CHICAGO, April 29, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The winners of the marketing industry’s prestigious BrandSmart Awards were announced last night at the close of day one of the 19th Annual BrandSmart Conference. The brands and agencies behind the year's most remarkable brand marketing campaigns celebrated at yesterday’s BrandSmart Awards Program, held virtually for a second consecutive year. This year’s Awards program featured steep competition with many exemplary campaigns submitted for 2021 BrandSmart Awards. The Awards committee was pleased to have an esteemed panel of judges representing many leading global brands.
Two Winners Named Best Overall
The GRAND CHAMPION Award recognizes the most outstanding overall entry from among the gold-level winners in each of seven individual award categories. In a BrandSmart Awards first, the GRAND CHAMPION Award was bestowed upon two campaigns, each exceptional in its own way: National Association of REALTORS’ “The Fight for Fair” and American Eagle’s “Virtual Holiday Stores.” After a rigorous judging process that included 25 marketing and branding experts from some of the top global brands, two campaigns emerged as Grand Champion winners – each having top rankings from judges and ultimately tying for the coveted Grand Champion position.
“American Eagle has broken new ground for the retail industry, with a flawless blend of advertising combined with the future of technology using augmented reality to deliver an authentic in-store user experience," said BrandSmart Awards Director Harvey Morris, “And the National Association of REALTOR’s campaign does a beautiful job of instilling meaning and purpose for every realtor, inspiring them to feel like they can make a positive societal impact that is greater than themselves.”
The individual award category gold winners include:
Brand Engagement Award:
Frigo® Cheese for “Lotta Ricotta” campaign with Hangar12
Brand Momentum Award:
Jayco for “We Were Built for This” campaign with LoSasso
Integrated Marketing Award:
Lenovo for “Smarter Way Forward” campaign with StudioNorth
Cause Marketing Award:
National Association of REALTORS® for “The Fight for Fair” campaign with HAVAS Chicago + HAVAS Media Boston
Influencer Marketing Award:
Hollister Incorporated for “Ostomy Awareness Day 2020” campaign with StudioNorth
Brand Innovation Award:
American Eagle for “Virtual Holiday Stores” campaign with Snap, Inc. and 360i
Brand Advocacy Award:
Wisconsin Cheese for “Virtual Cheeselandia” campaign with We Must Be Bold
Grand Champion Award [TIE]:
National Association of REALTORS® for “The Fight for Fair” campaign with HAVAS Chicago + HAVAS Media Boston
American Eagle for “Virtual Holiday Stores” campaign with Snap, Inc. and 360i
To view all the 2021 BrandSmart Awards winning video case studies, visit https://amachicago.org/brandsmart-awards-2021/
Inclusive Marketing A New Criterion
The BrandSmart Awards committee also announced that beginning in 2022, BrandSmart Awards would become the first marketing industry awards program to add Inclusive Marketing as a judging criterion in every awards category. “Elevating the importance of marketing inclusivity as a judging criterion across all awards categories is just one part of our reinvigorated commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion throughout our industry,” said Morris, “Judges will evaluate how well entries demonstrate inclusivity through messaging, people, processes and/or technologies.”
About BrandSmart Awards
Since 2009, the BrandSmart Awards have celebrated the brands and agencies behind the brand marketing campaigns that best exemplify the powerful relationship between beauty and measurement – the marriage of creativity and results. To learn more, go to http://www.brandsmartawards.org/ or contact harvey.morris@brandsmartawards.org
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