Best Use of Data winners at Warc Media Awards announced

Sital Banerjee

The jury, a 10-strong international panel chaired by Sital Banerjee, Philip's global head of media, has awarded three Golds, three Silvers and one Bronze in the Best Use of Data category, which recognises the role of data in an effective communications strategy.

The Gold winning Brooke Bond Red Label's 6 Pack Band campaign, through Mindshare, saw the Hindustan Unilever-owned tea brand employ big data analysis to promote India's first transgender band.

This analysis empowered the brand to be more agile in its media investment and decision-making. Banerjee commented, “Being able to support an initiative that could be so sensitive in a conservative society requires a lot of skill and thought in how the data is collected and the brand did it very well. The social impact that this has had goes beyond what a commercial brand would expect.”

Gold went to Destination Canada's Explore Canada campaign through OMD in multiple countries that combined influencer content with data to increase tourist visits by 7.9%. “This showed how to weave yourself into content and layer on programmatic and that was what impressed me,” said Glen Kushner, senior strategy and analytics advisor, Converseon and a member of the judging panel.

The third Gold went to Carat China for the Philips campaign, 11.11 and The Art of War, involving a data optimisation initiative that resulted in the consumer electronics brand doubling sales on Singles Day.

“Whether it is Black Friday or Singles Day, there is much planning and preparation required to succeed in the moment,” said Graham Wylie, senior director market development and channels, AppNexus and one of the judges. “This struck me as an intelligent approach. There were tangible results from a brand that many might not consider to be a classic Singles Day slam dunk.”

Three Silvers were also awarded. Google and OMD UK took one for London Community Noticeboard that saw the tech giant using digital out-of-home to broadcast relevant information to London commuters.

Compass Point/McCann also scooped Silver for Keybank's Hassle-Free Account, which saw the US financial services brand increase high value account openings through smart use of data.

A third Silver went to Sky and MediaCom UK for Start of Season, an initiative that saw the UK broadcaster Sky Sports increase purchase intent by using a variety of data sources that targeted football fans based on their team affiliations.

Aviva Motor Insurance's campaign, through Zenith, that used data to challenge Britons to drive more safely, won a Bronze.