The Data-Driven Insights category is once again a dizzying array of technologies, techniques and innovative thinking, which are being used to transform the experience of advertising and marketing for our clients and, more importantly, the consumer. The entries this year demonstrate that we have moved beyond business-as-usual dynamic programmatic campaigns into AI-enhanced and optimised programmes, and transformative approaches to combining brand and consumer demands. It is the data-driven insight that enables our agencies to find that sweet spot that delivers a meaningful interaction between brands and their consumers.
Some of the Winners and Highly Commended entries demonstrated scalable approaches to common challenges; approaches that promise to transform the industry. Others showed a uniquely innovative approach to a specific client challenge. Some winners developed a strategic approach for industry wide creative optimisation, or a brand new approach to the categorisation and use of cognitive and personality styles. Other winners found new ways to apply DNA data, for example to enrich the experience of football fans, or to quantify the cost of sexist attitudes. Such extraordinary variety of innovation makes it difficult to single out individual entries.
As a result, we were unable to choose a single Crème de la Crème winner and have selected two: Most Undisruptive Radio Ads and Monty’s Cricket Warnings. Both used data to identify a key insight about the needs or desires of consumers, and then applied data in remarkable ways to activate campaigns based on those specific insights. These winners both balanced brand and consumer needs to create genuinely unique experiences that drove impressive, quantifiable results. It was impossible to choose between them so we are celebrating the brilliance of both.