The Awards, which were announced at London’s One Marylebone yesterday (28 September), celebrated the most innovative brands and agencies driving business success in today’s fast-paced landscape.
Channel 4, which worked with its in-house agency 4Creative, AOL, Fuse Sport & Entertainment and OMD UK, won the Grand Prix after triumphing in the Brand Experience: Live and Best Use of Tech categories.
The winning campaign saw Channel 4 and its agency partners bring to life Persona Synthetics, the fictional retailer of synths featured in the show through a store on Regent Street and digital activity.
Burberry was named Innovative Brand of the Year by Marketing’s editorial team. The luxury fashion brand has consistently demonstrated an understanding of how digital can democratise access and has successfully pushed boundaries through innovative collaborations.
Lucky Generals, the three-year old shop led by Danny Brooke-Taylor, Helen Calcraft and Andy Nairn, was named New Thinking Agency of the Year.
Winners across the 17 categories, included Coca-Cola/MediaCom, Amnesty International/VCCP, Domino’s/Iris and Harvey Nichols/Adam & Eve/DDB.
"The rise of the adblocker means these are scary times for marketers but what I’ve seen from the New Thinking Awards leaves me optimistic about the industry’s ability to reach consumers in creative ways." - Gemma Charles, the joint acting UK editor
The full results
Grand Prix - Persona Synthetics
Innovative Brand of the Year - Burberry
New Thinking Agency of the Year - Lucky Generals
Marketing in the Moment
This category recognises quick-thinking marketing in today’s always-on social newsroom environment. From seizing on a national moment and standing out from the pack to spotting and creating your own moment that puts your brand at the centre of the news. Whatever the budget, the winner of this award will have harnessed a great idea and insight to create a piece of work in any medium - work that your peers wish they’d thought of for themselves.
±±¾©Èü³µpk10 |
Agency
|
Brand
|
Result
|
Tesco & The Great British Bake Off |
BBH London |
Tesco |
Finalist |
Youth Hostelling with Chris Eubank |
Lucky Generals |
Hostelworld Group |
Winner |
Countdown to Kit Off |
TVTY |
Walkers |
Finalist |
Cultural Shift
This category recognises pre-eminent, inspiring work that transcends the traditional marketing-sales message, capturing, reflecting or even elevating societal behaviour change. The winning work will resonate with the wider public, and potentially the media, as it captures the zeitgeist. The activity will either show the brand to be culturally relevant or be a standalone piece of work intended to change behaviour or public perception. This award will showcase the power of marketing in society.
Lunchbox: Fill a tummy with a tap |
Earnest Labs |
Mary's Meals |
Finalist |
The Coca-Cola Christmas Card |
MediaCom |
Coca-Cola |
Winner |
Vogue |
adam&eveDDB |
Harvey Nichols |
Finalist |
Creative Excellence
This award is all about the craft of marketing. We will recognise the most inspirational and brilliantly executed creative, across all media, from a TV ad or online video to exceptional experiential activity. The winning entry will be creative work that is the envy of other brands and agencies, but will go on to inspire others.
Tiny Dancer |
adam&eveDDB |
John Lewis Insurance |
Highly commended |
Shoplifters |
adam&eveDDB |
Harvey Nichols |
Winner |
NSPCC astronaut |
Leo Burnett Change |
NSPCC |
Highly commended |
Brand Evolution
The winner of this award will be the brand that used new thinking to transform its business, with a strategy that confirms its place as a brand of the future. The activity will be based on sound insight that goes to the heart of the brand’s purpose to ensure it is healthy and vibrant and has a firm footing for the future. Whether focused around rebuilding trust or a repositioning to reflect changing consumer behaviour, the entries must demonstrate the challenge they faced, the plan they came up with, the action and the results.
We Start With You |
Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO |
Currys PC World |
Highly commended |
In Financial Services, being a brand with values can be a valuable thing |
Joint |
TSB Bank |
Highly commended |
Royal London: An evolution 150 years in the making |
VCCP |
Royal London |
Finalist |
Greatness: From Product to Service Innovation |
Iris Worldwide |
Domino's |
Finalist |
Good Thinking |
adam&eveDDB |
Aviva |
Finalist |
Success Doesn't Come On A Plate |
Lucky Generals |
Unilever |
Winner |
Data Creativity
While it’s never been easier to amass data, marketers are still getting to grips with what they should actually do with it. This award seeks to recognise innovative brand activity underpinned by a creative use of data. The winning work will show that data was used not only to solve a problem but also contributed to the brand’s overall marketing mission.
easyJet 20th anniversary |
Havas helia |
easyJet |
Winner |
Heathrow Express-Comparison Generator |
DOOH.com |
Heathrow Express |
Finalist |
Moment Marketing ‘Countdown to Kit Off’ |
TVTY |
TVTY |
Highly commended |
Genetic Algorithm |
Brainlabs Digital |
Which? |
Finalist |
Feel Wimbledon |
Mindshare |
JLR Jaguar Land Rover |
Finalist |
Brand Experience: Live
In a digital world, the live experience is ever-more important and will create deep connections between brand and consumer. This is an award to recognise the best live work from brands, from pop-ups to parties and events, and sampling to stunts. The best live brand experiences are likely to follow through online, gaining meaningful social traction and interaction.
Jurassic Waterloo |
MediaCom |
Universal Pictures UK |
Finalist |
Nike Speeding Ticket |
R/GA |
Nike |
Finalist |
Gaz & Leccy's Cinema Takeover |
Smart Energy GB |
Smart Energy GB |
Finalist |
Personna Synthetics - Bringing Humans to life |
Channel 4 / 4Creative / OMD |
Channel 4 |
Winner |
Project Precious |
Lucky Generals |
D&AD |
Highly commended |
Content Creation: Long-Form
This award is specifically for long content, or a distinct content product, such as a film, book or magazine. It recognises the creative process of developing and distributing a bespoke piece of content that is of high value to its audience. The winning entry will showcase a brilliant idea that answers a problem, world-class storytelling, and successful execution and distribution.
Dove Men+Care: First Fatherhood Moments |
Havas helia |
Dove |
Highly commended |
Fans of London |
n/a |
London & Partners |
Finalist |
10th Month |
J. Walter Thompson London |
Bayer |
Winner |
Content Branding
This content marketing award recognises how this area has developed in the past few years after the rush for companies to all become publishers. Whether it’s through a social platform or traditional media, this award is focused where real consumer-brand conversations have been created and nurtured through content. Content should not sit alone on a brand website or be thrown out there, interrupting life; we want to find out which brands have created content that people want to read and share - all of which drives business outcomes for the brand.
The Game Starts Here |
R/GA |
Beats by Dr. Dre |
Highly commended |
If nobody speaks of remarkable things |
PHD |
Macmillan Cancer Support |
Winner |
‘Make Up Your Own Mind’: Opening the forum for conversation |
VCCP |
AVON |
Finalist |
Helluva Tour |
adam&eveDDB |
Heineken |
Finalist |
Unexpected Guests |
Lucky Generals |
Hostelworld Group |
Highly commended |
Social Storytelling
This award celebrates the use of social storytelling to enhance a brand and deliver meaningful business outcomes. Whatever your social platform, be it Youtube, Snapchat, Instagram, Twitter or Facebook, we want to find out which brands have been able to develop a two-way relationship, to bring value to the social conversation, to create social content that people want to share - all of which has amplified awareness and reputation for the brand.
BRIT Awards 2016 |
Somethin' Else |
BPI (BRIT Awards Ltd) |
Highly commended |
Star Wars: The Force Awakens - Friends of Fans ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 |
n/a |
The Walt Disney Company |
Highly commended |
Boggles |
iris Worldwide |
Domino's |
Winner |
Marketing for Good
The winner of this award will demonstrate excellence in campaign creation, ideation or delivery for a charity or social cause. You will show how you have identified a specific audience need and created a piece of work (any medium) that answers this brief in a way that pushes boundaries, be that through the creative, execution or use of media and delivery method. It may or may not be pro bono work.
The Tesco Eat Happy Project brand & visual identity refresh and milestone campaign |
Whippet |
Tesco |
Finalist |
End the Awkward |
MediaCom |
Scope |
Finalist |
The-really-big-and-far-reaching-ad-campaign-that-they-never-really-wanted-you-to-see |
VCCP |
Amnesty International |
Winner |
The Bathroom Store |
J. Walter Thompson London |
Kimberly-Clark |
Highly commended |
The Man on the Moon |
adam&eveDDB |
John Lewis & Age UK |
Highly commended |
Effective Brand-Building
This award is all about proven results for a brand over a longer term. The winning entry will demonstrate how and exactly what the work delivered for brand growth, for campaigns and wider marketing, from NPD to media. The activity will have been live since Jan 2014 or later. The winning entry will need to paint a picture of why this work was a success with specific ROI measures garnered post-campaign to show proof of effectiveness.
Macmillan Cancer Support: Making Sure No One Faces Cancer Alone, Today or Tomorrow |
VCCP |
Macmillan |
Winner |
Greatness: From Product to Service Innovation |
iris Worldwide |
Domino's |
Highly commended |
Meet The World |
Lucky Generals |
Hostelworld Group |
Finalist |
Re-launching John Lewis Insurance 2013-2015 |
adam&eveDDB |
John Lewis Insurance |
Finalist |
The Big Idea: Integrated Thinking
Today, the industry is all about integrated partnerships, with brands themselves and agencies of all disciplines, from PR to media, from creative to adtech, working together collaboratively. This award will recognise the brand and/or the agency from which the big idea was born and subsequently rolled out and delivered through partners. Big ideas come from all corners of the industry and we seek to shine a light on those players breaking ground with their new thinking.
Wear The Rose |
Forward Media |
O2 |
Finalist |
Boggles |
iris Worldwide |
Domino's |
Finalist |
You Can Make It |
Lucky Generals |
Unilever |
Winner |
Mobile Innovation
This award will celebrate the very best apps and mobile product development that have proven their value to brand growth and/or communication. This innovation will specifically answer a need/utility and enhance the position of the brand. You will demonstrate how and why this work has delivered meaningful outcomes for the business, from sales, awareness, reputation or another specific measure.
OVO Smart Pay As You Go+ product |
n/a |
OVO Energy |
Winner |
Bestway Wholesale iBeacon App ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 - harnessing the power of new technology |
RNF Digital Innovation |
Bestway Wholesale |
Highly commended |
McDonald's Happy Studio |
R/GA |
McDonald's |
Highly commended |
RBS DigiDocs |
SapientNitro |
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) |
Finalist |
Targeting Excellence
The winner of this award will show how they have targeted the right consumer at the right moment and right time. By using data sets to build target audiences, combined with the right technology to effectively reach that market, entries should demonstrate high precision in their targeting and proven results. Whether adtech or martech, entries should show how they identified their target consumer and how they successfully reached them, through clever use of technology.
Delivering PPC Across Europe |
Brainlabs Digital |
Deliveroo |
Highly commended |
OOH Locomizer ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 |
Havas Media |
Pernod Ricard UK |
Finalist |
Sky Start of Season |
MediaCom |
Sky |
Winner |
The Force Awakens |
n/a |
The Walt Disney Company |
Finalist |
Best use of Tech
This award will recognise the best of existing cutting-edge tech innovation. From programmatic to VR to dynamic display to video streaming, the winning entry could come from a broad area of tech innovation. However, the winner will demonstrate how it has used tech in a transformative way for the brand, based on a consumer insight. You will show how this work was much more than a me-too use of tech, delivering real, measurable value.
McDonald's Happy Studio |
R/GA |
McDonald's |
Finalist |
Google Programmatic Out-of-Home |
Grand Visual |
Google |
Finalist |
Persona Synthetics - Regent Street Flagship Store |
Fuse Sport + Entertainment |
Channel 4 |
Winner |
Pioneering Tech
This award will recognise the best consumer-facing tech innovation. The winner will be breaking new ground and have had a transformative effect on a brand’s fortunes, based on a consumer insight. Whether it’s a cutting-edge app, wearable tech, website or custom technology, being able to demonstrate that the work made a difference to the bottom line is key.
Turkcell Healthmetre |
R/GA |
Turkcell |
Highly commended |
OVO Smart Pay As You Go+ product |
OVO Energy |
OVO Energy |
Winner |
Made in Britain: Exporting New Thinking
We are celebrating British new thinking that has been exported around the world with commercial success. This award will recognise ‘born-in-Britain’ inventive ideas, products, strategic thinking, creative work, campaign tools, experiential concepts, ad tech, CRM or a digital innovation. In whichever form your ‘invention’ takes, you will demonstrate how and why your homegrown spark of genius gained traction outside the UK. Your work - which could be anything from a TV ad creative to a data analytics tool to product design - will have been in demand from other countries eager to buy-in to your world-class product or idea, resulting in commercial success/brand awareness.
From Mad Men to Math Men |
Cambridge Analytica |
Cambridge Analytica |
Winner |
Circus Street - New skills for new thinking |
Circus Street |
Circus Street |
Finalist |
BRIT Awards 2016 |
Somethin' Else |
BPI (BRIT Awards Ltd) |
Highly commended |