mobile-led creativity has been expanding into many different Awards, from Direct and Entertainment to Healthcare and Commerce.
To reflect this shift, the categories in the Mobile Award have been integrated across the relevant Dubai Lynx Awards.
Dubai Lynx 2024 will see the introduction of the Metaverse into categories focused on New Realities and Emerging Tech. For the purposes of the Awards, the use of the Metaverse is defined as ‘the creative application of immersive experiences which creatively push the boundaries of technology’.
Other category descriptions across the Dubai Lynx Awards have been expanded to include virtual worlds, new realities and the associated technology and innovations.
Dubai Lynx is a proud member of Ad Net Zero and as part of this, we want to support the industry’s drive to reduce the carbon impact of developing, producing and airing creative work to real net zero by 2030.
Starting this year, all entrants will be encouraged to provide information that outlines their C02 emissions as part of the production process, using AdNet Zero’s five-point Action Plan as a guide. In this first year, the information won’t be used as part of the judging process, but will be used to understand the state of play across MENA creativity.
For 2024, entrants will be encouraged to provide information about the composition of the teams involved ‘behind the camera’ and any relevant information about the brand or agency’s DE&I agenda. Whilst this information won’t be part of the written submission, and so won’t contribute towards judging, it is intended to measure progress and help inform future criteria.
This move builds on the objectification and harmful stereotypes criteria introduced in 2017.
Dubai Lynx welcomes submissions from across the MENA region and with that comes the broad range of cultural contexts that shape and influence each piece of work. These cultural insights may not be clear to everyone in the judging panel so it’s very important for the Jury to understand the cultural nuances of a particular piece of work and why it is significant in the market where it ran.
To ensure equal opportunities for success, entrants can now include the cultural context behind each piece of work. This includes a detailed explanation of the cultural intricacies surrounding the work and its significance in the specific market where it was implemented.