Letter from the editor
The MM&M Awards continues to get bigger, better and more meaningful. Last year's program attracted a record 830 entries — more than 20% up on the previous year — while nearly 750 guests attended the spectacular presentation dinner at New York's Tavern on the Green. Last year, several nimble smaller shops triumphed alongside the heavyweights, while device and diagnostics makers muscled past pharma competitors in several categories. Siemens Healthcare USA took the Gold Award in three categories, including Best Total Integration Program for Large Companies, which it shared with Elite for its Win an MRI campaign. Shire and Unit 7 clinched the Gold Award in Best Total Integration Program for Small Companies for their Vyvanse Pediatric launch, while Boehringer Ingelheim and Ogilvy Healthworld took the Gold in Best Branded TV Advertisement for their Mirapex Logo Legs spot.
What do these awards mean for the winners? It means the levels of creativity and marketing effectiveness in the work they produced was of such a high standard that our judging panel—comprising 43 of the finest leaders and thinkers in the industry—deemed it the best. And that's why these awards are the ones that truly count.
So who will shine in '09? There's a good chance it could be you if you put your best work forward. As in previous years, we will assemble an independent panel of industry experts to judge your work. Last year's panel included senior marketing execs from Novartis, Millennium, Genentech, Sanofi-Aventis, Merck, Bayer, GlaxoSmithKline, Forest, Wyeth and AstraZeneca, along with numerous agency and media leaders.
But to take the accolades you have to submit your work. The following pages contain all the information you need to enter. Study carefully the categories, criteria and entry rules. Take time to put together your entries. And be sure to meet the deadline—Friday, May 29, 2009.
As always, the identity of the winners will be withheld until the MM&M Awards presentation dinner in New York on Thursday, October 29, 2009—even the judges won't know who won. If you've attended the event in the past, then you know how much excitement this generates.
Good luck to all entrants and thank you for being a part of the MM&M Awards 2009.
James Chase
Editor-in-Chief
TIMELINE OF EVENTS
Entries launch—Monday, February 9
Entry deadline—Friday, May 29
Late entry deadline—Friday, June 5
Judging Day—Monday, July 13
Finalists announced—Monday, July 20
Awards dinner & winners announced—Thursday, October 29