Award Categories

This category recognises the effective execution of a campaign targeted towards a niche audience. Judges will be looking at how the campaign has used insight to target a specific demographic based on various groups including gender, age, interests, intent to purchase, culture and other niche audiences.

Entrants should demonstrate how the strategy behind the campaign resonated with the target audience and its success in delivering the client’s key objectives.

This category can include campaigns which have a used a variety of channels ranging from publishing and TV to OOH and digital to reach niche audiences

This category is reserved for campaigns that demonstrate how it led with a purposeful cause- addressing a social, ethical and/or environmental issue. This can be CSR focused, marketing for brands, charities, not-for profits, social movements or inclusion and diversity initiatives.

Winning entries will be able to demonstrate positive and measurable impact, how it has raised awareness of an organisation’s values/initiatives or constructive changes to cultural and social perceptions and also delivered on its marketing objectives.

This category welcomes entries from media owners and agencies, rewarding campaigns that have content at their heart, including the creation and distribution of content.

The campaign could use original content, existing content, or user-generated content as part of the execution. The use could be planned as part of a longer- term strategy, or as a fast response prompted by a particular event or action. Judges will look for content that fits with the brand strategy, clearly address the marketing challenge and the placement of content engaging with the right audience.

Examples can include but are not limited to user generated content, social media content, third-party generated content, branded or brand-specific content, such as videos, articles, podcasts, radio shows, video games and live event content.

The winner in this category will demonstrate the best use of data and reflect the achievement of effectively reaching consumers where the successful campaign has been notably enhanced, or even made possible through learnings gained from econometrics and data insights.

The winning entry should demonstrate the best use of small or big data insights, which have ultimately improved results, as evidenced by metrics, increases in the average order value, a reduction in online CPA or increase in ROI. Pre- and post- campaign statistics will be another useful benchmark for judges.

This category is seeking campaigns that have used the unique properties of digital media to best reach consumers. Activations should demonstrate great use of single, or multiple digital channels and could include, but are not limited to, web/online, mobile, video, social media, search, or display.

Alternatively, it could be where digital integrates with more traditional formats, as long as, digital is the focus of the activation and the driving force behind the success of the campaign. Judges will be specifically looking out for impressive audience interaction and results, which only digital media could have achieved.

Digital Media Examples include but are not limited to:

• Content produced for the online landscape and websites such as: landing pages; video & display ads; microsites; web-based apps; search and display; SEO; banner ads and pop-ups.
• Online Video sharing sites and OTV such as Netflix, Amazon, YouTube
• Audio streaming channels including podcasts such as: Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, Soundcloud.
• Mobile apps, mobile websites, mobile games, and mobile based advertising.
• Social media platforms such as Tik Tok Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter, Twitch, Pinterest, LinkedIn, WeChat and Facebook.

This category recognises physical, virtual or hybrid experiences that deliver an effective event or experiential campaign for consumers. The case should be clear on its results and be focused on the event/experience itself.

The jury will expect to see how the brand has developed its interaction with the consumer, created a number of key touchpoints and brought to life the brand’s values and identity. The winner will be able to demonstrate the tangible benefits for the brand, ideally including business results as well as impressive campaign metrics.

Examples can include, but are not limited to, pop-ups, stunts, guerrilla marketing, projections, ambient media, digital simulations and virtual events.

This category rewards the campaigns that have best leveraged a strategic partnership between a brand and talent(s) as part or as the whole of its activation. The talent may be a celebrity, sports star, leading industry figure, social media influencer, esports stars, brand ambassador or other notable character, real or fictional, who has directly tapped into their own following to benefit the brand. The activation may be part of a planned campaign using the talent or used more spontaneously in real-time marketing.

Overall judges will look for authenticity between talent and brand.

The winner in this category will have effectively used traditional media channels such as television, print, radio, OOH, or small and large sized ambient media or objects such as promotional products and installations to reach consumers. The campaign may have had digital influence, but should show how traditional media was the key element of the media and marketing plan and the driving force behind the success of the campaign.

Judges will be specifically looking for impressive audience interaction and results, which only traditional media channels could have achieved. This can be entered by both agencies and media owners depending on who was leading the campaign directly with the brand.

Traditional Media Examples can include, but are not restricted to campaigns utilising:

• Magazines, newspapers, leaflets, OOH and other non-digital content outlets.
• Traditional Radio stations/channels such as Global Radio, Bauer, IHeart Radio.
• Television channels, Television Networks, Cinema advertising businesses or Broadcasting companies such as: DCM, Pearl and Dean HBO, Cineworld, AMC, Telemundo, ITV, China Global Television network, ESPN, DAZN, Disney and Viacom.
• Non-digital billboards, posters, bus shelters, sports centres, building wraps and small and large sized ambient media or objects such as OOH promotional products and installation from the likes of Outfront Media, Clear Channel and JC Decaux.

The winning campaign must demonstrate clear consumer insight and through the development of a brilliant and fertile strategy, precise execution, and connectivity with the target audience.

This category celebrates brands who have a clear narrative in their storytelling across all elements of their campaign, a compelling use of messaging its aims and objectives with work that pushes boundaries and in some cases the creation of new ways of communicating.

This can include any form of media used, whether a single or multi-platform campaign. Judges will favour work that pushes boundaries and is at the forefront of innovation.

This category will champion campaigns focused on inclusion. The jury will be looking to award a brand campaign that has positively represented or contributed to individuals or communities from various backgrounds, experiences, capabilities, and perspectives who are usually excluded,
unrepresented or marginalised.

Entrants should demonstrate an authentic and effective campaign that delivered impact for the groups that it is representing, alongside fantastic marketing results.

The campaign must focus on a topic of inclusion, examples can include, but are not exclusive to work based around gender, age, race, sexual orientation, or disability.

The winner of this category must have combined two or more platforms, such as mobile, OOH, social media, technology, TV, cinema, radio, print or other mediums. The successful multi-channel campaign must show an effective use of various mediums in a creative and engaging way to obtain great results on clear objectives. The reasoning behind the varying platform choices should be demonstrated.

Please Note: the campaign can be solely implemented using digital media, or solely implemented using traditional media, as long as there are two or more platforms used successfully.

This award will recognise the creative, strategic media and marketing approach that results in a qualified brand impact on a local audience.

The winning work could be for a challenger, local, or global advertiser or a global brand campaign adapted for local execution, as long as it is specifically curated for a local audience, recognising cultural nuances.

In particular, judges will look for great insight and execution including the use of appropriate media channels and strong results such as increases in brand perception, customer engagement and sales.

This category will award the best campaign focused on retail media, which could be offline, online, or a combination of both.

The winning work should demonstrate how and why a brand has used retailers’ sites and/or its stores, audiences, tools, resources, and data to drive awareness, or sales uplift. The jury will be focused on the key metric of growth, paying special attention to results such as: purchase intent, click through rates, conversions, store, or site visits and the number of new customers purchasing the brand’s products or services and the revenue uplift, as a result of the retail media strategy.

Judges will also be looking for how the campaigns have effectively interacted across its platforms, and how they have combined data and creativity to use retail media in an innovative way.

Please note: this category is open to online retail brands that have used their ecommerce and social commerce tools and resources as part of their campaign, as well as other brand campaigns that have used retail media, or ecommerce as part of the media strategy.

Examples could be an automotive brand using a retailer such as Walmart to market its latest vehicle in the retailers physical or virtual stores, or a combination of both, or an online only fashion brand using their own social commerce or ecommerce tools to sell its products. 

This category is open to any marketing initiative where gaming has been the focal point of the campaign’s strategy and successfully used the medium to increase results for the client’s brand. This could include utilising both gaming and esports communities, or partnerships with organisations in this space and games publishers. This could also include gamification campaigns created by brands to engage with specific audiences.

Judges will be looking at how the brand has engaged with the esports or games/gaming organisations and generated key resonation with its products or services to the right audience, and with the innovation of the partnership activation.

Examples could include but are not limited to the use of: esports teams, companies, events and tournaments. Gaming/streaming platforms. Gamification initiatives and apps. Virtual realities or experiences, wearable tech, the metaverse and all other emerging platforms. Single or multi-player video games, arcade, console, mobile and other offline/online gaming experiences.

This category is open to campaigns which have tapped into the world of music as the main driver of their strategies and success.

This could be campaigns that have curated musical experiences, are focused on, or incorporated the use of a licensed, or original piece of music, or collaborations with music acts/artists, or organisations such as, but not limited, to music publishers, licensors or distributors, record labels and music streaming platforms.

Judges will be looking for an authentic connection between the music and the brand, and how music has been leveraged to communicate and resonate with consumers, while delivering or surpassing its client objectives and generating awareness, product or service uplift and key amplification to current and potential customers

This category is open for any campaigns which have used the packaging of goods to deliver educational, promotional, media or marketing messages. Judges will be looking for the use of packaging as a media channel and how it has helped deliver ROI, sales uplift, and brand resonation for clients.

This could include FMCG, Pharma or Retail brands who implement connected packaging via QR codes, RFID, or NFC technology on their products for consumers to scan and interact with digital content. Alternatively, the campaign could have used re-branded, limited edition, exclusive, distributed, or collectable packaging as its main driver for new or existing products as part of a larger promotional event.

Examples could include an FMCG brand using connected packaging to deliver key nutritional information or interactive gamification, a cereal brand offering collectable coupons, or a beverage company using NFC tags to authenticate products and provide exclusive content."

This category has been created In partnership with Appetite Creative.

This category will focus primarily on the return-on-investment campaigns delivered for their clients. It means results against key business objectives, which have driven sales and awareness will be critical for the judges’ evaluation. These results could be part of an econometrics model implemented by the creator of the campaign, or from a variety of other trusted measurement platforms. Judges will also be looking for the impact of the campaign over a two-year period to ensure there is sufficient time for the results to deliver positive ROI for the client.

This category is open to both B2C and B2B campaigns and judges will carefully consider the effectiveness of the results and the ROI they delivered during implementation

This category will allow a two-year eligibility period, with campaigns that ran between 1 April 2023 and 31 May 2025.

PLEASE NOTE The entry information submitted within this category will remain confidential and will not be shared outside of the jury room. Should your client require an official letter from the organisers confirming the confidentiality of the written submissions, in order to approve your participation in the awards, please get in touch with fomawards@festivalofmedia.com