Innovation SABRE Awards — North America 2020 Finalists

The Innovation SABRE Awards — North America 2020 shortlist were selected from nearly 550 entries submitted in this year's competition. This year's jury was tasked with selecting finalists in an especially strong crop of entries — prompting them to use these core questions to drive their decisions:

Did it take courage?
Was it authentic?
Was it engaging? 
Was it shareable?
Was it sticky?
Was it ethical? 
Did it change behavior?

Many of the campaigns submitted were exceptionally solid — but the ones that made the cut went beyond, pushed boundaries and proved innovation. Amongst each of these finalists is one winner that demonstrated the most superior achievement in branding, reputation & engagement through the lens of innovation.

The winners will be announced at the Innovation SABRE Awards — North America ceremony on February 12 at the Langham Hotel in Chicago. Tickets for awards gala are available now, in addition to tickets to PRovoke North America 2020, the action-packed summit that will take place during the day before the awards. 

Tickets are available here.

The Innovation SABRE Awards — North America 2020 Finalists 

Experiential Marketing

Best in Live Events 

• #AcceptanceMatters — Mastercard with Ketchum, McCann, BMF
• Broadway the Rainbow— Skittles with ICF Next 
• Busch Pop Up Schop — Busch Beer with Lucky Generals M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• Teddy Bear Repair — Lysol with Access PR and McCann
• The Shape of History — Hulu with Courageous Studios/UM
  

Best in Digital Promo & Activation

• Chipotle Reward Me - The only thing better than free money is free Chipotle — Chipotle with Day One Agency
• Keeping Fortnite Fresh — Wendy's with Ketchum with VMLY&R and Spark Foundry
• Now Trending: National Video Game Day with McDelivery — McDonald's Corporation with WE Communications, in partnership with McDonald’s Corporation, Uber Eats and We Are Unlimited
• OpenTable Goes Into #DiningMode for Mother’s Day — Open Table with Carmichael Lynch Relate
• Viactiv: Bump Up Your Calcium — Viactiv with Ruder Finn (RLA Collective)

Best in Sponsorships

• Busch Millennial Paint Scheme — Busch Beer with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• Even Demogorgons Love Ice Cream: Baskin-Robbins & Stranger Things Integration — Baskin-Robbins with RF|Binder
• Over Delivering for Super Bowl LIII — Pizza Hut with Zeno Group
• Plan B One-Step® & Refinery29 Shine A (Neon) Light On Emergency Contraception — Foundation Consumer Healthcare - Plan B One-Step with RXMOSAIC
• Winning Never Gets Old: The National Senior Games — Humana with Golin

Best in Trade Shows & Awards

• Augmenting Reality to Build an Engaging NAVDF Booth Experience for Vets — Stallergenes Greer with W2O
• From Shadow to Spotlight - How speaking helped Zoox gain an inside track on rivals — Zoox with The Bulleit Group
• Making Noise for Targus... at Their Biggest Event of the Year — Targus with Hotwire
• Presenting P&G as a Leading Tech Innovator at CES 2019 — Procter & Gamble with Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• SIIA CODiE Awards Celebrate 35 Years of Innovation and Excellence — SIIA CODiE Awards with Method Communications

Earned Media

Best in Digital/Print Consumer Media (Earned)

• Breathing Easy with Airthings — Airthings with GreenRoom
• Broadway the Rainbow — Skittles with ICF Next
• Driscoll's Rosé Berry Limited Edition Summer Launch — Driscoll's with Allison+Partners
  
• Rebirth of a Nation: Grenada — Grenada Tourism Authority with Zapwater Communications
• The Bell Hotel — Taco Bell with Edelman and UEG

Best in Digital/Print B2B Media (Earned)

• Cogito: Increasing Emotional Intelligence in the AI Conversation — Cogito with PAN Communications 
• Qualtrics Creates a New Business Category - Experience Management — Qualtrics with Method Communications 
• State of AI and ML Report - Driving Strategic Business Press + Customer Acquisition — FigureEight with BOCA Communications 
• VSC Clearbanc Design the “20 Minute Term Sheet” as an Alternative to Venture Capital Without Bias — Clearbanc with VSC
• WSJ really IS the Future of Everything, when it comes to AI and Ethics — Affectiva with March Communications 
  
  
  

Best in Broadcast Media (Earned)

• A Hot Dog is a Sandwich — Oscar Mayer with ICF Next
• BOTOX® for Pediatric Upper Limb Spasticity — Botox with Lippe Taylor
• How to create an October Surprise — Unisys with Bospar
• Teen Summer Challenge — Planet Fitness
• Under Armour X Virgin Galactic Partnership Announcement — Under Armour with Endeavor Global Marketing

Best in Product Reviews (Earned)

• Building the Public's Trust in Autonomous Vehicles — Zoox with The Bulleit Group
• Ninja Foodi Product Launch: Business Insider Review — SharkNinja with DeVries Global
• SickKids Airbnb — SickKids Foundation with No Fixed Address
• Strong YouTube Review Lifts Sales for Bowflex — Nautilus, Inc. with The Hoffman Agency
• Trek Introduces WaveCel, a New Standard in Helmet Safety — Trek Bicycle with 360 Public Relations+

Best Earned Media with Influencers + Communities

• A More Fashionable Finland with #ANTHROINFINLAND — Visit Finland with Zapwater Communications
• Building the Public's Trust in Autonomous Vehicles — Zoox with The Bulleit Group
• Mahomes 57 — Heinz with ICF Next
• Mix It Up — Life Alive with Adam Ritchie Brand Direction
  

Best Persuasive Content

• EARTH- Persuasive Content — RYOT (A Verizon Media Company) with Rogers & Cowan 
  
• Everlast: Be First — Everlast with SourceCode Communications 
• IBD Parenthood Project — The American Gastroenterological Association (AGA) with Lippe Taylor
• The Play for Equal Pay: Exposing the Gender Wage Gap — Secret with Courageous Studios/Devries Global
• UL Close Before You Doze — UL with Allison+Partners
  

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Earned)

• Art of Cold — MillerCoors with Courageous Studios/Connect @ Publicis Media 
• ASMR for DIYers — Behr with ICF Next
• Natty Light Summer Intern — Natural Light with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• UL Close Before You Doze — UL with Allison+Partners
• Vehicles of Change — Chevy with Courageous Studies

Sponsored & Paid Media

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Paid)

• Elevating corporate reputation by showing how Novartis turns science fiction into science fact — Novartis with Marina Maher Communications
• FeverAll: Be Fever Ready — FeverAll with Ruder Finn (RLA Collective)
• Investing in Greater Possibilities Together — Invesco with Courageous Studios/GRP Media
• The Super American Pecan-A-Thon — American Pecan Council with Weber Shandwick
• Unexpected Energy — ExxonMobil with UM New York, UM Studios, The New York Times, T-Brand Studios

Best Influencer Programs + Endorsements (Paid)

• 360PR Helps Tommee Tippee #StoptheSpill and Save the Day — Mayborn Group with 360PR
• David Dobrik Breaks Records with Chipotle — Chipotle with Day One Agency
• The Joy Of Missing Out — Barefoot with MWWPR
• Making Window Replacement Better: MARVIN X EMILY HENDERSON — Marvin with Carmichael Lynch Relate
• Now Trending: National Video Game Day with McDelivery — McDonald's Corporation with WE Communications, in partnership with McDonald’s Corporation, Uber Eats and We Are Unlimited
  

Best Media Partnership

• #SponCon Vows — Hotels.com with ICF Next
• Happy Egg x @World_Record_Egg: #HappyLikeAnEgg — Happy Egg with HUNTER
  
• PLAN B ONE-STEP® & REFINERY29 SHINE A (NEON) LIGHT ON EMERGENCY CONTRACEPTION — Foundation Consumer Healthcare - Plan B One-Step with RXMOSAIC
• The McDelivery Couch – McDonald’s and La-Z-Boy Team Up To Create The Best Seat in the House — McDonald's Corporation with WE Communications, in partnership with McDonald’s Corporation
• The Super American Pecan-A-Thon — American Pecan Council with Weber Shandwick

Best SEO/Content Distribution Program (Paid + Organic)

• Winner: Fremont Police Department Turns to Microsite to Reach Job Candidates — City of Fremont with The Hoffman Agency

Best in Digital Marketing/Advertising

• Augmenting Reality to Build an Engaging NAVDF Booth Experience for Vets — Stallergenes Greer with W2O
• Fantasy Life — Fantasy Life with Hot Paper Lantern
• The Super American Pecan-A-Thon — American Pecan Council with Weber Shandwick

Social Media & Community Management

Best Use of Integrated Social Media

• Cheetos House of Flamin' Haute — Frito-Lay with Ketchum
• Driving Cross-Target Relevancy & Conversion — Turtle Wax with Zeno Group
• Mix It Up — Life Alive with Adam Ritchie Brand Direction
• OpenTable Goes Into #DiningMode for Mother’s Day — Open Table with Carmichael Lynch Relate
• Pantene Launches the 14 Day Challenge to Transform Every #BadHairDay Into a #GreatHairDay — Pantene with Marina Maher Communications/MMK

Best Use of Social Networks

• Busch Pop Up Schop — Busch Beer with Lucky Generals M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• Keeping Fortnite Fresh — Wendy's with Ketchum with VMLY&R and Spark Foundry
• Ketchup Karma — Heinz with ICF Next 
• CLEER Owns Its Moment — CLEER Audio with Greenroom 
• This is an Ad — Greats with Agency Within 
  

Best Use of Video Networks

• ASMR for DIYers — Behr with ICF Next
• Chipotle’s Summer of TikTok — Chipotle with Day One Agency
  

Best Use of Photo Networks 

• Cheetos House of Flamin' Haute — Frito-Lay with Ketchum 
• Mix It Up — Life Alive with Adam Ritchie Brand Direction 
• Prince Uniform Collaboration — Minnesota Timberwolves with ICF Next 
• Tag Responsibly, Keep Jackson Hole Wild — Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board with Exponent PR 
  
• Wrangler Claps Back - Lil Nas X Collection — Wrangler with French | West | Vaughan
  

Best in Crowdsourcing & Co-creating

• #CURLPOWER — Aussie (Procter & Gamble) with DeVries Global
• Busch Weddings — Busch Beer with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• Chipotle’s Summer of TikTok — Chipotle with Day One Agency
• Mix It Up — Life Alive with Adam Ritchie Brand Direction
• Wendy's National Roast Day — Wendy's with Ketchum with VMLY&R and Spark Foundry

Best in Real-time Engagement

• Area 51 Invasion — AB InBev, Bud Light with 3PM Agency/Weber Shandwick
• Betting on the U.S. — Miller Lite with ICF Next
• Mahomes 57 — Heinz with ICF Next
• The Lunar Lander Keg — Blue Moon with ICF Next
• Wrangler Claps Back - Lil Nas X Collection — Wrangler with French | West | Vaughan

Best Meme/Viral Campaign

• A Hot Dog is a Sandwich — Oscar Mayer with ICF Next
• Fiber One Work Done — General Mills – Fiber One with
• It's Gonna Be Maytag — Maytag with Ketchum, Digitas
• Mahomes 57 — Heinz with ICF Next
• Reese's Candy Converter — Reese's with Zeno Group

Best Use of Gamification/User-Generated Contests

• Busch Weddings — Busch Beer with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• Busch X Big Buck Hunter — Busch Beer with Deutsch M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• Chipotle Freeting — Chipotle with Day One Agency
• Hack The Bracket — Adobe
• Keeping Fortnite Fresh — Wendy's with Ketchum with VMLY&R and Spark Foundry

Brand Content & Creativity

Best in Brand Narratives 

• Broadway the Rainbow  — Skittles with ICF Next
• Everlast: Be First — Everlast with SourceCode Communications 
  
• H&M Loves New York — H&M with Day One Agency 
• Keeping Fortnite Fresh — Wendy's with Ketchum with VMLY&R and Spark Foundry
• Railroad Ties — Ancestry with Weber Shandwick
  

Best in Digital Brand Platforms  

• Downtown Doral Invites Unhappy New Yorkers — Codina Partners with rbb Communications 
• Microsite Tells the Fremont Police Department's Brand Story to Job Candidates — City of Fremont with The Hoffman Agency
  
• Put Chemo to the Test — Genomic Health with W2O Group 
• StubHub: Live Like a Tourist Campaign — StubHub with Praytell 
• World Humanitarian Day 2019: 24 Stories with 24 Women Humanitarians — United Nations with Hill+Knowlton Strategies

 
Best in Brand Film/Video

• A Touch of Sugar — Merck with GCI Health
• Natty Light Summer Intern — Natural Light with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• Railroad Ties — Ancestry with Weber Shandwick
• The Heart Failure Discharge Team — Novartis Pharmaceuticals with BCW
• The Play for Equal Pay: Exposing the Gender Wage Gap — Secret with Courageous Studios/Devries Global

Best in Brand Animation

• EARTH- Brand Animation — RYOT (A Verizon Media Company) with Rogers & Cowan
• Naturdays — Natural Light with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment
• The Sweet Taste of Success on Pi Day — Google Cloud
• Unexpected Energy — ExxonMobil with UM New York, UM Studios, The New York Times, T-Brand Studios

Best Use of Illustrations + Photography

• Ask About the Curve — Endo Pharmaceuticals with Ogilvy
• StubHub: Live Like a Tourist Campaign — StubHub with Praytell
• The Bell Hotel — Taco Bell with Edelman and UEG
• The Lunar Lander Keg — Blue Moon with ICF Next
• Winning Never Gets Old: The National Senior Games — Humana with Golin

Best in Audio: Podcasts + Music

• ASMR for DIYers — Behr with ICF Next
• Fiber One Work Done — General Mills – Fiber One
• How a new alphabet is helping an ancient people write its own future — Microsoft Story Labs
• Pure Sounds of Michigan — Travel Michigan with Weber Shandwick
• RUNAWAY TRAIN 25 — National Center for Missing & Exploited Children with Powell Communications and M/H VCCP

Best in Identity Branding

• Doritos Another Level — Frito-Lay with Ketchum
• Ethos Chocolate — A Fresh Look with Powell Tate
• How Evolution Fresh Evolved the Day for Juice Drinkers — Evolution Fresh with M Booth
• Taste of Priceless — Mastercard with Kreemart, Fitz & Co, BMF

Best in Social Good + Public Service

• 360PR HELPS STONYFIELD ORGANIC TAKE ITS MISSION TO NEW PASTURES — STONYFIELD ORGANIC with 360PR
• EARTH- Social Good — RYOT (A Verizon Media Company) with Rogers & Cowan
• It Can Wait — AT&T with Courageous Studios/Hearts & Science
• Lolli. The Exhibit No One Wants to Talk About — Canadian Centre for Child Protection
• UL Close Before You Doze — UL with Allison+Partners

Best in Brand Purpose

• #AcceptanceMatters — Mastercard with Ketchum, McCann, BMF
• “With Love, Me” presented by Your Cancer Game Plan — Merck with W2O
• Out of the Shadows & Queer City: A CNN Experience — P&G with Courageous Studios
• Secret x USWNT: Equal Work, Equal Sweat, Equal Pay — Secret Deodorant (Procter & Gamble) with DeVries Global
• S'well's Million Bottle Project Inspires Student Advocacy — S'well

Analytics + Insights

Best Use of Social Media or Analytics for Audience Insights or Influencer Targeting

• Combating the CNN Effect: Fundraising for protracted humanitarian crisis — UNICEF PFP with Media Measurement
• Conoco Chooses Go with #MyHeroConoco — Phillips 66/Conoco with Carmichael Lynch Relate
• How MilkPEP Combined Art & Science to Source Authentic Voices — Milk Processor Education Program (MilkPEP) with Weber Shandwick
• OpenTable Goes Into #DiningMode for Mother’s Day — Open Table with Carmichael Lynch Relate
• Zevo #WaySmarterThan Bugs Influencer Program — Zevo with Citizen Relations

Best Use of Original/Commissioned Research for PR

• "It's About Respect" Sexual Violence Prevention Pilot — Washington State Department of Health with C+C
• Baring is Caring — NIVEA Men
• Fraud=Fraud — Proof Inc. with the Canadian Life and Health Insurance Association and the support of Environics Analytics and Environics Research Group (partner agencies that led persona and survey research).
• Sex or Amazon? — Max Borges Agency
• Sparking Kids' Creativity Through Clean Spaces— The Clorox Company with Ketchum

Best in Measurement, Post-Campaign Analysis

• Corona Refresca Launch — Corona Refresca - Constellation Brands with Zeno Group
• Edelman Intelligence for Hologic: Getting Tested Gets Put to the Test — Hologic
• From Awareness to Consideration: PAN Moves PR Practitioners into the Revenue Conversation — PAN Communications with PAN Communications
• Just One Trip — King County Metro with C+C

Best in Marketing Technology

• #1 in the Nation for Environmental Law — Pace University School of Law with Kivvit
• CNN Sentiment Analysis Moderator (SAM) - Ad Safety — CNN
  
• MPACT — MWWPR
• Tribe Finder - Uncovering Micro-Tribe Leaders — Brooks Running with M Booth
• Zignal Labs – Best in Marketing Technology — Zignal Labs

Agency Spotlight

Best Agency Disruption

• Day One Agency - Best Agency Disruption — Day One Agency
• Ketchum: A Pivot Toward the Future — Ketchum
  
• PAN Communications Disrupts Through Innovative Measurement & Growth Strategy — PAN Communications
• The Story is Always There — The Hoffman Agency
• We're not in Kansas Anymore — Bospar

Best Agency Publishing Platform

• Hot Paper Lantern — Hot Paper Lantern
• Media / Genius: A Newsletter at the Intersection of Content and Intelligence — Weber Shandwick
• Techruptors & the Social Permission Tipping Point — Ketchum
• Turning the March Comms Editorial Platform Inside Out — March Communications

Most Innovative Recruitment/Retention Initiative

• W2O’s Fourth Trimester Program — W2O
• We're not in Kansas Anymore — Bospar

Most Innovative Diversity & Inclusion Initiative

• Winner: FH Perspectives — FleishmanHillard

Best Live Event - Agency

• A Healthcare Targeted Approach to Provide Client Value — W2O
• Adobe Creative Camp — Adobe Creative Cloud with Golin
• GoATHAM: Riverside Park Goes to the Goats — Riverside Park Conservancy with DiGennaro Communications
• INVNT — INVNT
• Marketing Innovators: The Heavyweights Get in the Ring — March Communications

Special Campaigns

Corporate/B2B

• Bank of America: Insights, Innovations and Solutions for Entrepreneurs — Bank of America with BCW
• EY Private Equity CFO Survey - Digital Ad — EY with Hot Paper Lantern 
• Hack The Bracket — Adobe 
• Unexpected Energy — ExxonMobil with UM New York, UM Studios, The New York Times, T-Brand Studios
• World Without Wires — GaN Systems with Trier & Company

Consumer

• Everlast: Be First — Everlast with SourceCode Communications
• Keeping Fortnite Fresh — Wendy's with Ketchum with VMLY&R and Spark Foundry
• Reese's Candy Converter — Reese's with Zeno Group
• Teen Summer Challenge — Planet Fitness
• The Woods Parka Lodge — Sport Chek with Weber Shandwick Canada

Healthcare

• 5B — Verizon Media with Rogers & Cowan
• A Touch of Sugar — Merck with GCI Health
• SickKids Airbnb — SickKids Foundation with No Fixed Address
• Taste Test Drive — GSK Consumer Healthcare, Nicorette with Weber Shandwick
• Test Your Cancer — Bayer with BCW Global

Financial Sector

• American Express Blue Cash Preferred Refresh with Kristen Bell — American Express with Day One Agency
• Data Rules Everything Around Me (D.R.E.A.M): How Zelle® used Data to Make “Everyday Better” — Early Warning with Huge
• Doers Take Wall Street — Fiverr International Ltd
• Investing in Greater Possibilities Together — Invesco with Courageous Studios/GRP Media
• PeopleFirst — Alpine Investors with Stanton

Social Good/Non-profit 

• GoATHAM: Riverside Park Goes to the Goats — Riverside Park Conservancy with DiGennaro Communications
• Just One Trip — King County Metro with C+C 
• The Power of Welcome —International Rescue Committee with Big Spaceship 
• Promoting Fruits and Veggies: The Carrot Wins Again — Produce for Better Health Foundation with Padilla 
• Proof Points: Affecting Change for Healthier Pregnancies — Proof Alliance with Exponent PR 

Social Purpose

• "It's About Respect" Sexual Violence Prevention Pilot — Washington State Department of Health with C+C
• Smirnoff "Welcome Home" — Smirnoff with Taylor, 72&Sunny, Starpower, BMF, The Fader, DesignBridge, Carat
• The Global 4 Day Week Movement — Perpetual Guardian with Alexander PR and The Content Place
• The Shape of History — Hulu with Courageous Studios/UM
• The State of Science — 3M with Ketchum and Ketchum Analytics

Politics/Public Affairs/Lobbying/Government

• Ad Hoc Utilities Group Public Affairs Campaign — Ad Hoc Utilities Group (AHUG) with Chartwell Strategy Group
• Conversations with Chanda — Minneapolis Foundation with Weber Shandwick
• Fighting Chances — Modelo with Courageous Studios/HorizonConstellation/Cavalry
• Fremont Police Department Sounds the Siren for Job Candidates — City of Fremont with The Hoffman Agency

Employee Engagement

• #HitMeWithYourFluShot — Christiana Care Health System
• Camila and The Shadow of Dengue — Takeda Pharmaceutical Company Ltd with W2O
• CRC2GO — California Resources Corporation with ICF Next
• Harnessing the Power of #HyundaiLife — Hyundai with Ketchum

Lean Marketing

• #1 in the Nation for Environmental Law — Pace University School of Law with Kivvit
• A More Fashionable Finland with #ANTHROINFINLAND — Visit Finland with Zapwater Communications
• Livongo IPO Brand Awareness Campaign — Livongo

Micro Marketing

• ASMR for DIYers — Behr with ICF Next
• CLEER Owns Its Moment — CLEER Audio, Inc. with GreenRoom
• How to create an October Surprise — Unisys with Bospar
• Ketchup Karma — Heinz with ICF Next
• Mahomes 57 — Heinz with ICF Next

New to Market

Best New Company Launch

• All Eyes on Alcon — Alcon with Ketchum
• Launching Grasshopper, an innovative new venture bank — Grasshopper Bank with RF|Binder
• Loosid Launch Party — Loosid with 5W Public Relations
• Making Masturbation Mainstream — plusOne with Hotwire
• Ms. Monopoly – A Game Changer — Hasbro with Golin

Best New Product Launch

• Breaking The Glass With Flamin' Hot Nacho — Frito-Lay with Ketchum
• Celebrity EDGE - Sailing Away From the Sea of Sameness — Celebrity Cruises with DeVries Global
• LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime – The Building Bricks to Confidence in Learning — LEGO Education
• The Macallan Whisky & Color Experience — The Macallan with M Booth
• Making Masturbation Mainstream — plusOne with Hotwire
  

Innovation Excellence

Most Innovative Agency Initiative

• Courageous Studios — Courageous Studios
• Meet Kivvit: Agency of the Future — Kivvit
• Sex or Amazon? — Max Borges Agency
• The Story is Always There — The Hoffman Agency

Innovator of the Year — Agency

• Barbara Bates - Hotwire's Fearless Leader — Hotwire
  
• Craig Greiwe — Rogers & Cowan 
• Curtis Sparrer — Bospar 
• Jim Weiss — W2O Group 
• Tejas Totade, SVP, Head of Emerging Technologies — Ruder Finn