The Outdoor Media Awards are changing this year, with new categories, new awards and a new approach. There’ll be five category groups – creative, planning, effectiveness, a platform for good, and talent – alongside the Grand Prix, the winner of which will receive £100,000 of media space to use on Clear Channel UK screens. And there will be golds, silvers and bronzes in each category, to showcase and celebrate more work and more talented people.
Also new for 2020 are the CrossFormat Award & Cross-Channel Award, the National Social Impact Award & Community Social Impact Award, and the Social Impact Champion, a celebration of the individuals driving the industry to be more inclusive, diverse and representative.
The free-to-enter awards, run by Clear Channel in partnership with ±±¾©Èü³µpk10, will be judged by a 25-strong panel of brand marketers plus media and creative leaders. We are asking entrants to get ready for more chances to win this year by making space on their shelves for some shiny new trophies. So we put to our judges: what new things are you, personally and professionally, making space for in 2020?
Simon Carr, chief strategy officer, Hearts & Science UK
My son told me over the Christmas holidays that he is going to devote his life to fighting climate change and how he thinks Trump is an idiot. He’s eight years old. So, inspired by my son, I believe we should all be making space for advertising activity that makes a positive impact on society and the planet. Out of home is uniquely placed to do so in that it is actually outdoors. The paper and materials can be recycled. Knives can be turned into outdoor gyms. Digital signs can be powered by green electricity. Posters can absorb pollution. Billboards can show the truth as politicians revert to lies. These are the tip of the (melting) icebergs. Not all brands can take a stand. But all brands can consider offsetting and being cognisant of the impact of producing ads, no matter how much they are spending.
Jenny Biggam, co-founder, the7stars
Change. At the7stars we love reinvention. Every year we write a brand-new business plan for the year ahead – we challenge ourselves to recreate the excitement of setting up the agency.
Fun. Because what could be more exciting than starting with a blank piece of paper, and thinking about a whole decade of opportunity?
Team. I think the 2020s are going to be a time when people’s skills and creativity are liberated through technology and flexible working. So I’ll be making sure we are ready to take full advantage of the new world of work.
Dede Laurentino, chief creative officer, Ogilvy UK
I’ll make space for two things: learning and making. Creative people need to constantly learn new things, to keep us excited and intimately connected with the pulse of culture. And then, use it immediately. To make new, vibrant, relevant work. While theory is alluring to many, making is for the few brave ones.
Simeon Adams, creative partner, Goodstuff
In 2020 I’ll hopefully be making space for a few more Grand Prix awards in the Goodstuff trophy cabinet. As well as retaining our ±±¾©Èü³µpk10 Media Awards and Media Week Awards Grand Prix, it would be great to add one from the Outdoor Media Awards. If not, at least I’m really looking forward to stealing ideas, I mean seeking inspiration, during the OMA judging process. (I have a horrible feeling this comment won’t age well…).
Paul Knight, CEO, OmniGOV @ Manning Gottlieb OMD
While we navigate the new political landscape, we see lots of opportunities in public sector communications to not only maximise value for the UK tax payer but also improve campaign outcomes. In a media industry that is constantly transforming, particularly outdoor, we need to bring together new behavioural targeting opportunities, the creative and contextual opportunities that digital brings, with new outcome-based measurement models – to truly deliver on our future ambitions.
Annie Gallimore, managing director, Engine Creative
For me, 2020 is the year when I make space for seeing more. I hunkered down in 2019 for various reasons, but now want to see outside my home and work postcodes. Environmentally responsible ways of getting to see Rome, big expansive skies of the UK coastline, some proper warmth on my face and meeting new people. And if that means seeing more innovative outdoor media on my travels, bring it on – some inspiration is needed!
John Paul Cadman, group chief planning officer, Havas Media Group London
Workwise, I’m making space for a brand new 30-strong team that we’ve set up to be 100% focused on creating the most effective media experiences for our clients, leveraging connection, context and content. I’m really looking forward to seeing how the team can supercharge our OOH thinking in 2020! I’m also swapping the motorbike for the train a couple of times a week to carve out some much needed reading time. A cliché but, as the dad of two young boys, I’m either too busy or too tired at home.
Damola Timeyin, strategy director & partner, BBH London
My years tend to work a little like Glastonbury and 2019 was my fallow year. So after a year of relative calm and reflection, I’m making space for a heavyweight headliner in 2020, a side-project that will enable me to learn something new, that gives BAME creatives a platform and produces something that everyone can enjoy in OOH media and beyond. I’m hoping this headliner will be complemented with the pleasant surprises a good Glastonbury always brings, which can never happen if you plan too much.
Entries are open until Friday 13 March. Enter now at