Introduced by the New York American Marketing Association in 1968, EFFIE has since become recognized by agencies and advertisers as the pre-eminent award in the advertising industry. It is the only national award that honors creative achievement in meeting and exceeding advertising objectives. In short, it focuses on effective advertising, advertising that works in the marketplace.

In 1981, the EFFIE awards program went international and introduced itself to the advertising community in Germany. Other countries soon followed suit in recognizing its importance and prestige and the need to salute effective advertising in their own markets.

Today, there are currently 30 national EFFIE programs. In addition, there is an EURO EFFIE competition for campaigns that have proven to be effective across Europe and the Global EFFIE Awards honoring advertising that has achieved success across countries and regions worldwide.