The ANA is launching an awards program honoring in-house marketing teams to recognize and celebrate the impact their work has on their companies and brands.
The ANA In-House Excellence Awards will feature nine categories that will showcase the most creative, strategic, and growth-driving marketing and advertising campaigns created by an in-house agency team or department. Any marketing asset or project created to promote a company’s brand, product, or service that ran at any time in 2020 is eligible to enter the competition.
“The days when in-house teams are only tapped for quick and inexpensive work are long gone,” said ANA CEO Bob Liodice. “Today’s in-house teams lead creative and media strategy, produce broadcast-quality commercials, and drive business results for their brands. It is time they are recognized for the great, substantive work they’re doing.”
The competition is open to anyone working as part of an internal team, whether within a client-side marketer, retailer, media company, nonprofit, or educational institution. Both ANA members and nonmembers can participate.
Categories
The In-House Excellence Award categories are:
- Branded Content: Original content created to support the marketing strategy of a brand that engaged, entertained, or informed a target audience. Any creative content not viewed as “advertising” is eligible.
- Experiential: Efforts that engaged with a target audience either live/in-person or via a virtual/on-demand experience.
- Integrated Campaign: Campaigns that utilized three or more distinct media channels to engage a target audience with a single unified theme or message.
- Internal Communications: Communication initiatives in any creative format that engaged and informed employees and provided understanding of a company’s vision, goals, values, work culture, and/or D&I initiatives.
- Social Media: Best use of social media to achieve a brand or company’s marketing objectives.
- Socially Responsible: All types of creative that directly address current social issues.
- Best Collaborative Effort: A showcase for the best and most successful collaborative efforts involving in-house teams and their external agencies.
- Best Media Thinking: Best formula for when, where, and how a target audience receives a creative message. This category will showcase in-house media teams that developed the best mix of media for reaching their target audience.
- Significant Results: Entries in this category will need to demonstrate with facts and figures the effectiveness of their work and its positive contribution to building a brand and expanding a business.
The event culminates with the Best in Show announcement, honoring the overall best entry chosen from the category winners.
Judging
A jury of leading marketers and agencies will review and score entries, with strategy, creative execution, and results being given equal weight.
The Significant Results category will give results 50 percent weight, with strategy and creative execution given 25 percent each.
One winner and up to two finalists will be recognized in each category. The program will accept entries from now through June 18. Winners will be announced at a virtual awards celebration on September 21, which will culminate with a “Best in Show” award winner honoring the single overall best entry.
Additional information and entry forms for the competition can be accessed here.
