MMA SMARTIES honoured the most innovative and effective modern marketing campaigns that ran across the Middle East and North Africa region during 2020 at the Virtual Ceremony held after the inspiring MMA MENA Creativity Unplugged Event. The event featured “Best Cases of MENA” session held by Abdullah Ghandour, Digital Communications Manager of Etisalat, Banali Malhotra, Marketing Director of RAKBANK and Samer Chebab, Regional Head of Social Media, Mindshare MENA, who raised the SMARTIES Trophy in 2019 with their winning campaigns and guided the attendees through their winning campaigns and results right before the MMA MENA SMARTIES Virtual Awards Ceremony.
MMA MENA Creativity Unplugged 2021 Brought Together Marketing Thought Leaders, Tech Experts and Researchers
The half-day event hosted MENA thought leaders from leading brands of the marketing ecosystem. Marc De Swaan Arons, Founder at the Institute for Real Growth, made a striking introduction about the new profile of ‘’The da Vinci Growth CMO’’ for the event opening. ‘’The Art of Storytelling in the Mobile Age’’ session held by Ali Conker, Migros and Faheem Saiyad from Storyly, enlightened the attendees about the ways of turning storytelling into mobile experiences.
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When it comes to creativity, TikTok has become the first social media platform that comes to mind in this Digital Era. At the TikTok panel, Sami Moutran, Senior Director Business Marketing and Communications, METAP, TikTok expressed their achieved goal of unleashing creativity in today’s user. The session is followed by ‘’The Ramadan Creative Playbook’’ panel where Ahmed Younis A.K.A fizo, Creative Shop Lead, Facebook, MENA shared valuable tips to help brands create Ramadan magic and unlock new growth opportunities before, during and after Ramadan. One of the remarkable sessions of the event was the ‘’IDFA ios 14 Mena Landscape’’ Panel led by subject matter experts: Cihan Ozturk, Product Sales Lead, App, Criteo, Alex Ritchie, Product Manager, Privacy and Data, AdColony, Utkarsh Sinha, Head of Product Marketing, InMobi as they discussed one of today’s hottest topics on data driven advertising.
Record Number of Case Submissions in 2020 Compared to Previous Years!
The aspect that sets this year’s SMARTIES Awards apart from the previous years is the newly added themes considering the events affecting the world such as Covid-19 and Social Responsibility under the main category called ‘’Business Unusual 2020’’ Despite uncertain times, in 2020, there were twice as more campaigns submitted to take the coveted SMARTIES trophy home compared to last year. The esteemed jury consisted of marketing thought leaders from MENA, voted to choose MMA MENA SMARTIES 2020’s winning campaigns after a long and dedicated process of evaluation among more than a hundred submissions.
While Gold, Silver and Bronze SMARTIES were presented to their owners at the Virtual Award Ceremony, The most successful Media Agency, Technology Enabler, Ad Network, Advertiser and Best in-show Case of SMARTIES MENA 2020 have been honoured by receiving The Industry Awards.
INDUSTRY AWARDS
MEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR IS: MAGNA
TECHNOLOGY ENABLER OF THE YEAR IS: INMOBI
AD NETWORK OF THE YEAR IS: ADCOLONY
ADVERTISER OF THE YEAR IS: RAKBANK
BEST IN SHOW: SNICKERS HUNGER SUPPORT CAMPAIGN – SNICKERS | MARS | InMobi | MediaCom UAE & Xaxis UAE
We are truly delighted with these wins and honored to become Advertiser of the Year especially in such challenging times. This year our campaigns demonstrated a union of art and science. Not only did we leverage emerging mobile tech in neuroscience, machine learning & predictive modelling, we also embraced social good & human experiences. We value the relationships with our agencies, media & data partners who enable us to constantly innovate” says Banali Malhotra – director marketing at RAKBANK.
AdColony’s general manager, Brand EMEA & LATAM Warrick Billingham said, “We are very happy and proud with these awards. This is once again the biggest proof of what we can provide to our clients and how we can achieve exceptional results for them. With our dedicated team, we will continue to grow and push the boundaries with the undeniable power of the mobile games and engaging executions of AdColony”.
“2020 was a year unlike anything any of us have ever experienced before, featuring unique challenges that drove us to innovate on new solutions, dig deep into our creative reserves and forge still tighter bonds with our clients,” said Andy Powell, VP and Managing Director, EMEA at InMobi. “It’s quite rewarding to see that close collaboration with our agency partners, innovative spirit and creativity being acknowledged by the MMA. We thank the judges and salute the inspiring competition from other brands, agencies and technology providers across the region.”
Here are the MMA MENA SMARTIES 2020 Winners Based on Categories:
MARKETING OBJECTIVE
Brand Awareness:
- Memotraits – AI Brings Memories to Life FOR RAKBANK, Pixelplus Media – GOLD
- Dubai Properties La Vie // MENA // AdColony FOR Dubai Properties, Dubai Holding Group, AdColony, Magna, AdColony – GOLD
- Vodafone Qatar 5G Launch Campaign – Red Velvet and Stop the Clock FOR Vodafone Qatar, InMobi, Wavemaker Qatar – SILVER
- KitKat Core FOR KitKat, Nestle, AdColony, Zenith MENA – SILVER
- PlayStation / Marvel Iron Man VR // MENA // AdColony FOR PlayStation, Sony Interactive Entertainment, AdColony, MediaCom – BRONZE
- Whiskas // MENA // AdColony FOR Whiskas, Mars Group, AdColony, Mediacom – BRONZE
Lead Generation / Direct Response / Conversions:
- FCA FOR Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Apex Exchange, Publicis Group, Yazle – GOLD
- Prediction Meets Tradition- Striking Gold with Machine Learning FOR RAKBANK, UM, Airpush –SILVER
- Euphoria Moments FOR RAKBANK, Silverpush – SILVER
- Lux – Device ID FOR Lux / Unilever, Magna, Lifesight – BRONZE
- stc pay Stay at Home Campaign FOR stc pay, STC, InMobi, UM Saudi Arabia – BRONZE
Product /Services Launch:
- PlayStation / Marvel Iron Man VR // MENA // AdColony FOR PlayStation, Sony Interactive Entertainment, AdColony, MediaCom – GOLD
- CONVERTSATIONS- Kickstarting new SMEs amidst the Pandemic FOR RAKBANK, UM, Project Agora – GOLD
- McDonald’s Taskeeta // MENA // AdColony FOR McDonald’s KSA, McDonald’s Corporation, AdColony, Abdel Kader Khereiji & Parters // Targets – SILVER
- Vodafone Qatar 5G Launch Campaign – Red Velvet and Stop the Clock FOR Vodafone Qatar, InMobi, Wavemaker Qatar – SILVER
- Dettol Shower Gel // MENA // AdColony FOR Dettol, Reckitt Benckiser, AdColony, Universal McCann – BRONZE
- M&M’s Minis Are Back FOR M&M’s, Mars, AdColony, MediaCom – BRONZE
Gender Equality in Advertising:
- She Can Play FOR RAKBANK, Kiyany Media – GOLD
MEDIA
Mobile Gaming, Gamification & E-Sports:
- Euphoria Moments FOR RAKBANK, Silverpush – GOLD
- GSK Centrum GNE FOR Centrum, GSK, AdColony, Publicis Media – SILVER
- McDonald’s – Quarantine Offers FOR McDonald’s, Bruce Clay MENA, Yazle, Activision Blizzard Media – BRONZE
- Galaxy Dates Ramadan FOR Galaxy, Mars Group, AdColony, MediaCom – BRONZE
Mobile Social:
- She Can Play FOR RAKBANK, Kiyany Media – GOLD
- Storyly FOR App Samurai – SILVER
Mobile App:
- Etisalat Moonwalk // MENA // AdColony FOR Etisalat, Emirates Telecommunication Group Company, AdColony, Initiative, AdColony – SILVER
- stc pay Stay at Home Campaign FOR stc pay, STC, InMobi, UM Saudi Arabia – BRONZE
TECHNOLOGY
Mobile Video:
- KitKat Core FOR KitKat, Nestle, AdColony, Zenith MENA – GOLD
- M&M’s Minis Are Back FOR M&M’s, Mars, AdColony, MediaCom – GOLD
- Memotraits – AI Brings Memories to Life FOR RAKBANK, Pixelplus Media – GOLD
- Kotex FOR Kotex, Kimberly-Clark, Mindshare, Yazle – SILVER
- GSK Oral Sensodyne FOR Sensodyne, GSK, AdColony, Publicis Media – BRONZE
Location Based Services or Targeting:
- Hajj Pack FOR Hajj Pack / LifeBuoy / Unilever, Magna, InMobi, Blis, DMS – GOLD
- Lux – Device ID FOR Lux / Unilever, Magna, Lifesight – SILVER
- Real-Time Location Based Mobile Engagement FOR National Bank of Kuwait, Mall IQ – SILVER
- Lifebuoy Purpose (Blis) FOR Lifebuoy, Unilever, Magna, Blis – BRONZE
- McDonald’s Taskeeta // MENA // AdColony FOR McDonald’s KSA, McDonald’s Corporation, AdColony, Abdel Kader Khereiji & Parters // Targets – BRONZE
M-Commerce:
- stc pay Stay at Home Campaign FOR stc pay, STC, InMobi, UM Saudi Arabia – BRONZE
Innovation:
- Axe Chill FOR Axe / Unilever, Magna, INMOBI, ANGHAMI – GOLD
- Snickers Hunger Support Campaign FOR Snickers, Mars, InMobi, Mediacom UAE & Xaxis UAE -GOLD
- McDonald’s Taskeeta // MENA // AdColony FOR McDonald’s KSA, McDonald’s Corporation, AdColony, Abdel Kader Khereiji & Parters // Targets – SILVER
- TikTok Hive FOR TikTok, ByteDance FZ LLC, Netizency, Premiere Global Services – SILVER
- Lipton Stay At Home FOR Lipton, Unilever, Magna Global – SILVER
- M&M’s Minis Are Back FOR M&M’s, Mars, AdColony, MediaCom –BRONZE
- PlayStation / Marvel Iron Man VR // MENA // AdColony FOR PlayStation, Sony Interactive Entertainment, AdColony, MediaCom – BRONZE
Mobile Audio / Voice:
- McDonald’s Regional Brand Trust // Hygiene FOR McDonald’s, AdColony, Studio M Publicis Media – BRONZE
- Etisalat Sonic // MENA // AdColony FOR Etisalat, Emirates Telecommunication Group Company, AdColony, Initiative, AdColony – BRONZE
Data/Insights:
- Hajj Pack FOR Hajj Pack / LifeBuoy / Unilever, Magna, InMobi, Blis, DMS – SILVER
- Axe Chill FOR Axe / Unilever, Magna, INMOBI, ANGHAMI – BRONZE
- Whiskas // MENA // AdColony FOR Whiskas, Mars Group, AdColony, Mediacom – BRONZE
Machine Learning/AI:
- Dove Amazon FOR DOVE / Unilever, Magna, Amazon – GOLD
- Snickers Hunger Support Campaign FOR Snickers, Mars, InMobi, Mediacom UAE & Xaxis UAE – GOLD
- Euphoria Moments FOR RAKBANK, Silverpush – SILVER
- Memotraits – AI Brings Memories to Life FOR RAKBANK, Pixelplus Media – BRONZE
- Prediction Meets Tradition- Striking Gold with Machine Learning FOR RAKBANK, UM, Airpush – BRONZE
BUSINESS UNUSUAL 2020
Social Responsibility:
- Covid19 Resilience Grant FOR App Samurai – GOLD
- Hope Is Born FOR P&G – Pampers, Procter & Gamble, Leo Burnett Beirut – GOLD
- Rexon Move More Stay Home FOR Rexona, Unilever, Magna – SILVER
- Lifebuoy Purpose FOR Lifebuoy, Unilever, Magna, Blis – BRONZE
Technology Innovation:
- GSK Centrum GNE FOR Centrum, GSK, AdColony, Publicis Media – GOLD
- Etisalat Sonic // MENA // AdColony FOR Etisalat, Emirates Telecommunication Group Company, AdColony, Initiative – GOLD
- Arm & Hammer – Alternate Uses for Baking Soda FOR Arm & Hammer, Church & Dwight, Saturday, Yazle – SILVER
COVID-19 App:
- stc pay Stay at Home Campaign FOR stc pay, STC, InMobi, UM Saudi Arabia – SILVER
Customer Experience:
- Etisalat Sonic // MENA // AdColony FOR Etisalat, Emirates Telecommunication Group Company, AdColony, Initiative – GOLD
- McDonald’s Regional Brand Trust // Hygiene FOR McDonald’s, AdColony, Studio M Publicis Media -SILVER
- TikTok Hive FOR TikTok, ByteDance FZ LLC, TikTok, Netizency, Premiere Global Services – SILVER
- Snickers Hunger Support Campaign FOR Snickers, Mars, InMobi, Mediacom UAE & Xaxis UAE -SILVER
- CONVERTSATIONS- Kickstarting new SMEs amidst the Pandemic FOR RAKBANK, UM, Project Agora –BRONZE
