• by Wendy Davis  @wendyndavis, September 14, 2004

For the first time, Internet campaigns will be eligible for the New York American Marketing Association's EFFIE awards in 2005, the marketing group announced Tuesday. Internet campaigns will now be eligible for awards in more than 50 categories. The marketing association is also introducing a new award category--integrated marketing communications--for advertising efforts that use at least three types of media.

The 36-year-old EFFIE awards focus on a campaign's effectiveness--not just whether the creative portion is appealing. Because the results of Internet advertising can be quantified--at least to the extent of click-through rates and other objective measurement-- some say it makes a lot of sense for online ads to be eligible for the awards.

"There's not a medium better made for the EFFIEs than the Internet," says Greg Stuart, president and CEO of the Internet Advertising Bureau. "To that degree, I ask: 'What the hell took them so long?'"