OMAC to launch new OOH awards

September 22, 2003 by Strategy Staff

The Outdoor Marketing Association of Canada (OMAC) is relaunching its awards. Formerly called the Billi Awards, recognizing the best in outdoor advertising, they’re returning under a new, as yet unannounced, name.

Mary Falbo, president of OMAC and the Canadian Outdoor Measurement Bureau, says the awards are going to be a lot different from peers like the Bessies and the Crystals. Those awards are judged well in advance and it’s hard to keep the results secret, says Falbo. ‘We’re going to compress the time frame considerably.’

The whole process is supposed to take place within the span of one month.

Falbo says creatives in outdoor need to be recognized for their work just as those in other media are, and that’s why OMAC decided to revive the awards, which will be judged by a panel of industry peers and will include international judges.

‘The industry was behind it way back when and [the Billis] were highly regarded as a must-have award from a creative person’s view in terms of their portfolio,’ says Falbo. ‘It did elevate their stature and we’d like to have that come back.’

Entrants do not need to be OMAC members to participate. Membership is currently composed of Viacom, Pattison and Astral, but Falbo says other sellers have expressed interest in joining. The awards are scheduled for February 2004. Any creative that appeared in 2003 is eligible.