Why APAC Marketers Are Doubling Down on Effectiveness Metrics
APAC Effie Awards names 2026 jury leadership with Visa CMO Danielle Jin as Chair. Grab and McCann India join to judge campaigns on measurable business results, not just creative awards.
The 2026 APAC Effie Awards has named its jury leadership, with Danielle Jin, SVP and CMO of Visa Asia Pacific, serving as Chairperson. The announcement, made alongside the confirmation of Jury Heads on March 4, 2026, signals a continued push by the awards program to center measurable business results over creative reputation.
Jury Lineup Spans Client and Agency Leadership
Joining Jin as 2026 Jury Heads are Cheryl Goh of Grab and Dheeraj Sinha of McCann India. The three-person leadership structure combines client-side marketing executives with agency strategy leadership.
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Chris Iki, Chief Operating Officer at TBWA HAKUHODO, has also been selected for the 2026 jury. This marks his fifth involvement with the APAC Effie jury, including serving as Head of Jury in 2024 alongside Jin.
"What I value about the APAC Effies is that they celebrate ideas that truly make a difference, not just creatively, but in how they move brands and businesses forward," Iki said.
The appointments reflect the awards program's stated focus on campaigns that demonstrate results against pre-defined business objectives, a structural requirement that separates the Effies from purely creative awards programs.
Effectiveness Measurement Moves Into Daily Operations
The 2026 jury announcement follows a roadshow across multiple Asian markets, including Bangkok, Jakarta, and Ho Chi Minh City. The Ho Chi Minh City stop, hosted by Publicis Groupe Vietnam on February 5, 2026, featured VinFast's 'VF3 – From Hype to History in 66 Hours' as a headline case study. The Vietnamese automotive campaign earned two Golds and two Bronzes at the 2025 APAC Effie Awards.
The CEO of Publicis Groupe Vietnam described effectiveness as "our ultimate currency" during the event, reflecting a broader shift in how Southeast Asian agency leadership positions its commercial value.
Grab's use of the Effie framework extends beyond awards participation. The Singapore-headquartered company uses APAC Effie frameworks to benchmark more than 200 marketers across the region, including in years without award wins. Goh's appointment as Jury Head creates a direct connection between Grab's internal standards and the external judging criteria.
2025 Results and Program Scale Provide Context
The 2025 APAC Effie Awards recognized 81 winners. Football Australia's 'Til It's Done' campaign took the Grand Effie alongside three Golds and one Silver. Gatorade's 'Using Data to Make Indians Play' earned one Gold and two Bronzes, with its campaign title explicitly foregrounding data as the strategic driver.
Effie Worldwide operates more than 60 programs globally and has run continuously since its founding in 1968. The 2025 Chairperson, Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, publicly described the program as the "gold-standard" for marketing effectiveness measurement.
Entries for the 2026 APAC Effie Awards are open, with the program continuing to require documented proof of results as a core judging criterion.
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