Media Plan of the Year Awards: Celebrating the Year's Most Innovative Strategies

Betty Crocker | ‘The Kitchen Is for Everyone’

Media agency: Mindshare MENA
Honored in:

• Best Cause Marketing Campaign Spending $1 Million+

After receiving a tweet that its messaging only uses female pronouns in Arabic when speaking about baking or cooking, Betty Crocker teamed up with Mindshare MENA and an expert linguist to launch its “The Kitchen Is for Everyone” campaign. The work included changing more than 20 million packages in 19 countries to gender-neutral pronouns. With a focus on embracing the current generation, the campaign actively targeted children and male audiences, engaging them as ambassadors and influencers to bring the message to more than the initial target demographic of women. This moved the needle, leading to 36% sales growth. And when polled, 70% of its audience in the Middle East region agreed the kitchen is indeed for everyone. —Kennyatta Collins

IAG | ‘A Fire Inside’

Media agency: Initiative Australia Surry Hills
Honored in:

• Best International Campaign (non-U.S.) Spending $1 Million+

When your country suffers multiple climatic-induced disasters in the last three years alone, it’s time to go from simply waiting for the next one to embracing a more proactive approach. Setting out to change the culture, Insurance Australia Group used the Black Summer BushFires in Australia to create a campaign that would stoke the desire for Australians to be more active in catastrophe prevention. “A Fire Inside” was a multifaceted program that encompassed a documentary, book and media blitz across national stations to reach the country’s various audiences. The campaign also carried a social utility aspect, as IAG partnered with not-for-profit Minderoo Foundation to launch the Australian Resilience Corps, the country’s first volunteer organization whose mission is climate change prevention. The campaign reached more than 12 million Australians through more than 59 million impressions and saw a 23% increase in volunteer sign-ups to the Resilience Corps. —K.C.

Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism | ‘Tread on the Trail’

Media agency: Colle McVoy
Honored in:

• Best Use of Alternative Media

During the pandemic, when countless people rediscovered their love for the outdoors, Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism came up with the perfect plan to safeguard its parks while engaging with the new influx of travelers. Home to more than 97% protected lands, Jackson Hole saw a tourism increase of 30%. This meant more wear and tear on the destinations as off-trail wandering became more popular and damaging to the surrounding ecosystem. To keep attendees on trail and diminish the off-trail damage, the brand “sole-vertised” through its “Tread on the Trail” campaign, an initiative that paired local hikers and custom hiking boots to create more than 1,500 footprints to remind guests to stay on the path in a nonintrusive way. To further drive the importance of remaining on trails and protecting the overall ecosystem, the tourism agency partnered with National Geographic to create custom content that would educate future travelers before they embark on their next outdoor journey. —K.C.

Straight Talk Wireless | ‘On Repeat’

Media agency: Mediahub
Honored in:

• Best Use of Branded Content/Entertainment in Campaigns Spending $500,000-$1 Million

Straight Talk Wireless, along with agency partner Mediahub, used stories from recognized artists to show multicultural consumers new ways they could impact their industry using creativity without expensive budgets or manufactured hype. The culturally focused campaign involved working with lifestyle and culture site Uproxx to create a three-part video series that showed artists upcycling materials for merchandise, using DIY methods for creating clothes and highlighting some budget-conscious costumes used in performances. “On Repeat,” which doubled the website’s video viewing average, helped elevate Straight Talk from being simply a wireless provider to a conduit of creative success without the insurmountable costs. This crossover campaign leveraged not just the Uproxx website but also led to a media lift across media platforms including YouTube, surpassing estimated engagement by 400%. —K.C.

Wendy’s | ‘Sir, This Wendy’s Is a Morty’s!’

Media agency: Spark Foundry New York
Honored in:

• Best Use of Experiential in Campaigns Spending $500,000+

When your brand has a cult-like following, what’s the best thing you can do to take things up a few notches? For Wendy’s, the answer was to lean on a partnership with a familiar duo whose intergalactic fan base is just as committed as yours to create a one-of-a-kind experience that merges the two worlds. The audacious fast-food brand built a “full-funnel multi-touch point experience” that included an immersive drive-thru activation, turning a Los Angeles Wendy’s into a fully rebranded Morty’s to celebrate Season 5 of the hit Adult Swim animated series Rick and Morty. The activation included an LED tunnel drive-thru experience, breakfast options named after food that appears in the show, Pickle Rick frosty flavors and a rebrand of the famous Wendy’s logo into a pigtailed Wendy-Morty hybrid character. The experience crushed estimates, servicing more than 2,000 vehicles over three days and seeing a 120%-140% increase in breakfast sales metrics since the activation’s start. Read the full cover story here. —K.C.

Chipotle | ‘Chipotle breaks the ice with first-ever NHL mixed reality moment’

Media agency: Mediahub
Honored in:

• Best Use of Experiential in Campaigns Spending Less Than $500,000

Chipotle teamed up with Mediahub and reigning Stanley Cup Champions, the Colorado Avalanche, to treat hockey fans to an unforgettable experience to announce its sponsorship of the NHL. Breaking the ice on a first-of-its-kind ad format that merged live programming and commercial air time, Chipotle also worked with The Famous Group, a fan experience technology company, to harness the latest in mixed-reality technology. Rather than cutting to a traditional commercial during the break, they turned it into an immersive experience at the event that had fans both in-stadium and at home surprised when a giant hockey glove-covered hand broke through the arena’s ice to grab a burrito and take it back down into the depths of the stadium. The innovative activation took a huge lift from all teams involved, including Turner Sports, where TNT’s broadcast talent reacted to the experience live on-air. The next-gen activation saw more than 1.1 million views while also seeing an additional 560,000 impressions from Bleacher Report’s coverage of it. —K.C.

Visit Sweden | ‘Discover the Originals’

Media agency: Mindshare Sweden
Honored in:

• Best Use of Insights
• Total Campaign $500,000-$1 Million

Embracing the challenge of marketing Sweden as an inspiring and sustainable destination during the height of international tourism, Visit Sweden used one of the country’s biggest national brands as the “hook” to tell a new story. In discovering that many people equate Sweden to furniture retailer Ikea, the tourism agency seized the opportunity to take back “hijacked” product names and show audiences that, in fact, these were the names of beautiful destinations around the country. Encouraging people to “Discover the Originals,” the brand presented 21 unique places to visit, each with a name that was also a popular Ikea product. The multichannel media approach included a micro-influencer activation that showed what a trip across Sweden would look like if people were to visit their Ikea furniture namesakes. After the campaign, travel-related searches for Sweden increased by three times its usual amount, with an 85% increase in searches for “Sweden” and “Swedish experiences” on travel sites. —K.C.

MasterClass | ‘MasterClass: Now You’

Media agency: Exverus Media Los Angeles
Honored in:

• Best Use of Out of Home in Campaigns Spending $500,000+
• Total Campaign $1 Million-$5 Million

When many people think of MasterClass, they probably envision some of the most inspiring achievers of recent generations, like Serena Williams, Gordon Ramsay, Anna Wintour or Neil Gaiman. With a new ecosystem of lessons at the ready, MasterClass created the “Now You” campaign to encourage “curious and aspiring 30-somethings” to take advantage of the slate of interactive classes it has to offer. The campaign took over billboards, transportation screens and bus stop shelters in some of the most competitive cities including New York, Washington, D.C. and Chicago. The larger-than-life ads even targeted international commuters by staking claim in airport terminal screens and charging stations across LAX. The overwhelming presence created by the campaign saw a 66% increase in organic search traffic, a triple-digit increase in trend activity in every location and an increase in brand awareness by 23% through its buys at cinema locations alone. —K.C.

Accenture | ‘Built for Change podcast’

Media agency: UM Worldwide New York
Honored in:

• Best Use of Voice

On a quest to meet audiences and targeted communities—such as business professionals, leaders and entrepreneurs—with thought leadership during the pandemic lockdown, Accenture made the pivot from traditional methods of attracting new customers to using a podcast to drive conversations and build its community. The Built for Change podcast featured broadcast journalist Elise Hu and technologist Josh Klein as they curated conversations with top business leaders and pioneers across industries. Tapping into its network of b-to-b partners, the brand focused on PR and platform-specific activations to thread the needle and target the relevant communities, meeting them where they’re engaging most. This understanding of its audience paid off, as listeners shared their takeaways in Slack channels and campaigned to be guests on the show, turning the platform into a networking opportunity. Creating the Built for Change podcast to provide these insights and business solutions allowed Accenture to rank in the top 1% of all podcasts in the world. —K.C.

Coinbase | ‘Less Talk, More Bitcoin’

Media agency: Wavemaker New York
Honored in:

• Total Campaign $5 Million-$10 Million

The Super Bowl is one of the most coveted advertising opportunities for brands looking to reach audiences across the country regardless of demographic. Taking on the challenge of sending a message across the nation during such a high-profile event, Coinbase opted for simplicity to create a mass participation moment that piqued viewers’ curiosity. The campaign produced a lo-fi video featuring a large, bouncing QR code that, when scanned, sent participants to a simple landing page where they could enter a sweepstakes to win $1 million in bitcoin. As the antithesis to the current wave of celebrity-dense media, Coinbase shattered the perception of what a Super Bowl ad can look like and still be effective. The 60-second ad led to more than 20 million instantaneous landing page hits for Coinbase, with 14 billion-plus media impressions and more than 445,000 new account sign-ups. —K.C.

Little Caesars | ‘Pretzel Crust Comeback’

Media agency: Horizon Media New York
Honored in:

• Total Campaign Less Than $500,000

Pizza chain Little Caesars wanted to honor customers’ demand for its famous pretzel crust pizza in a way that took them along on a journey of excitement, interaction and cheesy rewards. Partnering with influencer marketing brand Blue Hour Studios and media agency Horizon Media NY, the campaign harnessed the power of gamified achievements to encourage customers to “unlock” the coveted pretzel crust by playing a scavenger hunt experience leading up to its product relaunch. The brand left secret codes hidden across digital platforms, physical landscapes, in commercials and even on the clothes of Twitch streamers, prompting audiences to embark on a multifaceted journey for the coveted prizes. Whether it was for a pretzel crust pillow or a custom-skinned Vespa, the worldwide scavenger hunt turned everyday people into brand ambassadors. The campaign reported a 700% increase in conversations around the brand and saw an overall positivity sentiment increase by more than 50%. —K.C.

TikTok | ‘You Have to See It’

Media agency: Zenith New York
Honored in: 

• Total Campaign $10 Million+

Through the early days of the pandemic and leading into 2021, TikTok’s audience increased exponentially. Tasked with finding reasons for non-users to join, the brand subverted its own video-reliant nature to tease a larger universe waiting within the platform. Tapping into some of its most popular channels, “You Have to See It” leaned into creating a sense of FOMO by reducing videos to basic sentence descriptions. Turning viral content into descriptions airing via TV, OTT, radio, podcast, OOH and branded platforms, the campaign hoped to re-create the feeling of its users attempting to relay their favorite videos through conversation. While unable to go head-to-head with major competitors like Instagram and YouTube in the financial realm, the multichannel approach appealed to a broad audience through intriguing headlines, with QR codes on OOH elements taking potential users straight to the app. Early success led to elaborate rollouts, increasing ad awareness and recall, but, as intended, had the biggest impact among non-users age 25-49, improving TikTok’s overall relevance. —Sara Century

Indeed | ‘Rising Voices’

Media agency: MediaCom New York
Honored in: 

• Total Campaign $1 Million-$5 Million
• Best Use of Streaming Media/OTT

With the mission of pairing job seekers with employers, Indeed noticed a glaring disparity within the film industry. With only 15% of directors identifying as BIPOC, despite making up more than 42% of the U.S. population, “Rising Voices” was born. Investing $1 million in 10 marginalized filmmakers with the mission of producing 10- to 20-minute short films, the brand teamed up with the Tribeca Film Festival to offer the same hype to short films by debut directors that’s allotted to studio-backed ventures on the Tribeca lineup. Screening via the festival and working with IMDB to build profile pages for the filmmakers was only the beginning of a plan that made “Rising Voices” part of a national conversation. During the BET Awards, short versions of the films were screened along with branded vignettes. Indeed then partnered with Amazon’s FireTV to create a content hub to host the films. The initiative created more than 600 jobs for creative and crew, and more than half a million hours of “Rising Voices” were streamed via FireTV. —S.C.

Alpine | ‘Alonso Coded Tweets’

Media agency: Havas Play
Honored in: 

• Best Use of Social

Dissatisfied with uninspired contract extension announcements, racing car manufacturer Alpine sought to inject extra buzz into the format after starting in Formula 1 for the first time in March 2021. Extending driver Fernando Alonso’s contract called for a media plan that could engage a younger audience. Noticing the level of interaction that spelling mistakes from public figures often received, Alpine created a social media plan that would mirror those types of errors—intentionally. Utilizing Alonso’s 8 million followers on Twitter, the brand had Alonso post an encrypted tweet that appeared to be gibberish, but when solved actually said, “Big news coming soon.” Fellow driver Esteban Ocon tweeted a reply also using Vigenère ciphering. Fan engagement shot up as many speculated that their favorite drivers might be drunk, but then the Alpine F1 Team jumped in with a clue that allowed the message to be decoded. With the tweets increasing buzz around the news, the team followed it up with a more traditional announcement. Alonso’s tweet garnered 1.3 million comments and 4.1 million retweets, while owned channels had 5.4 million organic impressions. —S.C.

Wilson | ‘Bugs Out!’

Media agency: Touche! Montreal
Honored in: 

• Best Use of Programmatic 

Understanding that insect invasions can create incredible stress within the home, pest control brand Wilson sought to ideate new ways to meet consumers with fast and simple solutions to one of life’s most enduring problems. Teaming with Touche! Montreal and The Weather Network, the company developed a data tree to enable the Canadian public to predict and counteract insect infiltration better than ever, educating potential buyers about possible invasions before they even occurred. Connecting media channels to several data points to create more relevant communications, the brand gathered data from experts to better understand the unique insect activity of different regions in Canada, temperature points and seasons. Programmatic ads were prepared that enabled shoppers to purchase the best Wilson products for their specific needs by using this information to create a first-to-market audience targeting system based on consumer searches of postal codes. This resulted in a global sales increase of 2.5% in the pest control category. —S.C.

Adidas | ‘The Liquid Billboard’

Media agency: Havas Middle East
Honored in: 

• Best Use of Out of Home in Campaigns Spending $500,000+
• Best Use of Experiential in Campaigns Spending $500,000+
• Best International Campaign (non-U.S.) Spending Less Than $1 Million
• Best Cause Marketing Campaign Spending Less Than $1 Million

Though the Middle East/North African (MENA) region is well-known worldwide for its beaches and pools, statistics indicated that 88% of women there didn’t feel comfortable wearing swimwear in public, limiting their enjoyment of water activities. Noting that many other sports categories have adapted product ranges to meet the needs of women in MENA, Adidas recognized an obvious demand to do the same with swimwear. Hoping for new associations with water that would go beyond more fitting attire, the brand transformed a passive medium into an interactive experience by creating the world’s first swimmable billboard. At 5 meters high, this “Liquid Billboard” on a beach in Dubai doubled as an 11,500 gallon swimming pool, inviting women to take a dip. Leaning into a confidence-building media plan, five product ambassadors and a poetic short film, the swimmers were projected through digital displays. Local and international press picked up on the campaign, combining with social media to cause a surge in water activities among the demographic. —S.C.

Canal+ | ‘Validé in GTA’

Media agency: Havas Play
Honored in: 

• Best Use of Native Advertising 

Validé is one of Canal+’s most popular shows, digging into the rap music scene in France. Ahead of its second season, Canal+ collaborated with Havas to create an OOH campaign in Paris and Marseille. Rather than following with the standard digital rollout, the team cultivated an interactive experience by tapping into the world of Grand Theft Auto. GTA’s City of Los Santos was treated to an in-game OOH billboard advertising Validé, introduced through an invite-only multiplayer mod in which many top French streamers play. Sporting GTA models of the cast, the billboard was placed on a major street where fans would be certain to see it. Teaming up with GTA streamer Prince, the brand utilized his agent character Tonton to organize the media campaign in Los Santos through a three-hour stream. The campaign raked in 97% positive interactions, with more than 800,000 impressions, and Season 2 got 10 million streams in under a week. —S.C.

Tyson Foods | ‘Egg Hack’

Media agency: Mindshare U.S.
Honored in:

• Best Use of Mobile in Campaigns Spending Less Than $500,000
• Best Use of AI/VR/Machine Learning

Taking into account that Jimmy Dean sausages are largely eaten during holidays and weekends, Tyson Foods utilized America’s most popular breakfast item—eggs—to boost sales year-round. Seeking out innovative ways to encourage consumers to add Jimmy Dean Sausages to their morning routine, the brand used National Egg Day to permanently link eggs and sausage in consumers’ minds. Leaning into data showing that nearly all smartphone users are adapting to frequent use of AR, Tyson Foods created a promotion to give away Jimmy Dean Sausages every time someone scanned an egg. Using data from 10,000 individual eggs, cameras were trained to detect almost any egg, including cartoons and collectibles. Through a partnership with Snap and Amazon, users could capture a photo and be taken to Amazon, where free sausage would already be added to their carts. Paired with print, display media and recipe sponsorships, this led to nearly 50,000 eggs scanned and a 9% increase in sales over the summer months of 2021. —S.C.

Walgreens | ‘Vaccine Readiness Model’

Media agency: MediaCom New York
Honored in: 

• Best Use of Data
• Best Use of AI/VR/Machine Learning

The early days of the Covid-19 vaccine rollout brought a wave of confusion and misinformation, leading to widespread apprehension. With the geographical distribution of doses varying wildly, Walgreens was tasked with getting shots to as many people as possible. Statistics showed that one in five adults were either vaccine-hesitant or resistant, but that hesitancy largely relied on location, so the brand created its “Vaccine Readiness Model.” Tapping into the data gleaned from algorithms, audiences were ranked on their propensity for taking action, which Walgreens used to create a gradient boosted decision tree explaining key components of vaccine readiness, or a model of their willingness to receive a vaccine based on seven factors such as confidence, collective responsibility and constraints. This was then converted into media that had specific messaging, with some audiences encouraged to book ahead while others were urged to learn more. Walgreens was able to apply specific messaging to move people from hesitant to ready. This model drove 78% of appointments within the brand’s programmatic buy, leading the platform to exceed its initial goal and save countless lives. —S.C.

General Mills | ‘Loki Charms’

Media agency: In-house
Honored in: 

• Best Use of Branded Content/Entertainment in Campaigns Spending Less Than $500,000

Coinciding with the launch of Disney+’s Loki series, General Mills’ Lucky Charms tapped into a classic meme for its “Loki Charms.” Fans have long since recognized the similarities between Lucky the Leprechaun and the Marvel’s Loki, from their prankish attitudes to their green and gold outfits, so the brand utilized this buzz by releasing a limited-edition cereal box. Sporting a Lucky-style animation of Loki looming over a bowl of “Loki Charms,” the unique boxes were limited to 3,500 units. Since it was unavailable in stores, fans were required to visit a microsite to secure their own. The brand also developed a game that required a Loki-inspired magic encryption password to access, making presales available to the first 1,000 customers who cracked the code. The product drop featured an animated spot revealing Loki’s update to Lucky’s traditional catchphrase: “They’re mischievously delicious.” The collaboration quickly became one of Marvel Studios’ most successful, spotlighted on talk shows and selling out within seconds. According to Marvel Studios, the promotion received more than 782 million social and media impressions in one week. —S.C.

Applebee’s | ‘Fancy Like Applebee’s’

Media agency: Initiative New York
Honored in: 

• Best Use of Branded Content/Entertainment in Campaigns Spending $2 Million+

From local mom-and-pop diners to commercial chains, restaurants of all kinds were slammed by the pandemic. In need of creative ways to make dining out fun again, Applebee’s tapped Walker Hayes, the country singer responsible for the song “Fancy Like.” Featuring the line, “Fancy like Applebee’s on a date night,” Applebee’s used TikTok to release a couple of song and dance videos, encouraging fans to interact by posting their own videos. This soon became a viral campaign, with the brand broadcasting fan videos on TV and award shows like the CMT Awards in conjunction with Hayes’ live performances. With celebrities like Amy Adams and Shaquille O’Neal taking part in the dance on TikTok, 885,000 videos were created. After a rough start to the pandemic that could have seen the end of the chain due to supply shortages, bad PR and restaurant closures, Applebee’s saw a 2% increase in sales. —S.C.

Ally | ‘Fintropolis’

Media agency: MediaCom New York
Honored in: 

• Best Use of Branded Content/Entertainment in Campaigns Spending $1 Million-$2 Million

Tapping into statistics showing that many American adults lack financial literacy skills, banking company Ally’s mission to spark interest in financial education for the next generation began. Utilizing four Ally interns chosen through the brand’s entrepreneurship program, Moguls in the Making, the team was tasked with the challenge of making the seemingly drab world of finance interesting to preteens. Ally identified that game-based learning would be an effective approach to make money management interactive and fun, and “Fintropolis” was born. “Fintropolis,” which is widely accessible due to being downloadable on any video game platform, is a world within Minecraft that encourages students to become fiscally educated through gameplay. Partnering with Twitch and utilizing gaming influencers to spark a conversation around the platform, Ally gained coverage in major news outlets, which led it to be adopted as part of the curriculum in more than 7,000 schools, with a total of 2.7 million downloads and counting. —S.C.

Many thanks to our esteemed panel of jurors who took time out of their busy schedules to judge this year’s Media Plan of the Year entries. If you’re interested in serving as a juror in 2023, please contact Alexia Marrache at alexia.marrache@adweek.com.

2022 jury

• Jay Waters, senior instructor, advertising and PR, University of Alabama
• William Alvarez, director, organic search, Catalyst (GroupM)
• Laillah Rice, global head of CRM, loyalty and consumer insights, Elemis
• Evan Graham Weiner, global director and head of social marketing, GoDaddy
• Sandy Archila, global digital marketing leader
• Stephanie Mejia, consumer first marketer
• Andrew Almendras, vp, global creative marketing, IMAX
• Christina Garnett, senior marketing manager, offline community, HubSpot
• Charlene Coughlin, president, Twist Creative
• Ashlynn Finnegan, multichannel media planner, SSCG Media Group
• Cheryl Jean Claude, vp, director of analytics, Mediahub
• Alejandro Clabiorne, evp, managing director, Mediahub
• Allan Apjohn, svp, group media director, Mediahub