Last year it was an all-chicken TV channel for Swiss Chalet, but there was also IKEA boxes for people on the move, a make-your-face-a-candy contest for Maynards, and blurry newspaper front-pages for Sears Optical.
This was some of the work that defined Canadian media innovation in 2011. Now it’s up to you to help Marketing redefine it for 2012.
It’s time once again to enter the Media Innovation Awards – Canada’s most prestigious and important media industry awards program. Click here now to learn more.
Related
• 2011 Media Innovation Awards Book (online version)
“The Media Innovation Awards was launched in 2000 to recognize and celebrate the role media plays in the marketing mix,” said Marketing publisher Lucy Collin. “But we all know the marketing game has only gotten tougher since then and the value of smart media has only gone up.”
“We’re thrilled about seeing the work that will be used once again to set the benchmark for the best media thinking in Canada in 2012,” said Collin.
“Recognizing innovative work inspires marketers everywhere to take risks in our evolving media landscape,” said Angela Scardillo, vice-president of marketing at Best Buy, who, along with OMD CEO Cathy Collier, will serve as judging co-chairs for the 2012 MIAs.
Since 2010, the MIA categories have closely mirrored those used for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Those who entered the MIAs in 2011 will notice just a few minor changes to the categories for 2012 that were made after a thorough review by Scardillo and Collier.
The “Best in Content Integration and Branded Content” category from 2011 has been divided into two: “Best in Content Integration and Sponsorship” and “Best in Branded Content.”
The only entirely new category is “Best in Consumer Engagement.”
“As an industry, there is a huge focus on consumer engagement and this is one of the categories in Cannes that was absent from the MIAs,” explained Collier.
Collier and Scardillo are finalizing their jury now. Look for an announcement in Marketing Daily next week. Judging will take place in September and October with the MIAs gala booked for Nov. 15 in Toronto.
“Media strategies have become enormously complex,” said Collier. “To counter that, we’ll ask the jury to focus on two simple criteria when evaluating work. First, relevance to the target and brand, and second, does it deliver scale or business impact?”
