2023 Winners

Winner: Wales To The World
Brand: Cymru Wales (Welsh Government)
Entered by: Orchard Media and Events
Credits: iCrossing UK

WINNER: ID. Buzz – Feeling The Force Of A Perfect Partnership
Brand: Volkswagen ID Buzz
Entered by: PHD and Scholz&Friends

Judges’ comments: Volkswagen chose a great brand ambassador in Ewan McGregor, based on the insight that there was a strong link between their audience and the Star Wars audience, and the relaunch timing for both iconic brands. But more than that – the campaign had strong results, with a reach of over 5.7 billion and 20,000 preorders – a capacity order book.

WINNER: Discover New Paths
Brand: Maersk
Entered by: Havas Business
Credits: &Co, Copenhagen

Judges’ comments: This campaign used every touchpoint to create a truly global impact.  The jury loved the Involvement of the employees – creating internal ambassadors.  Maersk tackled negativity about logistics head-on and succeeded in injecting emotion into B2B marketing.  Plus, there were great results – two thirds of people who saw it went onto connect with Maersk.

WINNER: Protecting Gamers Protects Visa
Brand: Visa
Entered by: Starcom Worldwide
Credits: Roblox, Venatus Media

Judges’ comments: Visa had a clear objective to reach a Gen-Z audience and the insightful analysis of Gen-z audience behaviour in the gaming world meant a true value-led campaign could be created.

The judges also felt that Visa succeeded in brilliantly transforming the brand value of “security into a suit of armour for gaming avatars”. And all of this executed in just eight weeks – very impressive!

WINNER: Ozworld
Brand: adidas
Entered by: EssenceMediacom
Credits: Jam 3

Judges’ comments: The adidas team identified the ideal platform to connect with this unique audience, and came up with a strategy that reinforced the perceptions of the adidas brand as innovators.

This campaign turned a product range with historically declining sales into top selling products -results which testify to the success of the campaign.

WINNER: Brand Anthem
Brand: Bumble
Entered by: Havas Media Group London

Judges’ comments: This campaign is a great example of a well-executed international marketing strategy that also requires localisation of messaging – the Bumble team showed that they could deliver on complex coordination and delivered impressive results.

WINNER:#WhatWeValue: Embracing Volunteerism With Gen Z
Brand: Deutsche Telekom AG
Entered by: Mindshare GmbH
Credits: emetriq GmbH, Publicis Sapient, Saatchi & Saatchi London, Proud Robinson & Partners

Judges’ comments: A meaningful and purposeful campaign built on the strong insight that Gen-Z want to give back and do something for each other – and that they have a particular focus on the future of the planet. The campaign engaged with the audience across multiple Gen-Z focussed platforms with excellent results and also made a real difference – supporting 108 projects to help to make the world a better place.

WINNER: Wales To The World
Brand: Cymru Wales (Welsh Government)
Entered by: Orchard Media and Events
Credits: iCrossing UK

Judges’ comments: The passion came through in this entry and the jury felt that the Welsh Government team did more than just make the most of this World Cup moment.  They addressed the difficulties arising from a clash of values, they embedded local storytelling into different cultures and the modular creative approach enabled many stories to be told on the creative journey.  Plus there was a sense that this was the beginning of a strategy for Wales – the start of things to come.

WINNER: Birkenstock – “Ugly for a Reason”
Brand: Birkenstock
Entered by: The New York Times Advertising

Judges’ comments: This was an example of two brands coming together to achieve a mammoth task, to explain why Birkenstocks are the way they are. Birkenstocks, yes, are ugly but for a really good reason! And the New York Times with their reach and journalistic integrity were the perfect partner to explain that. The judges also really loved the extensions of activity into social and events that really kept the conversation going and benefitted both brands.

WINNER:

Obinna Iwuji
Wavemaker

Judges’ comments: Obinna demonstrated an authentic approach and attitude to his work (no marketing speak), as well as an enthusiasm for the industry, and a passion to go the distance. He’s clearly excelling in his own right whilst also creating a legacy and carrying out amazing work outside of his day job.

WINNER: #WhatWeValue: Embracing Volunteerism With GenZ
Brand: Deutsche Telekom AG
Entered by: Mindshare GmbH
Credits: emetriq GmbH, Publicis Sapient, Saatchi & Saatchi London, Proud Robinson & Partners

Judges’ comments: This was more than a marketing campaign – real actions came out of it.  The brand demonstrated it’s support for young people’s commitment to change and promoted volunteerism – even flipping an NFT into a tool for enablement.  Deutsche Telekom knew their audience well and put money into the projects post-campaign.

WINNER: Navin Rammohan, Vice President, Segment Head – Marketing for Infosys

We’re delighted to announce that Navin Rammohan, Vice President, Segment Head – Marketing for Infosys has been voted the winner of the 2023 Content Leadership & Innovation Award. Nominated by World Media Group members, this honour is awarded to the individual recognised by peers for talent in creating exemplary content-driven campaigns that demonstrate brand bravery, creativity, and innovation.