It's been tough, but we've finally whittled down our shortlist for this year's Excellence Awards.
Competition was fierce and sparked intense debate amongst our panel of judges. So... are you one of the chosen few?
If you did make our shortlist, congratulations. If not, take heart that you probably missed out by a narrow margin. There is always next year.
The journey doesn't end here, however. Please join us for the Awards night on Wednesday 15 June at The Royal Artillery Gardens, HAC. Guests will enjoy a sparkling wine and Pimms reception, a three course dinner with drinks throughout the evening, a witty host, after dinner entertainment and, most importantly, the opportunity to celebrate with colleagues, clients and friends.
Our shortlist
Connecting with Customers
Customer Insight
Avios - This time it’s personal (Agency: 101 London)
Direct Line - The Fixer
EDF Energy - Normalising nuclear energy
Pot Noodle - Success doesn’t come on a plate (Agency: Lucky Generals)
Telefónica O2 - Personalisation
Trinity Mirror - Trinity Mirror’s Modal Britain, the new modern mass market
Building Customer Relationships
B&Q - The power of loyalty through change
Shell Driver’s Club/Clubsmart (Agency: Wunderman UK)
Stagecoach Group - Stagecoach: building a world-class travel platform (Rufus Leonard)
Telefónica O2 - Pro-active resign
Wyevale Garden Centres - The Garden Club (Agency: WDMP)
Wagamama - Building customer relationships the Japanese way: How continuous improvement helped step change wagamama’s performance (Agency: 101 London)
Communicating Brilliantly
Effective Marketing Communications
Curry’s PC World - Spare the act (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Direct Line - The Fixer
The Electoral Commission (Agency: MullenLowe London)
McDonald’s Overnight - McDonald’s (Agency: Leo Burnett London)
M&S Food - Adventures in growth (Agency: RKCR/Y&R)
NHS Blood and Transplant - Missing type (Agency: Engine)
Marketing on a Shoestring
Amnesty International - How Amnesty International took on the UK Government, and won (VCCP)
Microloan Foundation - Reimagining the value exchange (Agency: MullenLowe London)
MOBO - Tackling diversity on a shoestring (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Branded Content
Absolut Vodka - Silverpoint for Absolut Vodka (Agency: Somethin’ Else)
BT Sport - The new home of the UEFA Champion’s League (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Game - Why building a content brand is better than creating branded content (Agency: 101 London)
Green Flag - Harnessing branded content to shake up the breakdown assistance industry
Pepsi Max - Making Pepsi Max the choice of a new generation once again (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Sainsbury’s - Christmas is for sharing (Agency: AMVBBDO)
WGSN - WGSN influence strategy
Brand Activation
EasyJet - Engaging a generation (Agency: VCCP)
John Lewis - Man on the moon (Agency: adam&eveDDB)
Lotto - Activating the nation’s game (Agency: AMVBBDO)
McDonald’s - McDonald’s Happy Readers (Agency: The Marketing Store)
Sainsbury’s - Christmas is for sharing (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Telefónica O2 - How O2 won the rugby cup (Agency: VCCP)
Mobilising the Organisation
Employee Engagement
Barclays - The Barclays Brand Agent Programme (Agency: Redwood)
OxfordSM - Becoming a truly values-led organisation (Agency: OxfordSM)
RBS - How we were determined to make a difference (Agency: The Team Brand Communication Consultants)
Telefónica O2 - Rally Cry
Building Marketing Capabilities
Britvic - WOWme – Britvic way of working for marketing excellence
Direct Line - Transforming a team and a business
M&S - An adventure in building marketing capabilities (Agency: Brand Learning)
NEXTGEN - Squared Online developed with Google: The NEXTGEN story (Agency: Squared Online)
Seafish - Using marketing excellence to hook in success
Smart Energy GB - Creating a best in class marketing department from scratch (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Making a Difference
Cause Related Marketing
Aviva - Aviva community fund
John Lewis and Age UK (Agency: adam&eveDDB)
Sainsbury’s - Christmas is for sharing (AMVBBDO)
Telefónica O2 - GoThinkBig
Waterstones and Oxfam - Buy books for Syria
Not for Profit Marketing
NHS Blood and Transplant - Bleed for England (Pablo)
The Prince’s Trust - Learn the hard way (Agency: CHI&Partners)
Refuge - #givethemrefuge (Agency: BBH)
The Royal British Legion - How the Royal British Legion used Live On to fuse remembrance and recovery (Agency: RKCR/Y&R)
Sport England - This Girl Can (Agency: FBC Inferno)
Building Powerful Brands
New Brand
Change please – A new coffee brand to tackle homelessness (Agency: FCB Inferno)
Qazaq Air (Agency: The Gate London)
Smart Energy GB - A smart new brand for Britain’s smart meter rollout (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Vitality Health Insurance - Energising insurance (Agency: Big Eyes London)
Brand Extension
Hive and British Gas (Agency: CHI&Partners)
John Lewis Insurance (Agency: adam&eveDDB)
McDonald’s - McDonald’s Overnight (Agency: Leo Burnett London)
Müllerlight Goodies - Müllerlight
Volvo LifePaint – “…or by...” How two little words sparked a revolutionary campaign (Agency: Grey London)
Weetabix - Weetabix on the go
Brand Revitalisation
Direct Line - The Fixer
Lotto – Revitalising the nation’s game (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Orangina - Shaking up Orangina, awakening an icon (Agency: Grey)
Pot Noodle - Success doesn’t come on a plate (Agency: Lucky Generals)
The Royal British Legion- How the Royal British Legion used Live On to fuse remembrance and recovery (Agency: RKCR/Y&R)
Stork – Rising to the occasion (Agency: Unilever BCS)
Global Marketing
P&G Always - #Likeagirl (Agency: Leo Burnett London)
5 Gum - Truth or dare (Agency: Energy BBDO)
AIG - AIG and The All Blacks (Agency: Octagon)
McDonald’s - McDonald’s Happy Studio (Agency: R/GA London)
Snickers - Thinking like an entertainment franchise (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Business to Business Marketing
Accenture - Creating a disruptive digital platform to showcase the best of Accenture
HM Government - Exporting is GREAT (Agency: Engine)
Heineken - Heineken’s ‘our shout’ (Agency: whynot!)
Royal Mail - Mailmen (Agency: Chemistry)
Thunderhead - The Thunderhead: kicking up a storm across the unadventurous software landscape
Long Term Marketing Excellence
Department of Transport - How think! Thought differently (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Guinness - Made of more (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Mothercare - My local Mothercare (Agency: RAPP)
Sensodyne - How marketing created a billion-dollar brand (Agency: Grey London)
Telefónica O2 - Long Term Marketing Excellence: O2 (Agency: VCCP)
Trelleborg - Measurable marketing quality (Agency: STEIN IAS)
Purpose Beyond Profit
P&G Always - #Likeagirl (Agency: Leo Burnett London)
Sainsbury’s - Christmas is for sharing (Agency: AMVBBDO)
Telefónica O2 - GoThinkBig
Volvo LifePaint – “...or by...” How two little words sparked a revolutionary campaign (Agency: Grey London)
For more information about our Excellence Awards, please visit our Awards website.