Electronics retailer Best Buy is committing to spend at least $1.2 billion with businesses owned by Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) on everything from the products it places on its shelves to its supply chain and marketing efforts by 2025. “We better serve our customers, employees and communities when there are more diverse…
HBO Max’s Gossip Girl Reboot Premiere Will Also Air on The CW
For several years, The CW used to benefit from streaming viewers in the form of a “Netflix bump” that helped boost the viewership of its shows on linear. Now, the network (which no longer sends its new shows to Netflix) is looking to return the favor–and HBO Max will look to get a linear bump…
eBay Taps a YouTube Survivalist to Prepare Consumers for Real Life Interactions
Between overplayed lines like, “I feel so naked without my mask on,” and that awkward pause before deciding whether it’s acceptable to hug each other again, the return to activities around real people has not been as glamorous as expected for everyone. That’s why eBay is recognizing re-entering non-virtual social circles might require a little…
Ralph Lauren Enters Gaming With G2 Esports Partnership
Ralph Lauren is jumping into the $200 billion gaming industry after it dropped a new spot starring Swedish League of Legends gamer Martin Larsson, better known as Rekkles (pronounced “reckless”). Top line Ralph Lauren will partner with G2 Esports, the team that Larsson plays for, outfitting the entire esports team and kicking off a broader…
Magnite Cuts Staff by 6% Following SpotX Acquistion
Supply-side platform Magnite is laying off roughly 6% of its staff following the completion of its acquisition of SpotX, according to internal communication viewed by Adweek. The company is reducing headcount by nearly 60 employees across all departments, and it’s eliminating 45 open positions across SpotX and Magnite, according to the internal note, as part…
Carrefour’s ‘Act for Food’ Wins Cannes Lions Creative Business Transformation Grand Prix
In a year when the need for business transformation was a priority for companies like never before, this Cannes Lions category was certain to be hotly contested. The newly introduced category aims to recognize the important work that organizations have done as they make their mark on the world and to celebrate the creativity that…
NY Hearts UM, Names It Agency Of Record
IPG Mediabrands’ UM unit has been named the media agency of record for NYC & Company, New York City’s official marketing and tourism organization. Billings were not disclosed, but the agency described
the assignment as “the largest destination-marketing campaign in New York City history.”
the assignment as “the largest destination-marketing campaign in New York City history.”
As Social Distancing in America Winds Down, Trojan Unveils a New Line of Condoms
Demand for condoms has declined following orders to shelter in place. There was “a lot less sex in the second quarter” of 2020, Matthew Farrell, CEO of Church & Dwight, the maker of Trojan condoms, said during a company presentation in September. As restrictions ease across the country, however, revenue is returning to the category….
Xfinity Retail Is Putting Shoppers on TV Via Augmented Reality, QR Codes
Comcast wants visitors to view its Xfinity retail stores as “digital playgrounds” where the cable operator can be regarded as a source of entertainment and advanced technology for subscribers even when they’re off the couch. The experiential campaign, created by IPG’s Elephant, is currently running at 472 of the company’s 540 retail outlets through July…
In The Know, The New York Times and Harvard Business Review are Digiday Media Awards winners in 2021
The 2021 Digiday Media Awards honors the companies, technologies and campaigns that have stood out throughout the media over the past year. This year, the competition was fierce and the programs robust. Innovation and big ideas expanded the playing field for many of the winners, even in a year when quarantines limited where and how people could work — and play.
Community, changemakers, collaboration and inclusivity surfaced as thematic highlights across this year’s winners. Throughout, B2B and B2C programs shined, with diversity, equity, access and empowerment leading the charge. Partnerships blossomed, and customers and audiences reaped the rewards.
Among the judges’ picks this year, In The Know partnered with Our Place and took home the Best Commerce Partner award for their collaboration. Across on-site articles, social placements and email newsletters, Our Place’s products became one of In The Know’s top sellers for 2020 and outperformed more established, traditional cookware brands. Furthermore, the partnership aligned with In The Know’s mission to spotlight businesses owned by women and BIPOC, as Our Place was founded by Pakistani social entrepreneur Shiza Shahid.
In The Know also snagged the award for Best Story with their ‘Where You Can Still Find Household Essentials’ guide, which was created to help readers procure necessities online when many physical stores were experiencing shortages. The guide identified multiple websites and retailers carrying everything from toilet paper and paper towels to disinfectants and hand soap. It became one of In The Know’s top-visited pages for several months and was timely and of great value to their readers.
When it came to the category of Best Content Studio, T Brand at The New York Times put up a winning entry with programs produced for major clients such as Tide, Dropbox, Snap and Citi. T Brand advised numerous clients on their response to the pandemic with a consultation entitled “The Business Acts, The Brand Speaks,” which was designed to give clients confidence to reenter the market. The studio’s programs for Tide and Dropbox helped readers navigate changes in daily life and business, while campaigns for Snap and Citi promoted racial literacy in classrooms and supported initiatives designed to close the racial wealth gap.
The Times also won in the Best Brand Partnership – B2B category when they teamed up with Verizon for The 5G Journalism Lab, dedicated to delivering immersive storytelling with 5G. The Times demonstrated the power of technology and storytelling in a content program that delivered legitimate value to the Times readership without intruding on the publisher’s editorial independence.
For the category of Best New Vertical or Brand, Harvard Business Review claimed the award with the launch of Ascend, a sub-brand providing content for young people trying to navigate work-life balance. To build a younger audience, the team experimented with content on platforms popular among that demographic, including TikTok and YouTube. Ascend proved successful in its objective of providing ideas for readers to discover who they are at work and outside of work with content delving deeply and personally into topics with which its audience identifies.
Harvard Business Review also won the Publisher of the Year award for showcasing its range, purpose and determination in 2020. The publisher trained its lens on society’s greatest challenges, introducing ‘Race at Work,’ a podcast hosted by Porter Braswell offering candid conversations about the role race plays in everyone’s careers and lives. HBR also incorporated timely conversations about the pandemic and about race, power and equity into many of its other HBR podcasts — striving to be a source of understanding and inspiration at a time when the world ricocheted from crisis to crisis.
Explore all the winners of the 2021 Digiday Media Awards below – including a quick rundown of the campaigns and insights into why they won and what marketing teams can learn from them. Download the complete guide here.
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