NEW YORK — Olson Engage took home eight trophies — included the coveted Best in Show honors — at the Innovation SABRE Awards North America held at the InterContinental Hotel in New York on Tuesday night.

The winners of the night included:

BEST IN SHOW - MOST INNOVATIVE

#1 The One-Chip Challenge 
Paqui with Olson Engage
“The CEO called out this marketing campaign on an earnings call with analysts! In a category with lots of giants this was a way to stand out and resulted in a sales lift.” 


#2 Eclipsing the Eclipse 
Royal Caribbean International with Weber Shandwick
“An iconic and culturally relevant way to bring in younger consumers — with impressive business results to show for the eclipse cruise.”


#3 The Talk” – Creating a National Movement to End “The Talk” and Racial Bias
Procter & Gamble / My Black Is Beautiful with EGAMI Group
“Taps into the unique conversations black parentshave with their children to prepare them for biases — the video brought people into the black parenting experience. Memorable and resonates with cultural and social movements right now.”


#4 Encourage Everyday Connections with Give Meaning
American Greetings with MullenLowe U.S. 
“Beautiful, moving videos use everyday moments to provoke conversation and increase purchase consideration especially for a new generation.” 


#5 Staring Down The Street: State Street’s Fearless Girl
State Street with Ogilvy, River Communications, Water and Wall Group
"It was a zeitgeist moment — it went beyond viral. Incredibly bold move with results that blew me away."

 

EXPERIENTIAL MARKETING

LIVE EVENTS

Eclipsing the Eclipse
Royal Caribbean International with Weber Shandwick

From the judges: “An iconic and culturally relevant way to bring in younger consumers — with impressive business results to show for the eclipse cruise.”


DIGITAL PROMOS & ACTIVATIONS

The One-Chip Challenge
Paqui with Olson Engage

From the judges: “The CEO called out this marketing campaign on an earnings call with analysts! In a category with lots of giants this was a way to stand out and resulted in a sales lift.” 

 

SPONSORSHIPS

Driving Rare Disease Dialogue with a Daytime Drama – VoicesofMPN General Hospital Integration
Incyte with W2O Group

From the judges: “Integrating with General Hospital was a smart and creative way to raise awareness about a rare blood cancer — with an impactful mix of traditional and social media support.”

 

TRADE SHOWS & AWARDS

Women's Health In Bloom
AMAG Pharmaceuticals with Marina Maher Communications

From the judges: “A visually disruptive, three-dimensional branded sculpture of a vulva handcrafted of 16,000 live roses — bold and brave.”

 

EARNED MEDIA

BEST IN DIGITAL/PRINT CONSUMER MEDIA (EARNED)

The One-Chip Challenge
Paqui with Olson Engage

From the judges: “True media exclusive with Mashable earned them handsomely. Media, brand and sales metrics are indicative of innovation and creativity.”

 

BEST IN DIGITAL/PRINT B2B MEDIA (EARNED)

How SAP Ariba Technology is Stomping Out Modern Slavery
SAP Ariba with PAN Communications

From the judges: “Brave — shows how SAP Ariba is going beyond typical CSR and looking to combat human trafficking within supply chains. The Fast Company story sets up the story beautifully and quickly segues into how technology can help solve this.”

 

BEST IN BROADCAST MEDIA (Earned)

A sneak peek inside Microsoft's AI research labs – BBC Newsnight
Microsoft with WE Communications

From the judges: “BBC isn’t an easy media outlet — and I like how they laid out the challenges and then carefully managed each of these throughout the process. The final segment was fantastic coverage.”

 

PRODUCT REVIEWS (Earned)

Pantene Gold Series Launch Initiative
Pantene (P&G) with DeVries Global

From the judges: “Good insight — African American women aren’t interested in Pantene — used to drive a campaign to make ‘beautiful hair’ more inclusive.”

 

BEST EARNED MEDIA WITH INFLUENCERS + COMMUNITIES

Bites at 30,000 Feet 
JetBlue with MullenLowe U.S.

From the judges: “Reached the right influencer with a clever and integrated thinking.”

 

BEST PERSUASIVE CONTENT
“The Talk” – Creating a National Movement to End “The Talk” and Racial Bias
Procter & Gamble / My Black Is Beautiful with EGAMI Group

From the judges: "Depicts the conversations black parents have with their children to prepare them for biases. Moving, memorable and resonates with cultural and social movements right now.”

 

BEST CONTENT CREATION FOR MEDIA SITES (Earned)
Trans102
M.A.C. Cosmetics with Praytell

From the judges: “Smart strategy to move the conversation beyond Caitlyn Jenner — extensive research in the next phase of the video and it pays off with nearly 7m views!”

SPONSORED & PAID MEDIA

BEST CONTENT CREATION FOR MEDIA SITES (Paid)

Fight Dirty
Method with Kovert Creative
From the judges: “Creative use of humor and leveraging a popular comedic celebrity.”

BEST INFLUENCER PROGRAMS + ENDORSEMENTS (Paid)

Creating the Summer of Spritz with Aperol
Campari America with M Booth

From the judges: “Very strategic strategy that positioned Aperol against rose for day drinking — exceptional work that pulled through on strong metrics: awareness, consideration and sales.”

 

BEST MEDIA PARTNERSHIP
Uncharted Waters
Land O'Lakes with Exponent PR 

From the judges: “The effort was such a success that Land O’Lakes has enlisted Exponent PR to take the conversation to the next level.”

 

BEST IN SEO/CONTENT DISTRIBUTION (PAID + ORGANIC)

CloudCraze Digital Commerce ROI Campaign
CloudCraze with Walker Sands

From the judges: “Resulted in 39% increase in traffic and a 78% increase in leads Q3 2016 over Q3 2017.”

BEST IN DIGITAL MARKETING/ADVERTISING

Feeding the World, Acre by Acre
DuPont Crop Protection with Exponent PR

From the judges: “It was a smart and methodological approach to reaching a hard-to-reach audience, tackling a global problem. Results boosted visibility and supported sales.”

 

SOCIAL MEDIA & COMMUNITY MANAGEMENT

BEST USE OF INTEGRATED SOCIAL MEDIA

Arla’s 12 Days of Grilled Cheese
Arla with Carmichael Lynch Relate

From the judges: “Who doesn't love grilled cheese? They got that. Excellent sales lift and partnerships. Fired on all cylinders — execution, strategy.”

 

BEST USE OF SOCIAL NETWORKS

Adobe Make It On Mobile
Adobe with Golin

From the judges: “The goal of collaborating influencers with the community was an astonishing success — original goal of 60 pieces of branded content was surpassed by 112%.”

 

BEST USE OF VIDEO NETWORKS

EnLIVEning the Conversation: Creating New Pathways for the MS Patient
Teva Neuroscience with Rx Mosaic Health

From the judges: “This was the first use of Facebook Live to show a patient living with this disease — an inventive way to solve the need patients have to connect.” 

 

BEST IN REAL-TIME ENGAGEMENT

The Debate Headache
GSK Consumer Healthcare, Excedrin with Weber Shandwick

From the judges: “Brave — Excedrin didn’t need to wade into politics but found a strategic entry. The move paid off with 10% sales lift from previous year.”

 

BEST MEME/VIRAL CAMPAIGN

Staring Down The Street: State Street’s Fearless Girl
State Street with Ogilvy, River Communications, Water and Wall Group

From the judges: "It was a zeitgeist moment — it went beyond viral. Incredibly bold move with results that blew me away."

 

BEST USE OF GAMIFICATION/USER-GENERATED CONTESTS

Catelli 150th Family Reunion Contest
Catelli Pasta with Environics Communications

From the judges: “Impressive how the contest succeeded in tapping into a human emotion and the community responded with 4,580 entries.”

 

BEST IN CROWDSOURCING & CO-CREATING

Writing Pimax Into The Record Books (Winner)
Pimax with Dynamo Communications

 

BEST USE OF PHOTO NETWORKS
Queso Cup
Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency

From the judges: “The Queso Cup became the most engaged Instagram campaign in Chipotle’s history.”

 

BEST USE OF BLOGS

‘Great American Eclipse’ Flight (Winner)
Alaska Airlines with C+C

 

BRAND CONTENT & CREATIVITY

BEST IN BRAND NARRATIVES

“The Talk” – Creating a National Movement to End “The Talk” and Racial Bias
Procter & Gamble / My Black Is Beautiful with EGAMI Group

From the judges: “Powerful, moving narrative that extends P&G narrative as a cause-driven conglomerate on the back of #LikeAGirl, #SharetheLoad.”


BEST IN DIGITAL BRAND PLATFORMS

Microsoft Story Labs
Microsoft

From the judges: "Fantastic variety of communication styles — dynamic and compelling stories on sometimes dry topics."

 

BEST IN BRAND FILM/VIDEO

Encourage Everyday Connections with Give Meaning
American Greetings with MullenLowe U.S.

From the judges: “Beautiful, moving videos use everyday moments to provoke conversation and increase purchase consideration especially for a new generation.”

 

BEST IN BRAND ANIMATION VIDEOS

Invest Like a Feminist
Pax World Management with RF Binder

From the judges: “Effectively evokes the challenges women face in gender pay equality, corporate leadership and basic human rights globally.”

 

BEST USE OF ILLUSTRATIONS + PHOTOGRAPHY

All Pink Starburst
Starburst with Olson Engage

From the judges: “Pop-worthy imagery in a campaign where social media images led the design.”

 

BEST IN AUDIO: PODCASTS + MUSIC

T.R.I.P. Through The Multiverse
The Lights Out + Aeronaut Brewing Co. with Adam Ritchie Brand Direction

From the judges: “Creative integration of music, design, beer and a studio album — they released an album on a beer can!” 

 

BEST IN IDENTITY BRANDING

Meet the Elevators
Elevate Minnesota with Olson Engage

From the judges: “Campaign led directly to positive awareness — with the numbers to prove it. Design reflects the brand ethos.”

 

BEST IN SOCIAL GOOD + PUBLIC SERVICE

Staring Down The Street: State Street’s Fearless Girl
State Street with Ogilvy, River Communications, Water and Wall Group

From the judges: “This was especially powerful in a year when being a woman was both challenging and empowering. It created a guideline for having women on boards — and resulted in other organizations asking how to do that.”

 

ANALYTICS + INSIGHTS

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

J&J Takes Over #JPM17
Johnson & Johnson (J&J) with Marina Maher Communications (MMC) 

From the judges: “This smartly took insights that have been traditionally reserved for B2C into a B2B environment with a deep understanding of who the stakeholders were and developing strategic content to reach them at the right time. The results showed a significant increase in performance.”

 

BEST USE OF ORIGINAL/COMMISSIONED RESEARCH FOR ENGAGEMENT
Jameson Gives Promising Musicians A Shot
Pernod Ricard USA / Jameson Irish Whiskey with Ketchum

From the judges: “Liked how it was cause-based with good follow-through with the event.”

 

BEST IN MEASUREMENT, POST-CAMPAIGN ANALYSIS
Bringing a New Generation of Campers to KOA
Kampgrounds of America (KOA) with Allison + Partners

From the judges: “Robust and insightful metrics following a highly-targeted campaign to update consumer perceptions around camping.” 

 

BEST IN MARKETING TECHNOLOGY
W2O Socialgraphics
W2O Group 

From the judges: “Impressively identifies groups of individuals who self-select into highly-specific ‘media ecosystems’ to develop highly relevant content.”

 

AGENCY SPOTLIGHT

BEST AGENCY MARKETING
Protecting and Predicting Against Reputation Risk in Real Time
Weber Shandwick

From the judges: “Relevant and timely to help companies navigate this era of activism and uncertainty — it would make me hire Weber Shandwick.”

 

BEST AGENCY DISRUPTION - TOOLS & TACTICS

Just Drive Media
From the judges: “Case studies demonstrated true business value.”

 

BEST AGENCY BLOG, EDITORIAL, COMMUNICATIONS PLATFORM

Introducing the Periodic Table of Business Storytelling Microsite
The Hoffman Agency

From the judges: “Built a platform that serves as a resource for the communications industry — professionals and students, while also bringing differentiation among prospects and clients.”

 

BEST INITIATIVE — AGENCY

Driving Thought Leadership Among Emerging Leaders
W2O Group

From the judges: “Inspiring future-looking program.”

 

BEST LIVE/DIGITAL EVENT — AGENCY

#PrepareToProtect Healthcare Share Events
Weber Shandwick

From the judges: “Interactive crisis scenario provides real value to clients.”

 

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE —  AGENCY PROFESSIONAL
Rebecca Reeve, R Squared

 

SPECIAL CAMPAIGNS

BEST USE OF SOCIAL AND DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT ACROSS SECTORS

CORPORATE/B2B
The Wolf with Christian Slater
HP, Inc.

From the judges: “A series focused on the dangers of unsecured printing, starring Christian Slater required a thoughtful and complex strategy that resulted in impressive purchase intent.”

 

CONSUMER GOODS
Nuggs for Carter
Wendy's with Ketchum

From the judges: “The tone nailed it — quick proactive, quick-thinking approach drove exactly the conversation Wendy’s needed.”

 

CRISIS MANAGEMENT
For Two-plus Years ASE Thought the Storm Would Blow Over. It Didn't.
ASE Group with the Hoffman Agency

 

EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

How innovative communications impact business transformation    
Bristol-Myers Squibb with Gagen MacDonald

 

HEALTHCARE
Be Vocal: Speak Up for Mental Health
Sunovion Pharmaceuticals with Biosector 2

 

From the judges: “Powerful videos that take a brave look at mental health —  both the struggles and the power of hope and recovery.”

 

FINANCIAL SERVICES/INSURANCE

“Official Card of Sounders FC Fans” Campaign
BECU with C+C

From the judges: “Not only was the idea smart and creative — the end result was 52,000+ credit card signups, that’s very difficult to pull off.”

SOCIAL GOOD/NON-PROFIT

Sister March: Building A Movement
Sister March with InkHouse

From the judges: “By January 21, there was at least one march in every U.S. state, many U.S. territories, and on ALL seven continents.”

GOVERNMENT/PUBLIC AFFAIRS/LOBBYING

Meet the Elevators
Elevate Minnesota with Olson Engage

From the judges: “Campaign led directly to positive awareness — with the numbers to prove it. Rebrand reflects the brand ethos.”

 

TECHNOLOGY

Writing Pimax Into The Record Books
Pimax with Dynamo Communications

From the judges: “Liked how they laid out the very real challenges — and was able to get get a much bigger competitor to notice.” 

 

LEAN MARKETING
Writing Pimax Into The Record Books
Pimax with Dynamo Communications

From the judges: “Liked how they laid out the very real challenges — and was able to get get a much bigger competitor to notice.” 

 

MICRO MARKETING

Hinge Milestone Marketplace
Hinge with SourceCode Communications

From the judges: “A clever, affordable campaign that led to downloads in the crowded dating app space.”

 

NEW TO MARKET

BEST NEW COMPANY LAUNCH

The One-Chip Challenge
Paqui with Olson Engage

From the judges: “The CEO called out this marketing campaign on an earnings call with analysts! In a category with lots of giants this was a way to stand out and resulted in a sales lift.”

 

BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH

The One-Chip Challenge
Paqui with Olson Engage

From the judges: “The launch strategy drove the product design — and led to a relatively small player taking on some giants in a memorable and impactful way.”

 

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE

MOST INNOVATIVE PROJECT - UNIVERSITY/COLLEGE LEVEL

#PRDiversity: The Struggle is Real
The City College of New York ( CCNY), the Branding + Integrated Communications program ( BIC)

 

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE — BRAND PROFESSIONAL

Franz Paasche, PayPal

 

INNOVATION EXCELLENCE — INDUSTRY DISRUPTER

Antonio Lucio, HP