IAB Discovery: The Month of MIXX is in full swing, and preparations for MIXX & Mingle: Creativity X Competition, scheduled for January 21 at 6 PM at Urania, are in their final stages. Reserve your spot for the event via the provided link, and while gearing up for the exciting discussions ahead, start thinking about submitting your best digital projects to the MIXX Awards Croatia. To ensure your application is flawless, Eva Trstenjak (IAB Croatia), the competition manager, has prepared a cheat sheet with ten essential tips:
- Submit a project you’re proud of—even the one you think “This won’t win anything.” Trust me, those projects often surprise everyone and end up with a trophy in hand. The jury is there to critique, but let’s face it—you’re your own harshest critic.
- The competition rules are your brief. It’s only eight pages long, and the Organizing Committee spent more time perfecting it than the average digital expert spends optimizing a campaign before a client presentation. Would you show up for a presentation without reading the brief?
- Creative materials are just that – creative materials – in the first round. The jury wants to see your work stripped down – no makeup, filters, or montages with “epic soundtracks.” Save your inspiring stories for the second round. 😉
- Reach out to the Awards team—we love chatting with you. The Awards team loves answering questions—especially the ones they know the answers to, but they’ll take a stab at the others, too. Your question might even be the reason next year’s rules expand to nine pages.
- Don’t lie to the jury. If you think digital experts won’t bother to Google, you’re mistaken.
- Character limits are your best friend. The character limit is there to help you. Focus on what’s truly WOW about your project. If you don’t know what to trim, an AI tool can assist. (Example? This sentence was just shortened with its help.)
- The deadline is 11:59 PM. The deadline is always 11:59 PM on the specified day. Not a day earlier, not at 5 PM. But you can submit your project earlier – it’s not against the rules!
- Check your emails. After submitting, take a break but don’t chill too much. You might get a notification that you’re a finalist! If that happens, you’ll have 18 days to create a case video that will blow the jury away.
- Pack a fancy outfit for Rovinj. And make sure to wear it to the awards ceremony. If you really think there’s no need, reread tip #1. Even if you don’t win anything, you’ll at least grab the attention of our photographers and end up in the DK gallery. 😏
- MIXX state of mind. Keep MIXX in mind when working on projects throughout the year. If you think about well-defined goals and metrics from the start, your chances of success increase significantly. And then, submit your project to MIXX!
Now you really have no excuse not to start writing your application. Find all the competition details via the provided link, and don’t forget that applications are open until February 17!
