PerformanceIN catches up with PMA victors in the wake of the industry’s tenth annual award ceremony. The Grand Prix category was sponsored by Facebook.
The Grand Prix category in the Performance Marketing Awards is perhaps the ultimate accolade a company can receive for their marketing efforts.
No light decision for the PMA judging panel, it seeks to recognise just one single campaign that has stood shoulders among the worthy competition within any facet of performance marketing. It’s certainly no small feat to be awarded this category.
This year that title was handed to media agency MEC for its Summer 4G campaign for Vodafone, winning the Grand Prix for a partnership dubbed “exceptional” by the board of industry experts judging.
Driving visits
Built alongside data and intelligence platform Qriously, MEC’s out-of-home campaign for Vodafone centred around geo-targeting the carrier’s mobile devices, and encouraging users to visit and make specific actions on Vodafone’s website. A combination of innovative planning and clever media activation led to an additional half a million qualified visits.
The judging panel was particularly impressed with the blend of online and offline advertising, as well as consistency in “aligning creative with context”, which culminated in a truly special campaign; and a standout winner for the PMAs.
Additionally, judges highlighted the mindset of “all round best practice” among the participating partners, at the bedrock of the campaign’s success, and an integrated approach from start to finish.
“We have been able to bring what were traditionally isolated channels together, and demonstrate the true value of a collaborative omni-channel strategy,” said Guy Vernon, MEC’s global, performance display & social manager.
“The foundations of this campaign will put us in good stead to continue striving for the best and most innovative solutions for Vodafone; and in turn allow these awards to be the first of many,” he added.
Steadfast success
MEC’s campaign with Vodafone also snagged the agency Best in Mobile. While its work with holiday company Butlins earned it the top prize within the Best Use of Video and Best in Travel & Leisure. Vernon called the final Grand Prix win a “fantastic conclusion” to both the night itself and what had been months of dedicated planning and hard work from the agency.
Championing a category which seeks only the best efforts in performance marketing, MEC’s achievements highlighted the prowess of technological partnerships between today’s advertisers and agencies, and the fruit they can bear when underlined by strong and clear objectives from inception.
Demonstrating how diverse this category can be, last year’s Grand Prix award was delivered to content marketing agency 8 Million Stories for a campaign which ramped up brand awareness of designer fashion boutique Farfetch.
The campaign led to a significant rise in organic sessions and revenue, exemplifying the power of blogger outreach.