Jägermeister and Porsche among the winners at The Drum Awards for Content 2020
2020 has been an explosive year for content marketing as it proved an indispensable way for many brands to stay connected with their audiences at a time when digital is the only way to speak with them.
Twitch and Porsche, winners at this year‘s content awards.
And so it’s only fair that those who have battled through the last year receive the recognition they deserve, but let’s also look back at some of the best content marketing from the days before the new normal.
We are pleased to announce that the 2020 winners of The Drum Awards for Content have been revealed, and that among the victorious brands are the likes of WestJet, Supercell, Euronews, Daily FX, KPMG, the National Deaf Children's Society, Embraer, Porsche, Unilever, Joico Sweden, BT Sport, Jägermeister, Essity and Castello.
The virtual awards ceremony took place on Tuesday 10 November, but you can catch up on the show below.
Taking home the coveted Grand Prix was Eskimosoup for its work with Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside. The Chair’s Award – chosen by our head juror, Arjoon Bose of General Mills – meanwhile went to Engine for its work with Jägermeister.
You can check out some of the award-winning work below.
Grand Prix and Best Public Sector or Government Content Marketing Strategy
Agency: Eskimosoup
Client: Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner for Humberside
Campaign: Not in Our Community: Alfie’s Story
Alfie’s Story was a series of short films with the purpose of shining a light on what is really happening to challenge attitudes and behaviours within a community experiencing child criminal exploitation.
Developed as part of the Not In Our Community programme, Alfie’s Story adopted creative methods of community engagement, including enlisting the help of local film star, as well as been published interactively through Instagram, YouTube and with cast Q&A sessions at community screenings.
Over the course of 16 months, this series educated young people on how to avoid criminal exploitation, as well as achieving recognition from the National Crime Agency and Public Health England. It captivated an audience of millions, with over 270,000 hours watch time, and ultimately achieved impact beyond its limited budget.
What the jury said: “We were really impressed with the execution of this campaign, the use of hyper-local content, the extent of the audience reached and the tangible real-world impact that it had.“
Chair Award, Best Branded Content Campaign and Most Innovative or Creative Use of Content
Agency: Engine
Client: Jägermeister
Campaign: #savethenight
When the pandemic closed down nightlife, it put the livelihoods of millions across the globe under threat, while also stalling the social lives of millions more. Jägermeister knew it had to react fast. Along with Engine, it launched ‘Meister Drop-Ins’ – a unique, digital talent booking service created to connect the brand’s network of 200 talented artists and performers (aka Meisters) with house-bound, entertainment-hungry consumers who were organising virtual hangouts with their mates on platforms like Zoom, Skype, Teams and Houseparty.
The platform has been adopted by 25 markets, hosted over 750 hours of live content and payed €800k to Meisters, plus thousands more in tips.
What the jury said: “We felt that this campaign really understood the pandemic and was a smart pivot that provided great support for Jägermeister’s community in unprecedented times. It brought together a varied mix of engaging stories from a cast of interesting nightlife characters. The execution was fun, uplifting and useful, which is needed during this Covid-19 period. It also had an actual dollar contribution towards to the creators/local businesses, so it was a great example of creative effectiveness too.“
Best New Product or Publication Launch and Best Automotive or Transport Content Marketing Strategy/Campaign
Agency: Twitch
Client: Porsche
Campaign: Formula E Unlocked
To launch its new electric vehicle – the Porsche 99X Electric Formula E race car – Porsche wanted something different; to engage a brand new, hard to reach audience. To achieve this, the brand needed to move away from traditional launches.
Porsche reached out to Twitch, which ran wild with the idea, turning the car launch into a custom, live, interactive game play ad. Instead of a simple video, Twitch turned the reveal into a live-action video game entirely controlled by the viewers. This was not passive storytelling. This was an immersive, viewer-led, community-driven product launch.
What the jury said: “This campaign was an excellent example of a strong idea working in tandem with platform innovation. Twitch was a bold and brave choice of medium, and the campaign really understood the audience on the platform and their motivations.“
Best Creative Content Idea Using Video
Agency: Tastemade
Client: Castello
Campaign: Tastemade & Castello Global Partnership
Tastemade teamed up with Mother London for a bold international campaign that supplemented traditional advertising with native storytelling in a bid to make a strong impact with a global audience in a disruptive, cost-efficient way.
Castello Cheese was looking to amplify its brand equity and awareness, and by working with Tastemade, it developed a bespoke episodic series that championed it as the brand that delivers a more sensational product.
Tastemade delivered that content natively on its social platforms in six markets around the world, generating record-breaking performance results in performance metrics and brand uplift.
What the jury said: “We unanimously loved this. It is simply a great example of creative content using video, and the quality is outstanding. It is different, arresting and balances interesting branded content with a slightly academic approach, which sets it apart. The multiple layers of content provide a rich and immersive experience and present a number of fascinating user journeys. We had no idea that there was such a thing as a food anthropologist! It also made us want to go out and buy some Castello!“
Best Interactive Entertainment Content Marketing Strategy/Campaign
Agency: Waste Creative
Client: Supercell
Campaign: King of Clash: Waste x Supercell
To celebrate the eighth birthday of Clash of Clans, Supercell and Waste Creative brought together content creators and some cutting-edge motion capture technology, developed by production partner Psyop for a campaign which resulted in over 1m views in just over a week.
Working with Supercell and Psyop, which brought the mocap to life, it was a staggering effort over four time zones, with everything taking place over Zoom. The end result is a first for the tech and a great piece of content for the community.
What the jury said: “The team pulled off a very engaging piece of content with really high production values, mixing live-action and motion graphics and pulling it all together remotely in the middle of the Covid pandemic.“
For a full rundown of all the winners, visit The Drum Awards for Content website. Partners of the awards are BCMA and Winmo