Award Categories

CREATIVE IDEAS

1. Best Idea – Branded Content

This category recognises the best creative, innovative content, or unexpected content, commissioned by a brand. It could include text, infographics, film, video games, music, online, competitions, and TV, running across all forms of marketing channels.

Judges will look at the creative copy and the content strategy that was designed to stimulate interest and support a strategic marketing approach for the brand. Entries should reflect a clear vision about how the high quality and innovative content was created, and how it was designed to build a rapport with the targeted audience.

2. Best Idea – Brand Storytelling *NEW*

This category recognises the most creative, innovative, and effective storytelling strategy that created a strong connection with audiences and ingrained the brand’s image into customers’ hearts.

Judges will look at how the stories created evoked emotions and enabled audience engagement, spread the brand message, and at the same time, drove positive business outcomes.

3. Best Idea – Corporate Social Responsibility

This category recognises the best creative, innovative corporate social responsibility initiatives held by an organisation that addressed social, economic, or environmental issues. 

Judges will look at the creativity and innovation behind the ideas of the initiatives, how they were carried out, how they brought positive benefits for society and the involved parties, and how they had a positive effect on raising brand reputation.

4. Best Idea – Customer Acquisition

This category recognises the best creative, innovative idea behind a marketing campaign for acquiring new customers.

Judges will look at the creativity and originality behind the idea that captured enquiries or new business. Entries should illustrate how the customer acquisition strategy helped to grow and gain new customers or to widen the customer base that resulted in positive business outcomes.

5. Best Idea – Customer Engagement

This category recognises the best creative, innovative idea that was specifically designed to engage new or existing customers through multiple touch-points or channels for customer loyalty. 

Judges will look at the creativity, innovation, and strategy behind the idea of the campaign, and how it used each touch-point in the most engaging way. Entries should illustrate how the customer engagement idea helped to entertain and engage existing customers, while enhancing the customer proposition that resulted in positive business outcomes.

6. Best Idea – CX/UX

This category recognises the best creative, innovative idea that brought the entire customer journey to life, giving consumers a seamless customer-centric intuitive experience. 

Judges will look at how the creative idea was developed with the customer in mind, and illustrated in the customer journey. Entries should demonstrate how it was easy for the target audience to interact with the brand, or respond to a call to action without any difficulty.

7. Best Idea – Design

This category recognises the best creative, innovative idea of an authentic design (for example, product packaging, premiums, POSM, collaterals, in-store design) that formed a critical focus for product branding. 

Judges will look at the creativity and innovative idea behind the design. Entries should demonstrate a tangible link between the design and the marketing strategy or campaign for the product.

8. Best Idea – Digital Solution

This category recognises the most creative and innovative idea for digital marketing solutions across digital platforms. Digital solutions could include online, mobile, viral, search, social media, email, or any other mediums that fall within digital marketing. 

Judges will look at how the solutions were created and designed to be deployed over various digital channels to add value to a marketing campaign. Entries should demonstrate how the idea stood out in the competitive digital space and achieved a specific marketing outcome, be it branding, a prompted consumer behaviour, or engagement. 

9. Best Idea – Events

This category recognises the most creative and innovatively planned events that form the cornerstone of a marketing strategy. Events could be live, virtual and/or hybrid. 

Judges will look at the strategy and creativity behind the event, how the event performed, how it captivated its audience, and the strength of the idea. Entries should also illustrate how the idea for the event supported the brand’s profile, values, and marketing objectives.

10. Best Idea – Experiential Marketing

This category recognises the most creative and innovative marketing idea of a hands-on experience to take the target audience inside a brand or product. Entries could be anything from a mass-market launch to a more exclusive experience for customers. 

Judges will look at the creativity and strategy behind the experiential programme or campaign that was designed to stimulate interest and create buzz for a brand, product or service. Entries should illustrate how the idea was designed to allow consumers to get involved in, or respond to, a specific experience.

11. Best Idea – Gamification

This category recognises the most creative and innovative idea of gaming in a marketing campaign. It could be in a variety of forms in interactive media, for example, competitive sports, board games, character games, video games, and in-app games. 

Judges will look at the effectiveness and creativity of the idea in reaching targeted customers and building a brand’s image. Entries should demonstrate how the creation of the game leveraged the brand’s message, and engaged with customers.

12. Best Idea – Influencer

This category recognises the best refreshing collaboration between brands and influencers.

Judges will look at how the collaboration increased customer value and promoted peer-to-peer engagement. Entries should demonstrate how an original approach of a brand took influencer marketing beyond the limits of the traditional, and showcased the brand’s out-of-the-box thinking, resulting in an effective campaign strategy that was engaging and authentic.

13. Best Idea – Integrated Marketing

This category recognises the originality and authenticity of an idea behind creating a unified and seamless integrated and/or interactive experience to promote a brand, product or service. 

Judges will look at how the idea was designed to stimulate interest and support a strategic marketing and communications approach across multiple distribution channels (at least three channels). Entries should demonstrate how the idea creatively and successfully leveraged the marketing objectives of a brand.

14. Best Idea – Launch/Rebranding

This category rewards the most creative and innovative idea behind a launch or rebranding of a brand, event, product or service. 

Judges will look at the creativity of the idea and the initiative behind the launch/rebranding strategy. Entries should demonstrate how the idea helped mould the campaign and the eventual execution strategy towards the launch/rebrand activity. 

15. Best Idea – Mobile Marketing

This category recognises the most creative idea in a marketing campaign which was specifically designed for mobile platforms to leverage the capabilities of a mobile device in achieving a positive marketing outcome.

Judges will look for the creative idea of a mobile platform that was designed to enhance the user experience, be it branding, a prompted consumer behaviour or simply increased consumption. Entries should demonstrate an impressive visual environment within the app/mobile platform and how it leveraged the marketing objectives of the brand.

16. Best Idea – Partnership/Sponsorship

This category recognises the most creative and innovative idea in a marketing campaign that developed and activated a brand-relevant partnership in the form of a crossover, sponsorship or product placement.

Judges will look at the creativity of the idea behind the collaboration where both parties reached a mutual benefit. Entries should illustrate how the partnership was designed to captivate their audiences and how the idea supported the parties to achieve a win-win marketing goal.

17. Best Idea – Public Awareness

This category recognises the most creative and innovative idea in a public awareness campaign that best helped brands to rally the public and/or effect a change in attitude towards a public concern among their audiences. 

Judges will look at how the idea was developed and built in order to achieve their marketing outcome. Entrants should demonstrate how the idea was executed and the effectiveness in gaining the public’s attention.

18. Best Idea – Public Relations

This category recognises the most creative idea behind a public relations campaign that best enhanced the branding, image or identity of a brand, product or service. It could target mass or specific audiences, businesses, investors or internal stakeholders, etc. 

Judges will look at the public relations idea that succeeded in promoting or recovering an image of a brand, product or service, or supplemented an existing marketing strategy. Entries should demonstrate how the public relations strategy created an impact on the chosen audience.

19. Best Idea – Social Media

This category recognises the most creative social media idea and strategy in a marketing campaign. It can be part of a one-off campaign or part of a longer-term marketing strategy. 

Judges will look at how the creative idea was designed to be deployed over social media channels. Entries should reflect how the social media strategy helped a brand to engage in a campaign, enhanced customer acquisition, or built strong customer loyalty.

20. Best Idea – Video

This category recognises the best creative idea behind a video advertising campaign. 

Judges will look at the originality and creativity of the marketing video idea and the creative strategy to achieve a marketing outcome or reach for a brand, product or service. Entries should demonstrate how the idea and campaign were designed to impact and resonate with the targeted audience or enhanced an existing campaign. 

IMPLEMENTATION

21. Best Use of Content

This category recognises the most effective use of original content that was the main feature behind a published campaign. Content marketing could be text, infographics and/or video, etc, and could have been run across all forms of marketing channels.

Judges will look at the effectiveness and results from a content strategy developed to convert interest into action, while supporting a strategic marketing approach for a brand, product or service. Entries should illustrate how the copy embodied various elements/mediums of the marketing campaign, and how the content was mapped out for a larger content strategy, addressing specific KPIs along the way.

22. Best Use of CRM Strategy *NEW*

This category recognises the most effective use of customer relationship management and loyalty marketing to reduce customer churn, grow and develop a customer base(s), and cultivate strong brand loyalty among existing clientele. 

Judges will look at the effect and result of a marketing campaign which demonstrated a cohesive customer loyalty strategy and an effective CRM programme while enhancing the customer proposition. Entries should show how CRM and a loyalty campaign were used together or separately to capture this commitment, and converted into potential engagement and ROI.

23. Best Use of Data/Insights

This category recognises the innovative and effective use of research, data planning, measurement, and analytics tools in contributing to database development and the performance of a marketing campaign or communications plan.

Judges will look at how data and insights helped a brand in understanding its customers to develop campaign strategies. Entries should demonstrate how market research, data planning, measurement, and analytics insights were used to shape the creative strategy.

24. Best Use of Digital Solution

This category recognises the most effective use of digital marketing and digital across platforms. Digital methods could include online, mobile, viral, search, social media, email, or any other mediums that fall within digital marketing. 

Judges will look at how a brand leveraged digital solutions to achieve a business objective, be it branding, a prompted consumer behaviour or to increase consumption on its platform. Entries should demonstrate how digital was an integral part of an executed marketing strategy and how it generated proven results, with evidence of the mediums used.

25. Best Use of Gamification

This category recognises the most creative and innovative use of gaming in a campaign to entertain customers and improve engagement. Games can span one or multiple platforms of interactive media, for example, activations, social media, or microsites. 

Judges will look at how gaming was effectively used as a key marketing strategy to enhance a brand experience and customer engagement. Entrants should illustrate the high levels of interactivity and engagement from the target audience while driving core business objectives.

26. Best Use of Influencer

This category recognises the most creative and effective use of influencers in order to engage the target audience and enhance brand awareness. 

Judges will look at how the use of influencers helped the brand’s overall strategy, and improved engagement. Entrants should demonstrate how the level of a brand’s awareness was increased, how the brand’s message was effectively spread, and the business goals successfully achieved. 

27. Best Use of Integrated Media

This category recognises the most effective use of various marketing mediums to create/support a unified integrated marketing communications strategy to promote a brand, product or service.

Judges will look at how the idea was executed across multiple distribution channels (at least three channels) to support the strategic approach, and the results from the combined use. Entries should also demonstrate how the campaign was executed skilfully to stand out from competitors and to reach the brand’s marketing objectives.

28. Best Use of MarTech

This category recognises the most innovative use of marketing technology to activate or enhance a marketing strategy. 

Judges will look at the innovation and effectiveness of the use of martech in delivering positive marketing outcomes. Entrants should demonstrate how the innovative technology benefited the consumers with new levels of functionality, access, and convenience which pushed the boundaries.

29. Best Use of Mobile & Apps

This category recognises the most effective use of app and mobile marketing. This could include using applications and mobile as a media format, mobile app marketing, and/or marketing and advertising through mobile and apps. 

Judges will look for an innovative use of app/mobile marketing to drive customer engagement and to enhance a brand experience for either a one-off or ongoing marketing exercise. Entries should be able to demonstrate the role of the app or mobile in attaining targeted objectives such as user acquisition, user retention or prompted consumer behaviour.

30. Best Use of Omnichannel *NEW*

This category recognises the most effective use of omni-channel strategies in driving a customer-centric experience and enhancing engagement with clients across all touch-points.

Judges will look at how the brand implemented the innovative omni-channel strategy to create a seamless and personalised experience for customers across multiple channels. Entries should demonstrate how a brand utilised the omni-channel approach to entice target customers, improve engagement, increase conversion rates, and achieve campaign and business objectives. 

31. Best Use of Out-Of-Home

This category recognises the most effective use of an out-of-home (OOH) campaign. OOH could include media such as billboards, transit media, public spaces or any other media formats traditionally classified as OOH.

Judges will look at how the campaign was executed, and how it generated the desired results that met a business or a marketing communication objective. Entries should reflect how the use of OOH managed to increase the reach and recall of a campaign and impact path-to-purchase.

32. Best Use of Performance Marketing *NEW*

This category recognises initiatives that have optimised strategies across paid media, SEO, conversion rate optimisation, and other performance-focused channels to achieve outstanding results.

Judges will look for campaigns that have demonstrated exceptional effectiveness in the realm of performance marketing.

33. Best Use of Programmatic

This category recognises the most effective programmatic strategies and executions to optimise a campaign to enhance the targeting to a specific audience. 

Judges will look at how the programmatic strategies successfully leveraged the marketing objectives and brought positive business outcomes. Entries should demonstrate a standout use of programmatic that generated greater efficiencies for users, greater insights, better ROI, and better results.

34. Best Use of Social Media

This category recognises the most effective use of social media in a marketing and advertising campaign. It can be part of a one-off campaign or a longer-term marketing strategy.

Judges will look at how the innovative use of social media channels reaped results towards customer acquisition, and engaged existing customers. Entries should illustrate the effectiveness of the execution through social media channels which activated or enhanced a marketing strategy.

35. Best Use of Venue

This category recognises the most innovative set-up and use of physical surroundings of a venue. The venue can be large scale or a small pop-up-style space. 

Judges will look at the creativity and innovation that helped a brand in reaching its target audience and delivering a positive brand message. Entrants should showcase how the venue was effectively used with out-of-the-box ideas that drove customer engagement.