Entries Scheduled to Open November 9
The organizers of the Pitcher Festival of Creativity have announced the expansion of the annual Pitcher Awards to include a new category dedicated to Entertainment. The Pitcher Awards Entertainment category will now be the fifth category of the awards programme.
The existing categories are Heritage, Channel, Innovation and Good. The Innovation category will now be known as Digital. The new Entertainment category, which will have its own separate jury and jury president will be made up of the following subcategories:
Film – This will include fiction and non-fiction materials of at least 5 minutes designed for online, cinema or television broadcast.
Audio - This will include audio fiction and non-fiction materials such as podcasts and radio programmes of at least 5 minutes.
Media Promo - This subcategory is for station or programme promotional materials created by media companies, networks, broadcasters or publishers.
Live Events – The live events subcategory will include concerts and other events held at physical venues or online to amplify a brand’s message and build stronger engagement with audience.
Sports – The sports subcategory will review and recognize film or audio content built around a sporting event or one that creatively integrates sporting personalities or teams to amplify a brand’s message.
Use of Music – The Use of Music subcategory will honour excellence in work involving the creation of original music or use of adapted or licensed music to promote a brand.
Music Video – Under this subcategory, the entertainment jury will review efforts in the area of original music video creation and brand integration into music videos.
Comic skits – The comic skits subcategory will recognize excellence with use of comic skits in any media platform or the excellent use of endorsement by a comedian to promote a brand.
According to Nnamdi Ndu, CEO of CHINI Africa, Cannes Lions official festival representative in Nigeria and organizers of the Pitcher Festival of Creativity, “African entertainment profile is definitely on the rise and we cannot adequately capture the impact of this very important sector on business and development in the region without giving it the attention it deserves by having its own category.”
The organizers have also announced that a special subcategory will be created for COVID-19 under the Pitcher for Good category. This will be a one-off subcategory just for 2021. The new COVID-19 subcategory will honour great ideas with shortlist, bronze, silver and the Pitcher for Good awards, unlike in the regular Good category where only the Pitcher for Good, an equivalent of gold, is given to deserving work.
Mr. Ndu said, “the scale of disruption caused by COVID-19 is unrivalled, and it is absolutely important for posterity that we curate the works that capture these once-in-a-life-time moments of history”.
The entries for 2021 is scheduled to open on the 9th of November 2020.