Behind the Scenes: Grand Prix 2024

Key Category Overview: The Ultimate Recognition in Marketing Excellence: The Grand Prix represents the pinnacle of marketing achievement—a singular honour bestowed upon work that transcends excellence to achieve true greatness. This category can not be entered directly the shortlist will be compromised from the Marketing Craft & Execution and Business & Social Impact category winners. This extraordinary accolade celebrates marketing that doesn't just raise the bar—it completely redefines it.

The winning entry will:

• Demonstrate marketing brilliance that stands head and shoulders above its peers
• Embody the transformative power of strategic thinking and creative execution
• Showcase work that every marketing professional wishes bore their signature
• Set a new standard for what marketing can achieve in driving business growth

This is more than just an award—it's a beacon that illuminates the path for the next generation of marketers and a testament to our industry's ability to transform businesses, inspire audiences, and shape the future of commerce. Selected through rigorous deliberation by our distinguished panel of judges, the Grand Prix winner represents the absolute best of what our industry can achieve—work so compelling that it will be referenced, studied, and admired for years to come.

Syl Saller, Chair of Judges on this accolade: "The Grand Prix winner is definitely one of the highest accolades you can get. It has to be something that really shows the power of marketing and its ability to drive change. It will have to be a case study of absolutely outstanding quality... it will need to be extremely well written because, you know, that's what makes it easier for judges to put you onto that shortlist. It's going to have to transcend category, it's going to have to transcend industry, and it will need to deliver against some of the best."

GRAND PRIX | Just One Word (click the link to access the case study)

From: VCCP and Cadbury

Also won - BRAND EVOLUTION

Winning Characteristics:

• Having ambition beyond just commercial goals
• Taking calculated risks
• Pushing boundaries
• Having outstanding execution
• Demonstrating tangible results
• Making a broader contribution to the marketing discipline
• Actually delivering on purpose/social good (not just talking about it)

Just One Word: A Winning Case Study

In an era of increasingly complex brand frameworks and multi-layered marketing strategies, Cadbury achieved something remarkable with radical simplicity: they built their entire brand revival around a single word - "generosity." The results speak for themselves. Since embracing this laser-focused approach in 2017, Cadbury has transformed from a declining heritage brand into the UK's second most loved brand, with annual sales growing by an impressive 37% (equivalent to £437 million per year). What's particularly fascinating about this case study isn't just the commercial success but how one carefully chosen word managed to authentically reconnect a 200-year-old brand with its roots while simultaneously making it more relevant than ever to modern consumers. The power of this strategic minimalism offers a compelling lesson for marketers everywhere. 

"A clear demonstration of how Brand strategy drives a business - about as far away from being a ”logo on the front” as you can be. Brilliant strategic work followed up with category-defining creative. So much for all marketers to learn from this - me included!"- Becky Moffat, HSBC and Judge.

Find out more about The Marketing Society Global 2025 Awards categories in our entry kit - access it here.