Campaigns for Cineplex Entertainment, Coca-Cola, Rexona, Visa and Whiskas are among the 21 campaigns that have been shortlisted for the WARC Awards' Effective Content Strategy category - a search for branded content strategies that can demonstrate a business outcome.
Chaired by John Dokes, Global Chief Marketing Officer and General Manager of AccuWeather Network, a judging panel of 16 top industry professionals from agencies and clients alike, looked for evidence of how a content strategy - as opposed to a traditional advertising strategy - has helped a brand achieve business goals.
Campaigns from a diverse range of brands and for a wide variety of different markets have been shortlisted. As well as a global campaign for IKEA, campaigns ran in Brazil, Canada, Egypt, India, Lebanon, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Thailand, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States.
The shortlisted entries are:
#TokyoUnexpected · Visa · Visa International · BBDO Bangkok · Thailand
Escape the Dating Apocalypse · Hinge · Justin McLeod and various individual investors · the STUDIO · United States
Fair Sex Fair Say · i-can · Piramal Healthcare · McCann Worldgroup · India
Ask Again · The Live Love Laugh Foundation · McCann Worldgroup · India
If you can dream it, you can Pylox it · Nippon Pylox · Nippon Paint · Ensemble Worldwide · Malaysia
4G Films · Maxis · Maxis Berhad · Ensemble Worldwide, Initiative Malaysia · Malaysia
Da Vinci · IKEA · ACNE, IKEA Creative Hub · Global
Choose What You Love · HSBC · HSBC Bank Singapore · J. Walter Thompson · Singapore
Unveil Saudi · Saudi Telecom Company · J. Walter Thompson · Saudi Arabia
Kitten Kollege · Whiskas · Mars Petcare · AMVBBDO · United Kingdom
The Chronicles of Oufa · EGBank · FP7/CAIRO, Part of McCann Worldgroup · Egypt
Confidence Academy · Rexona · Unilever · FP7/CAIRO, Part of McCann Worldgroup · Egypt
Hijacking the African Cup · Coca-Cola · The Coca-Cola Company · FP7/CAIRO, Part of McCann Worldgroup · Egypt
Web Series · Antarctica · AB InBev · AlmapBBDO · Brazil
Dear Younger Me... · Emirates NBD · Momentum Egypt · Egypt
A Taxi to Dubai · Atlantis - The Palm, Dubai · Atlantis Hotels & Resorts · FP7/DXB · United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates
The Hammam Fighter · Orange · FP7/TUN · Tunisia
The Power of 10p · Smart Energy GB · AMVBBDO · United Kingdom
Slow Trends · Connect · TBWA\RAAD · Lebanon
When You Grow Up · Emirates NBD · FP7/DXB · United Arab Emirates
A Balloon for Ben · Cineplex Entertainment · Zulu Alpha Kilo · Canada
All shortlists for the annual WARC Awards, a global case study competition in search for next-generation marketing effectiveness that focuses on the effective use of emerging marketing disciplines, have now been announced and can be viewed
here.
The winners of each of the four categories - Effective Content Strategy, Effective Innovation, Effective Use of Brand Purpose and Effective Social Strategy - will be revealed from mid-May.