The 2017 North America IN2SABRE Awards Shortlist

There were a record number of entries to the Innovation & Insights SABRE Awards competition — which also means it was an exceptionally competitive year. For many categories, narrowing down all the entries for the shortlist was especially challenging. And while lots of excellent work is recognized, some very strong contenders ultimately couldn't make the shortlist.

With that, congratulations to all those who made the shortlist. The winners were announced on the evening of February 16 at the W Hotel in downtown Chicago. The gala followed the 4th Innovation Summit that explored how brands engage, influence and innovate during uncertain times.

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING 

LIVE EVENTS 

DIGITAL PROMOS & ACTIVATIONS
Ball® Canning Helps Consumers Tackle Food 
Ball® Canning with 360PR+

Great Wolf Lodge Splashes into Southern California
Great Wolf Resorts with Allison + Partners 

The Scott® 1000 Road Trip
Scott Brand/Kimberly-Clark with Ketchum

Transformers: Earth Wars Mobile App Launch Party
Hasbro with Rogers & Cowan

WebEx Reaches New Audiences Through Integrated Social Overhaul
Cisco with Golin 

SPONSORSHIPS
Arby's and Andrew "Beef" Johnston 
Arby's with Edelman 

Pandora Jewelry Brings Style to the Center Stage at Coachella
Pandora with Cohn & Wolfe

Samsung @ Sundance 2016
Samsung US with PMK*BNC

Stronger Moms
Procter & Gamble with MMK+

Turtle Wax Drives Millennial Awareness with eSports Partnership
Turtle Wax with Zeno Group

TRADE SHOWS & AWARDS
HP Inc. Dominates the "Olympics of Printing"
HP Inc with Porter Novelli

La French Tech at CES: Entrepreneur Is a French Word
Business France with Havas

Simple Swab, Shorter Stay – Take a Swipe at Antibiotic Resistance
Clorox Healthcare with Ketchum

Whetting Retail Buyers’ Appetites for Rachel Zoe’s Baby Gear Collection for Quinny & Maxi-Cosi
Maxi-Cosi/Quinny with 360PR+

Xerox Services Elevates Healthcare Brand at HIMSS
Xerox Services with Text100 

EARNED MEDIA

DIGITAL AND TRADITIONAL MEDIA - PRINT (Earned)
Area 1 Security Celebrates Good Samaritans, Earns NYT and Hollywood Attention
Area 1 with Bateman Group

Breaking the CES Mold: Introducing A Fitness tracker for seniors, the Lively Wearable
GreatCall with PAN Communications 

Pantone Color of the Year: From Pop Culture Moment to Pop Culture Movement
Pantone with Kwittken 

Redefining NARCAN -- A Life-Saving Medication
Adapt Pharma with Ketchum 

The World's Largest Blind Taste Test
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with Olson Engage 

DIGITAL AND TRADITIONAL MEDIA - BROADCAST (Earned)
Bring Back the Bees
General Mills Canada with Veritas 

Election Insurance
Esurance with MSLGroup Chicago 

Move Your Lee
Lee Jeans with H+K Strategies 

Pantene Dad-Do: Fostering the Next Generation of Strong Women
Pantene with DeVries Global 

Turning a Moment Into a Movement: National Aquarium Dolphin Sanctuary
National Aquarium with Golin 

PRODUCT REVIEWS (Earned)
Building BLOCKS’ Profile
ROLI with Max Borges Agency 

Changing the Face of Beauty, Literally
Milk Makeup with DeVries Global

How the Jitterbug Flip and Smart made headlines in the world of iPhones and Androids
GreatCall with PAN Communications 

Nonni's Foods: 2016 Earned Product Reviews + Sponsorships
Nonni's Foods with Hill + Knowlton Strategies 

Power Never Looked So Stylishly Slim
HP, Inc with Porter Novelli 

EARNED MEDIA WITH  INFLUENCERS + COMMUNITIES (Earned)
Challenge Industry Norms with First Male Spokesperson
COVERGIRL with Marina Maher Communications

Jameson Shakes Up The Influencer Playbook
Pernod Ricard with Ketchum

Launching Jack’s Brewhouse Bacon Burger Wrecklessly
Jack in the Box with MWWPR

Nexon America's LawBreakers
Nexon America with Wonacott Communications

Skylanders Cake Masters
Activision with PMK*BNC

CREATION OF PERSUASIVE CONTENT

Excedrin Presents The Migraine Experience
GSK Excedrin with Weber Shandwick 

An Industry Under Fire Comes Out Swinging
4A’s with Havas

Introducing the “Edge Data Center®”
EdgeConneX® with iMiller Public Relations

Liking’ Our Way to a Cure for Cancer
Qualtrics with Method Communications 

When a Baby Dies
Children's Minnesota with Weber Shandwick 

CONTENT CREATION FOR MEDIA SITES (Earned)
Excedrin Presents The Migraine Experience
GSK Excedrin with Weber Shandwick

The Jim Beam Apple Watch
Jim Beam Apple with Olson Engage 

Make Space for Dried Plums
California Dried Plum Board with Ketchum 

Open-Xchange: Championing Freedom to Build Awareness for an Open Product
Open-Xchange with March Communications 

When a Baby Dies
Children's Minnesota with Weber Shandwick 

DIGITAL NEWSROOMS

Barilla's Listening Room Gives Voice To Entire Category
Barilla with Edelman Chicago 

Escucha® as McDonald's Hispanic Consumer Brand Newsroom
McDonald's USA with Boden PR

P&G Thank You, Mom: Creating Virality to Dominate a Crowded Conversation

SPONSORED & PAID MEDIA

CONTENT CREATION FOR MEDIA SITES (Paid)
Winner: What is Brain Health?
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Community Living with Ogilvy PR

Runner Up: Make Space for Dried Plums
California Dried Plum Board with Ketchum 

INFLUENCER ENDORSEMENTS + PAID/UNPAID PRODUCT PLACEMENT
COVERGIRL Challenge Industry Norms with First Male Spokesperson
COVERGIRL with Marina Maher Communications 

Leveraging Influencer Endorsement Beyond a Tweet and an Interview
Atkins with MWWPR

Leveraging the Power of Celebrity to Help Make Call Of Duty XP A Major Pop Culture Moment
Activision with PMK*BNC

#What The Flush
Niagara Conservation with PadillaCRT

The World's Largest Blind Taste Test
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with Olson Engage 

MEDIA PARTNERSHIP 
Bank of America/USA TODAY Better Money Habits Report
Bank of America with Burson-Marsteller 

Dove Love Your Curls Emojis
Unilever - Dove Hair with Edelman 

Evolving Business Models: The On-Demand Economy and Workforce of the Future Surveys
Burson-Marsteller 

The Huffington Post Spotlights Insight Dialogues
The Rockefeller Foundation with RF Binder

Marvel x Garage
Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media

SEO/CONTENT DISTRIBUTION (PAID + ORGANIC)

Winner: Sony Music Site Now Hits the Right Notes

DIGITAL MARKETING/ADVERTISING

Answering a Mom's Cry for Help
Colief Infant Digestive Aid with RLA Collective 

Conversation 2 Commerce
MSLGroup

Maya Rudolph Comes Clean About Feminine Care with Seventh Generation’s “Vajingle”
Seventh Generation with Allison + Partners, 72andSunny & The Media Kitchen

Turning Consumer Apathy Into Engagement for Florida Orange Juice

SOCIAL MEDIA & COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT

BEST USE OF INTEGRATED SOCIAL MEDIA
Building a Community of Engineers
IEEE with Finn Partners 

Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media + Star Wars Superfans Go Rogue to Launch New Toy Line Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media/The Walt Disney Company

#IHatetheWait
Airlines for America with JDA Frontline

JCPenney Launches One-Stop Shopping Destination for Plus-Size Women
JCPenney with M Booth + VP+C

Unbroken Hearts: Shaping the Interventional Cardiology Story
Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions with Weber Shandwick 

BEST USE OF FACEBOOK, TWITTER OR LINKEDIN
Creating #Cupfusion
The Hershey Company with Ketchum

#IHatetheWait
Airlines for America with JDA Frontline

McDonald’s: All Day Breakfast
McDonald's with Golin 

Tide NFL Draft 2016
Tide/Procter & Gamble with Taylor Strategy

WomanOn by Pfizer
Pfizer with Twist Mktg 

BEST USE OF YOUTUBE, FACEBOOK VIDEO OR VIMEO 

Going Supernova: Achieving #1 in the Doll Category
Moose Toys with MWWPR

K-Y Intense Stimulates Media Conversation
K-Y with Marina Maher Communications

Maya Rudolph Comes Clean About Feminine Care with Seventh Generation’s “Vajingle"
Seventh Generation with Allison + Partners, 72andSunny & The Media Kitchen

Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media + Star Wars Superfans Go Rogue to Launch New Toy Line
Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media/The Walt Disney Company 

The Scott® 1000 Road Trip
Scott Brand/Kimberly Clark with Ketchum 

BEST USE OF TUMBLR, VINE, PINTEREST, SNAPCHAT OR INSTAGRAM

Attracting a New Generation of Scotch Lovers Online
The Macallan with M Booth 

Great Wolf Lodge Splashes into Southern California
Great Wolf Resorts with Allison + Partners 

Hotel Industry First: Tribute Portfolio and Day One Agency Turn Wanderlust Into Social Buzz via Instagram with LIKEtoKNOW.it

Reynolds' Red-Carpet Cookies
Reynolds' Consumer Products with Olson Engage

Tumblr Delivers Massive Impact To Multi-year Pasta Category Effort 
Barilla with Edelman 

BEST USE OF BLOGS

Driving Change with Delo 400
Chevron with Cohn & Wolfe 

Driving Reads into Leads with Get.Grubhub B2B Blog Campaign
Grubhub with Walker Sands

Four Monks Cleaning Vinegar: 2016 A Cleaner For Life Challenge
Four Monks Cleaning Vinegar (Mizkan America) with H+K Strategies 

LinkedIn Engineering Blog
LinkedIn with Bulleit Group

VSL#3: The Journey Back
VSL#3 with RLA Collective 

CROWDSOURCING & CO-CREATING

America's Diabetes Challenge

REAL-TIME ENGAGEMENT
3M Wishes Katherine Johnson a Happy Birthday 
3M with Ketchum 

Attracting a New Generation of Scotch Lovers Online
The Macallan with M Booth

Creating #Cupfusion
The Hershey Company with Ketchum

Logitech Daily Trending Content
Logitech with Praytell 

McDonald's: All Day Breakfast - The People's Launch
McDonald's with Golin 

The Jim Beam Apple Watch
Jim Beam Apple with Olson Engage

Jenkins World is Coming
Cloud Bees with PAN Communications 

Make Space for Dried Plums

GAMIFICATION/USER-GENERATED CONTESTS

Winner: The I'm Feeling Lucky Experience presented by Google Store
Google with FleishmanHillard 

BRAND CONTENT & CREATIVITY
Please include the content that’s being evaluated within your submission.

INTEGRATED BRAND NARRATIVES
Ball® Canning Helps Consumers Tackle Food Waste While Growing Sales
Ball® Canning with 360PR+

Bernzomatic Torch Bearers
Bernzomatic with Zeno Group

Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge SWAP Campaign
Department of Energy with C+C

Guinness Stoutmoji
Diageo - Guinness with Taylor Strategy 

What’s Behind the Yellow Sign?
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) with Allison + Partners 

DIGITAL BRAND PLATFORMS

Honey Maid: Wholesome Button
Honey Maid with Weber Shandwick 

#ImAnEngineer 
Newark Element14 with Walker Sands

Love Your Curls
Unilever - Dove Hair with Edelman

SolarWinds and Text100 Make IT Trendy
SolarWinds with Text100

Wrangler Network
Wrangler with French West Vaughn 

BRAND VIDEOS

Excedrin Presents The Migraine Experience
GSK Excedrin with Weber Shandwick

Flybabies
JetBlue Airways with MullenLowe

The Jim Beam Apple Watch
Jim Beam Apple with Olson Engage

Land O'Lakes Sharing Goodness
Land O'Lakes with Exponent 

Maya Rudolph Comes Clean About Feminine Care with Seventh Generation's "Vajingle"
Seventh Generation with Allison + Partners, 72andSunny & The Media Kitchen

BRAND ANIMATION VIDEOS
Disney Consumer Products and Interactive Media + Star Wars Superfans Go Rogue to Launch New Toy Line
The Walt Disney Company

Showcasing the In-store Digital Experience

ILLUSTRATIONS + PHOTOGRAPHY

Marvel x Garage

AUDIO: PODCASTS + MUSIC

The Deal With Yield
WinField with Exponent PR

Hacks and Flacks: Charting a Path for PR Podcasts with Unfiltered, Engaging Content
March Communications and Hacks & Flacks

You’re going to want to hear this: The Power of Podcasts

IDENTITY BRANDING

Insight Dialogues presented by The Rockefeller Foundation
The Rockefeller Foundation with RF Binder

No Parallels
Magellan Development Group with Henson Consulting 

Meet Swivelfly
Swivelfly with Hotwire 

Peace Corps: Inspiring New Generations
The Peace Corps with Ogilvy PR 

#VoteYourPark: Partners in Preservation 2016
American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation with Day One Agency 

SOCIAL GOOD + PUBLIC SERVICE
Department of Energy’s Better Buildings Challenge SWAP Campaign
U.S. Department of Energy with C+C

Keys to Progress: Helping Veterans In-Need Get Back On The Road
Progressive Insurance with Allison + Partners

Second Chance Champions
Donate Life Ohio and the Ohio Department of Health's Second Chance Trust Fund with Fahlgren Mortine

#VoteYourPark: Partners in Preservation 2016
American Express and the National Trust for Historic Preservation with Day One 

Whirlpool Care Counts Program
Whirlpool with Ketchum

ANALYTICS + INSIGHTS

USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA OR ANALYTICS FOR AUDIENCE INSIGHTS OR INFLUENCER TARGETING

Be Remarkable: Recruiting Physical Therapists in an Understaffed Industry
ATI Physical Therapy with Burson-Marsteller 

Empowering Today’s Digital Marketers with Leading Adobe Reports and Actionable Data
Adobe with Text100

National Infant Immunization Week 2016

ORIGINAL/COMMISSIONED RESEARCH FOR PR

Bank of America: Research, Relationships and Resources for Small Businesses
Bank of America with Burson-Marsteller 

Evolving Business Models: The On-Demand Economy and Workforce of the Future Surveys
Burson-Marsteller 

Micro-tribes and the Future of Marketing
M Booth 

Pet-Friendly Workplace PAWrometer
Banfield Pet Hospital with H+K Strategies 

What’s Behind the Yellow Sign?
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) with Allison + Partners 

MEASUREMENT, POST-CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS

Be the solution
Businessolver with Edelman Chicago 

Real KPIs. Useful Metrics.
AudienceArc

What’s Behind the Yellow Sign?

MARKETING TECHNOLOGY
Cision Communication Cloud
Cision 

Conversation 2 Commerce
MSLGroup

Proof - Computing the Business Impact of Marketing & Communications
Proof 

Squeezing Efficiency From Fresh Data for Florida Citrus
Florida Department of Citrus with Edible, Inc

CEI: Connect. Engage. Influence.
JMRConnect

AGENCY SPOTLIGHT

BEST AGENCY MARKETING
Conversation 2 Commerce
MSLGroup

Cultivating Influence
Shift Communications 

Micro-tribes and the Future of Marketing
M Booth 

Post-Integration: How One Agency Promoted an Evolving Brand, Increased Clients and Attracted New Talent
Racepoint Global 

We See Things Differently
ReviveHealth 

BEST AGENCY DISRUPTION - TOOLS & TACTICS
Conversation 2 Commerce
MSLGroup

How Slack’s AOR runs an email-free PR firm
Rsquared Communication

The Human Project – Methodology, IP and Tools
Zeno Group

Measuring the Impact of Influence: Influence Impact Score Launch
Allison + Partners 

JMRConnect CEI: Shaping Influence Worldwide®

JMRConnect

BEST AGENCY BLOG, EDITORIAL, COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM
Let Go & Lead
Gagen MacDonald

Finsbury Insights
Finsbury 

PMK*BNC Half-Yearly Snapshot Magazine, Summer 2016
PMK*BNC

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA - AGENCY
Winner: Conversation 2 Commerce
MSLGroup

Runner Up: #WSCookieDay - A National Cookie Day Social Campaign
Walker Sands 

BEST LIVE EVENT — AGENCY

2016 SXW2O
The W2O Group

Fahlgren Mortine B2B Peer Summit

SPECIAL CAMPAIGNS

BEST USE OF SOCIAL MEDIA/DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT ACROSS SECTORS

CORPORATE/B2B

Empowering Today’s Digital Marketers with Leading Adobe Reports and Actionable Data
Adobe with Text100

From Storytelling to Storyselling
Hewlett Packard Enterprise with Interfuse Communications 

Simple Swab, Shorter Stay – Take a Swipe at Antibiotic Resistance
Clorox Healthcare with Ketchum

Transitions Optical: Adapting to Younger Eyes
Transitions Optical with Havas

YorktelShare: Employee Engagement, Content Amplification & Single-click Social Advocacy
Yorktel with JMRConnect 

CONSUMER GOODS

Analog by American Greetings
American Greetings with MullenLowe

The Search for #TheNextMrClean
Mr. Clean with Citizen Relations 

#WhatTheFlush
Niagara Conservation with PadillaCRT

Wiener Wars: 7-Eleven Takes Big Bite Out of Rival’s News
7-Eleven with Ketchum

The World's Largest Blind Taste Test
Kraft Macaroni & Cheese with Olson Engage 

HEALTHCARE

Driving Crowd-Sourced Cancer Innovation to Change Lives and Build Leadership: The Astellas Oncology C3 Prize
Astellas Oncology with Spectrum 

Giving Millennials an ‘Eyeful’ on Tumblr to Consider LASIK
Abbott’s Vision Business

Let Doctors Be Doctors
athenahealth with ReviveHealth 

Maya Rudolph Comes Clean About Feminine Care with Seventh Generation’s “Vajingle”
Seventh Generation with Allison + Partners, 72andSunny & The Media Kitchen

Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) 2016
Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) with Ruder Finn 

FINANCIAL SERVICES/INSURANCE
Banking At The Pace Of Life
Fidelity National Information Services (FIS) with Golin

I Was a Teenage Budget Hero

CHARITY/NONPROFIT
Earth To Paris: A Global Movement for Bold Planet Action
UN Foundation with Havas 

#GivingTuesday: The Super Bowl of Philanthropy
92nd Street Y with Havas 

Muscular Dystrophy Association asks Americans to Defy the Impossible and “Live Unlimited"
Muscular Dystrophy Association with RF Binder 

Producing a Global Event for Pope Francis
The Stem for Life Foundation with Allison + Partners 

Victory: Invictus Games Orlando 2016
Invictus Games with H+K Strategies 

GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC AFFAIRS/LOBBYING
Bring Your Brave: Inspiring Courageous Conversations About Breast Cancer Risk
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with Ogilvy Washington 

#OnlyInMN
Explore Minnesota Tourism with Exponent PR

ReThink: Why Housing Matters - Challenging Misperceptions of Public Housing
HAI Group Inc. with Cone 

#ShopMilpitas50 Competition
City of Milpitas with Singer Associates 

Vision Zero
NYC Department of Transportation

TECHNOLOGY
From Prosthetic Kitten Paws to 3D Lunar Landings: Autodesk & The Future of Making Things
Autodesk with M Booth 

Binge Watching to Victory: How to break a world record and launch CyberLink’s PowerDVD to mainstream audiences

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT
The Astellas Way
Astellas America Gagen MacDonald

Building a Culture of Innovation
Emerson with Fahlgren Mortine

Enhancing DuPont's Internal Digital Capabilities to Activate Corporate Storytelling
DuPont with Gagen MacDonald

YorktelShare: Employee Engagement, Content Amplification & Single-click Social Advocacy
Yorktel with JMRConnect 

LEAN MARKETING
America’s Sweatiest Cities by Honeywell Fans

Belize Engages The Stars

MICRO MARKETING

#BeautyrestPets on National Pet Day

NEW TO MARKET
This category recognizes work done to bring new brands, new technology or new products to market. 

NEW COMPANY TO MARKET
All-Digital Launch Of New Hillshire Snacking Brand Packs a Big Bite
Hillshire Snacking with MWWPR

CRC Innovates a “Perfect” Way to See, Shop & Experience Beauty to the US

NEW PRODUCT TO MARKET 
CompTIA Cyber Secure: A Look at Employee Cybersecurity Habits in the Workplace
CompTIA with Walker Sands 

McDonald’s: All Day Breakfast – The People’s Launch
McDonald's with Golin

OMbra: The Women’s Wearable
OMSignal with Inner Circle Labs 

Redefining NARCAN — A Life-Saving Medication
Adapt Pharma with Ketchum

Zebra's Move to Disrupt the Warehouse
Zebra Technologies with Burson-Marsteller 

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE 

MOST INNOVATIVE AGENCY INITIATIVE

Conversation 2 Commerce
MSLGroup

Golin Life Time: Golin Goes All In With Industry-Leading Employee Benefits Program
Golin 

LaunchPad
Ketchum 

Measuring the Impact of Influence: Influence Impact Score Launch
Allison + Partners 

Striving for a Healthy Work/Life Blend at GroundFloor Media
GroundFloor Media 

MOST INNOVATIVE BRAND MARKETING/COMMUNICATIONS TEAM
Winner: Coming Clean with Cottonelle
Kimberly-Clark, Cottonelle

MOST INNOVATIVE BRAND/AGENCY COLLABORATION

Colgate Encourages Consumers to Save Water
Colgate with Cohn Wolfe 

Driving Crowd-Sourced Cancer Innovation to Change Lives and Build Leadership: The Astellas Oncology C3 Prize
Astellas Oncology with Spectrum 

From Prosthetic Kitten Paws to 3D Lunar Landings: Autodesk & The Future of Making Things
Autodesk with M Booth

Negroni Week Delivers Sweet Success for Bittersweet Brand
Campiri America with M Booth 

P&G Thank You, Mom: Creating Virality to Dominate a Crowded Conversation
Procter & Gamble with MMK+

BEST IN SHOW - MOST INNOVATIVE WORK
We will countdown the five most innovative campaigns, selected from the evening's category winners.