Innovation SABRE Awards North America 2022 finalists

The 2022 Innovation SABRE Awards North America 2022 shortlist was selected from more than 700 entries in this year's competition, which recognizes Superior Achievement in Branding, Reputation and Engagement. The campaigns were evaluated by a jury of more than 38 industry leaders.

The winners were announced at the IN2 SABRE Awards virtual ceremony on February 23rd.

Awards venue: Virtual
Date: 23 February
Time: 5:00pm ET

The Innovation SABRE Awards

Experiential Marketing

Best in Live Events

• 7-Eleven's Birthday Month — 7-Eleven with M Booth
• Boards of Change — City of Chicago and When We All Vote with Current Global, FBC
• Corona Hard Seltzer Limonada Product Launch — Constellation Brands (Corona Hard Seltzer) with MullenLowe
• Gamers' Paradise — 7-Eleven with M Booth
• Pop-Tarts Frost Shop — Kellogg's with Weber Shandwick

Best in Online/Virtual Events

• A United America: An Unprecedented Presidential Inauguration — Presidential Inaugural Committee with Precision
• Hitachi Social Innovation Forum — Hitachi Vantara
• Let's Get Real with Hisense and Max Borges Agency — Hisense USA with Max Borges Agency
• Seeing Farm Tech in Action Through Virtual Reality — John Deere with Racepoint Global
• Tommee Tippee Spills the Milk on The Raw Realities Of Parenthood — Tommee Tippee with 360PR+

Best in Digital Promo & Activation

• #ShotforSam Vaccine Incentive Program — Samuel Adams with MullenLowe, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Hearts & Science
• Cheez-It Celebrates 100 Unbe-cheez-able Years with The Cheez-It Cheez-Itennial Cake — Kellogg Company with Weber Shandwick, Starcom
• Forest of Hope — Tourism New Zealand with M Booth
• Making a Splash During Prime Day Lets BioBidet Flush Out the Competition — BioBidet with Bospar
• Under a Rock — Hotels.com with ICF Next

Best in Sponsorships

• Ascension Charity Classic — Ascension
• Cheez-It Reinvents the Wheel: 2020 Cheez-It Bowl — Cheez-It with Weber Shandwick, Starcom
• Iceman to Canton — Coors Light with ICF Next & Alma

Earned Media

Best in Digital/Print Media — General/Consumer/Lifestyle Media (Earned)

• #WienermobileLyft — Oscar Mayer and Lyft with ICF Next VMLY&R
• Bar Smells — Miller Lite with ICF Next
• Bigger Picture — Budweiser with Allison+Partners
• Famous Orders - “The BTS Meal” — McDonald's with Narrative / Wieden+Kennedy
• Under a Rock — Hotels.com with ICF Next

Best in Digital/Print Media — Business/Trade Media (Earned)

• Cosmic Wings — Applebee's with Current Global
• Creating an Industry Muse: Honoring and Uplifting Black Voices in Beauty — Ulta Beauty with Zeno Group
• Defining a Key Agtech Difference Earned Breakthrough Coverage for Grōv — Grōv with Method Communications
• Gaining National Attention to Promote Covid-19 Vaccination Mandate for Healthcare Workers — Society for Healthcare Epidemiology of America with The Reis Group
• How the embrace of innovative tech won Alaska Airlines and a startup major coverage in top-tier pubs — Alaska Airlines, Airspace Intelligence with Alaska Airlines PR, The Bulleit Group, C+C

Best in Digital/Print Media — Regional (Earned)

• How EV startup Indigo Technologies caught the wave of Boston’s new tech buzz — Indigo Technologies with The Bulleit Group
• Making a Splash During Prime Day Lets BioBidet Flush Out the Competition — BioBidet with Bospar
• Microsoft Translator Adds Inuktitut — Microsoft Canada with Veritas

Best in Broadcast Media — National (Earned)

• Electrifying America's Best Selling Vehicle — Ford Motor Company with BCW
• Fancy Like — Applebee's with Current Global
• Iceman to Canton — Coors Light with ICF Next & Alma
• Kids are ready. A senseless murder proved it. — A Kids Company About with GreenRoom
• Subway Eat Fresh Refresh — Subway with Current Global

Best in Broadcast Media — Regional (Earned)

• #UnsilenceTheConversation — Sunnybrook's Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network with No Fixed Address
• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar
• Communicating the Spread of the QAnon Conspiracy Movement in American Politics — Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) with Kivvit
• Making a Splash During Prime Day Lets BioBidet Flush Out the Competition — BioBidet with Bospar
• With a New-Age Baseball Glove, Carbon Secures a Coveted Regional TV Segment — Carbon with Method Communications

Best in Product Reviews (Earned)

• Bospar Takes Unistellar To New Heights — Unistellar with Bospar
• Leaning in to Connected Fitness — Nautilus with The Hoffman Agency
• Making a Splash During Prime Day Lets BioBidet Flush Out the Competition — BioBidet with Bospar
• Turning a Flour Company into the MVP of America’s New National Pastime — King Arthur Baking Company with Allison+Partners

Best Earned Media with Influencers + Communities

• Bospar Takes Unistellar To New Heights — Unistellar with Bospar
• Claritin Enlists the Help of Outdoor Enthusiasts to Help Families #GetOutside — Claritin / Bayer Consumer Health with Coyne PR
• Clorox Scentiva Yas Clean! — Clorox Scentiva with Ketchum
• Head & Shoulders Enlists Bill Nye the Science Guy, the Ultimate Science Influencer, to Drive Brand Superiority — Head & Shoulders with Marina Maher Communications, Carat Global
• Midol's No Apologies Period — Bayer with twelvenote

Best Persuasive Content

• #ShotforSam Vaccine Incentive Program — Samuel Adams with MullenLowe, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Hearts & Science
• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar
• Dole Malnutrition Labels — Dole Sunshine Company with Peppercomm
• Ready for Summer — Washington State Department of Health with C+C
• "Who is TSMC?" — TSMC with The Hoffman Agency

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Earned)

• Bayer Gives Heart Attack and Stroke Survivors a “Most Meaningful Melody” to Inspire a Focus on Their Health — Bayer with twelvenote
• Corona Hard Seltzer Limonada Product Launch — Constellation Brands (Corona Hard Seltzer) with MullenLowe
• Preserve the Pit — Kingsford with Current Global
• The Haulerverse — no frills with Veritas
• Training For A Mouthful — Schlotzsky's with M Booth

Sponsored & Paid Media

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Paid)

• Don't Wait - For Each Other For Us All — New Jersey Department of Health with Kivvit
• This is L: Launching Influencer Content Across the Paid Ecosystem — This is L with Procter & Gamble and MSL

Best Influencer Programs + Endorsements (Paid)

• Always: What the Gush?! — Always, Procter & Gamble with MSL
• Expedia Stop Motion — Expedia with Zeno Group
• Fancy Like — Applebee's with Current Global
• Iceman to Canton — Coors Light with ICF Next & Alma
• The Power of Spoken Rights — Reebok with 160over90

Best Media Partnership
Winner: Tide Designs First Laundry Detergent for Space   — Tide with Marina Maher Communications, Ketchum

Best SEO/Content Distribution Program (Paid + Organic)

• Accelerating Sendbird's Growth With Optimized Paid and SEO — Sendbird with Walker Sands
• "Did He Just Say TSMC?" — TSMC with The Hoffman Agency
• Resurrecting the Synopsys Corporate Blog — Synopsys with The Hoffman Agency

Best in Digital Marketing/Advertising

• Bestie Bowls — Mars Petcare with Weber Shandwick
• Clorox Scentiva Yas Clean! — Clorox Scentiva with Ketchum
• Facebook Retargeting for Lead Generation — Panasonic Solar US with Porter Novelli
• Ready for Summer — Washington State Department of Health with C+C
• ScottsMiracle-Gro More Good: Protecting Long Island Waterways — ScottsMiracle-Gro with Zeno Group

Social Media & Community Management

Best Overall Use of Social Media & Platforms

• Charmin BRB Bot: Nature Calls Butt You’re on a Video Call — Charmin with MSL, Saatchi & Saatchi, Carat
• Forest of Hope — Tourism New Zealand with M Booth
• Midol's No Apologies Period — Bayer with twelvenote
• Ready for Summer — Washington State Department of Health with C+C
• Tampax Gets a (Social) Makeover — Tampax with Procter & Gamble and MSL

Best Use of Social Networks

• Chipotle Mexican Grill - Discord Career Fair — Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency
• Goldfish Gets TikTok to Go for the Handful — Goldfish with Saatchi & Saatchi, MSL
• Super Wendy's World — Wendy's with Ketchum, VMLY&R, and Spark Foundry
• Tabasco® Brand Enters the #HotSauceWars — Tabasco® Brand with Hunter
• Welcome Back to School Style — Dick's Sporting Goods with 160over90, VMLY&R, Ad Parlor

Best Use of Social Video

• Always: What the Gush?! — Always, Procter & Gamble with MSL
• Clorox Scentiva Yas Clean! — Clorox Scentiva with Ketchum
• Corona Hard Seltzer Limonada Product Launch — Constellation Brands (Corona Hard Seltzer) with MullenLowe
• Happy Birthday, Twitter — Canadian Centre for Child Protection with No Fixed Address
• Ready for Summer — Washington State Department of Health with C+C

Best Use of Social Photos
Winner: Basil Hayden’s Posts Worth Toasting To — Basil Hayden with Day One Agency

Best in Crowdsourcing & Co-creating

Winner: Think Quik: A Social Influencer Success Story by GoPro — GoPro with Hotwire

Best in Real-time Engagement

• Chipotle Mexican Grill x Miley Cyrus - ‘Guac Is Extra But So Is Miley Burrito’ — Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency, Flighthouse
• Elevating the Gender Gap in Sports — Dick's Sporting Goods with 160over90, VMLY&R
• Tabasco® Brand Enters the #HotSauceWars — Tabasco® Brand with Hunter
• Tampax Gets a (Social) Makeover — Tampax with Procter & Gamble and MSL

Best in AI/Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Immersive Technology/NFTs

• NSF EyeSucceed — NSF with Zeno Group
• Seeing Farm Tech in Action Through Virtual Reality — John Deere with Racepoint Global
• The Art of Whisky: The Macallan — The Macallan US with M Booth
• TubbyCoin - Teletubbies Cryptocurrency — WildBrain with Ketchum
• Using AI and Real-World Data to Hyper-Target Heart Patients — Abbott with Real Chemistry and Swoop, part of Real Chemistry

Best Meme/ Idea that Taps into a Cultural Moment

• #ShotforSam Vaccine Incentive Program — Samuel Adams with MullenLowe, Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, Hearts & Science
• An Emoji for Your Thoughts: Microsoft’s 1,800 Redesigned Emojis Fuel New Ways to Connect in the Hybrid Workplace — Microsoft with WE Communications
• Deskover Puerto Rico — Discover Puerto Rico with Ketchum
• Fancy Like — Applebee's with Current Global
• Under a Rock — Hotels.com with ICF Next

Best Use of Gamification/User-Generated Contests

• Chipotle Mexican Grill - Race to Rewards — Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency
• Cottonelle Refreshingly Clean Slate — Cottonelle with Ketchum
• Deskover Puerto Rico — Discover Puerto Rico with Ketchum
• Gamers' Paradise — 7-Eleven with M Booth
• Top Ramen’s 50th Anniversary Celebration: Call for Nissin Food’s First-Ever Chief Noodle Officer — Nissin Foods, Top Ramen

Brand Content & Creativity

Best in Brand Narratives

• Bayer Gives Heart Attack and Stroke Survivors a “Most Meaningful Melody” to Inspire a Focus on Their Health — Bayer with twelvenote
• Communicating The Essential Nature Of Enhanced Cleaning During The Covid-19 Pandemic — Cleaning Coalition of America with Marathon Strategies
• JOE-M-G! Expedia Invites Anxious Travelers to Hold a Replica of Joe Jonas’s Hand — Expedia with Zeno Group
• Preserve the Pit — Kingsford with Current Global
• Tide Designs First Laundry Detergent for Space   — Tide with Marina Maher Communications, Ketchum

Best in Digital Brand Platforms

• Perrigo Engages Pediatric Community to Aid the Food Insecure — Perrigo with Coyne PR
• Syngenta Media Summit Adapts – and Thrives – in Virtual Environment — Syngenta with G&S Business Communications
• The Art of Whisky: The Macallan — The Macallan US with M Booth

Best in Brand Film/Video

• Bayer Gives Heart Attack and Stroke Survivors a “Most Meaningful Melody” to Inspire a Focus on Their Health — Bayer with twelvenote
• Happy Birthday, Twitter — Canadian Centre for Child Protection with No Fixed Address
• Midol's No Apologies Period — Bayer with twelvenote
• Preserve the Pit — Kingsford with Current Global
• SimpliSafe Social Distancing Sweater — SimpliSafe with MullenLowe

Best Use of Illustrations + Photography

• Hotwire Intermedia: Building a Unique Voice in a Crowded WFH Market — Intermedia with Hotwire
• How Airspace Intelligence explained its tech through the use of smart art — Airspace Intelligence with The Bulleit Group
• QueeR Codes — Skittles with ICF Next
• Under a Rock — Hotels.com with ICF Next
• Unleashing Potential with No Barriers — No Barriers with M Booth

Best in Audio: Podcasts + Music

• Clorox Scentiva Yas Clean! — Clorox Scentiva with Ketchum
• The Strivers Initiative — Mastercard with Ketchum, McCann, Carat

Best in Identity Branding

• Bar Smells — Miller Lite with ICF Next
• Communicating The Essential Nature Of Enhanced Cleaning During The Covid-19 Pandemic — Cleaning Coalition of America with Marathon Strategies
• Hotwire Intermedia: Building a Unique Voice in a Crowded WFH Market — Intermedia with Hotwire
• The Way Ahead: Positioning Hub Group as a Tech-Forward Innovator — Hub Group with Walker Sands
• TubbyCoin - Teletubbies Cryptocurrency — WildBrain with Ketchum

Best in Social Good + Public Service + Activism

• A Love Letter to Black America from America’s Black Doctors and Nurses — Black Coalition Against Covid-19 with Real Chemistry
• Be that Someone — Proof Strategies with the Canadian Red Cross and support from Capital-Image, cairns oneil and Makers
• Bigger Picture — Budweiser with Allison+Partners
• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar
• CeraVe Shines Light on the Heroes Behind the Masks with Nurse Advocacy Campaign — CeraVe with Coyne PR

Best in Brand Purpose

• Bospar Takes Unistellar To New Heights — Unistellar with Bospar
• Cottonelle BLKHLTH #GoodDownThere — Cottonelle with Ketchum
• Happy Birthday, Twitter — Canadian Centre for Child Protection with No Fixed Address
• The Planet Oat Project Shows Love to our Planet — Planet Oat with M Booth
• The Strivers Initiative — Mastercard with Ketchum, McCann, Carat

Analytics + Insights

Best Use of Original/Commissioned Research for PR

• A Report That Meets the Moment: Addressing the Urgent Need to Understand and Reverse the Negative Impact on Women at Work. — Deloitte Global with MikeWorldWide
• Elevating Shopify as a Commerce Leader to Support Small and Independent Businesses through the Pandemic — Shopify with Allison+Partners
• Guiding a Texas Energy Company through Winter Storm Uri — Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• The 3M State of Science Index: Shattering Stereotypes with "Not the Science Type" — 3M with Ketchum, Generous Films, and Passion Point Collective
• The Pharma Brandemic ® : Identifying the Seismic Shift that Will Change Healthcare Marketing Forever — M Booth Health

Best in Measurement, Post-Campaign Analysis

• Boosting Burrow’s Bottom Line Through Strategic Media Targeting — Burrow with Diffusion
• Educators for Joe — National Education Association with Kivvit
• The Incredible Egg Challenge — American Egg Board with Ketchum

Best in Marketing Technology

• All For Farmers Impact Measurement Using omniearnedID — Tillamook with FleishmanHillard
• Innovating Custom Audience Analysis — Kivvit
• JHU Clinical Trial Recruitment — Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine with The Bliss Group
• omniearnedID “Cracks” the Code on Measuring Return on Influence — American Egg Board with Ketchum and Omnicom Public Relations Group
• Using AI and Real-World Data to Hyper-Target Heart Patients — Abbott with Real Chemistry and Swoop, part of Real Chemistry

Agency Spotlight

Best Agency Disruption

• Accessible By Design — Current Global
• Amidst Massive Agency Growth, Spool Launches Investment Arm — Spool
• Bospar: the Politely Pushy, Work-From-Home Agency — Bospar
• How In-House Research Can Fuel Client Campaigns and Drive Agency Growth — Method Communications
• The Bliss Group - Best Agency Disruption — The Bliss Group

Best Agency Thought Leadership

• Accessible By Design — Current Global
• Bospar: the Politely Pushy, Work-From-Home Agency — Bospar
• Home Country as Stakeholder: The Rising Geopolitical Risk for Business Leaders — Weber Shandwick
• Say Their Names: Examining The Impact Of Digital Activism On Social Justice Reform — Marathon Strategies
• The Pharma Brandemic ® : Identifying the Seismic Shift that Will Change Healthcare Marketing Forever — M Booth Health

Most Innovative Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

• Accessible By Design — Current Global
• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar
• FleishmanHillard Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives — FleishmanHillard
• Praytell’s Transformative DEI Progress — Praytell Agency
• Small Girls PR University Presents B.E.S.T. — Small Girls PR

Best Event - Agency (Virtual or Live)

Winner: Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar

Special Campaigns

Public Service: Covid-19 / Pandemic

• A Love Letter to Black America from America’s Black Doctors and Nurses — Black Coalition Against Covid-19 with Real Chemistry
• A Report That Meets the Moment: Addressing the Urgent Need to Understand and Reverse the Negative Impact on Women at Work. — Deloitte Global with MikeWorldWide
• Bigger Picture — Budweiser with Allison+Partners
• Helping Compounding Pharmacists Provide Sanitizer during Covid-19 — Professional Compounding Centers of America with Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• Vaccinate WA — Washington State Department of Health with C+C

Public Service: Social Justice / Racial Equity / #BlackLivesMatter

• A Love Letter to Black America from America’s Black Doctors and Nurses — Black Coalition Against Covid-19 with Real Chemistry
• Cottonelle BLKHLTH #GoodDownThere — Cottonelle with Ketchum
• Detroit Youth Choir 'Glory' — The Detroit Youth Choir with Imagination
• Kids are ready. A senseless murder proved it. — A Kids Company About with GreenRoom
• Preserve the Pit — Kingsford with Current Global

Public Service: Other Non-profit / Charity

• Bringing Tech, Business and Sports Leaders Together to Catapult a Local Non-Profit to the National Stage — Encircle with Method Communications
• Communicating the Spread of the QAnon Conspiracy Movement in American Politics — Public Religion Research Institute (PRRI) with Kivvit
• Cottonelle BLKHLTH #GoodDownThere — Cottonelle with Ketchum
• Happy Birthday, Twitter — Canadian Centre for Child Protection with No Fixed Address
• QueeR Codes — Skittles with ICF Next

Healthcare / Pharmaceutical / Health-tech

• #UnsilenceTheConversation — Sunnybrook's Pregnancy and Infant Loss Network with No Fixed Address
• Botox® Cosmetic Reinvents How It Connects with Consumers by Asking, "How Do You 'See Yourself'?" — Allergan with Lippe Taylor
• Bringing a Conversation About Diabetes to One of the World’s Biggest Stages — Dexcom with Allison+Partners
• Helping Compounding Pharmacists Provide Sanitizer during Covid-19 — Professional Compounding Centers of America with Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• Using AI and Real-World Data to Hyper-Target Heart Patients — Abbott with Real Chemistry and Swoop, part of Real Chemistry

Travel/Hospitality

• Deskover Puerto Rico — Discover Puerto Rico with Ketchum
• Forest of Hope — Tourism New Zealand with M Booth
• Queen’s Gambit Chess Lending Program at Kimpton Hotels   — Kimpton hotels & restaurants with Allison+Partners
• Training For A Mouthful — Schlotzsky's with M Booth
• Under a Rock — Hotels.com with ICF Next

Consumer

• BIC Gets Lit with Snoop Dogg & Martha Stewart — BIC with MikeWorldWide
• Bospar Takes Unistellar To New Heights — Unistellar with Bospar
• Cottonelle BLKHLTH #GoodDownThere — Cottonelle with Ketchum
• Making a Splash During Prime Day Lets BioBidet Flush Out the Competition — BioBidet with Bospar
• The Planet Oat Project Shows Love to our Planet — Planet Oat with M Booth

Fashion/Retail

• Gamers' Paradise — 7-Eleven with M Booth
• Mushroom Leather Now a Fashion Darling, Thanks to Bolt Threads’ Mylo — Bolt Threads with Allison+Partners
• Thanksgiving Turkey Protection Plan — Whole Foods Market with MikeWorldWide

Technology/Clean Energy/Biotech

• 2021 Required “Good Tech + Hard Tech” to Drive Social & Economic Progress — IBM
• Bospar Takes Unistellar To New Heights — Unistellar with Bospar
• How Airspace Intelligence’s AI tech is changing the aviation industry — Airspace Intelligence with The Bulleit Group
• Let's Get Real with Hisense and Max Borges Agency — Hisense USA with Max Borges Agency
• Making a Splash During Prime Day Lets BioBidet Flush Out the Competition — BioBidet with Bospar

Corporate Reputation/B2B/Investors

• Aligning Education, Skills & Jobs - A Social & Economic Imperative — IBM
• Breakaway — Charles Schwab with Courageous Studios
• Bringing Stadiums to Life with Cardboard Fans during Covid-19 — DS Smith with Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• Capital Markets Day — Ford Motor Company with Civic
• What Businesses Need to Know: Microsoft Prepares Leaders for the Shift to Hybrid Work — Microsoft with WE Communications

Employee Activism/Engagement

• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar
• Bronco Built Wild Experience — Ford Motor Company
• Launching Organon: A New Company that is Here for Her Health — Organon with Real Chemistry

Politics/Public Affairs/Lobbying/Government

• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar
• Fighting For Our Veterans' Health — IAVA with ROKK Solutions
• Guiding a Texas Energy Company through Winter Storm Uri — Hill+Knowlton Strategies
• Informing Cyber Policy at a Critical Moment — Hewlett Foundation with Glen Echo Group
• Securing Justice for U.S. Victims of Terror — Crowell & Moring with Marathon Strategies

New to Market

Best New Company / Executive Launch

• How a tech startup coming out of stealth is changing the entire airline industry — Airspace Intelligence with The Bulliet Group
• Launching Organon: A New Company that is Here for Her Health — Organon with Real Chemistry
• Launching Viatris: Staring down the pandemic. Standing up for patients. — Viatris
• PMI: Leveraging a Change in Leadership To Achieve a Better Future, Faster — Philip Morris International

Best New Product / Brand Launch

• A Really, Really Big Dill – Crook & Marker Launches Afternoon Dillight Hard Pickle Seltzer — Crook & Marker and BrüMate with Coyne PR
• Ford F-150 Lightning Reveal — Ford Motor Company with Imagination & Wieden+Kennedy
• It Wasn't Me - Cheetos — Frito-Lay North America: Cheetos with Ketchum
• Kids are ready. A senseless murder proved it. — A Kids Company About with GreenRoom
• Wingstop: Thighstop Solves the Chicken Wing Shortage — Wingstop with MSL, Leo Burnett, Publicis Media, Hawkeye, 3 Headed Monster

Innovation Excellence

Innovator of the Year — Agency

• Amidst Massive Agency Growth, Spool Launches Investment Arm — Spool
• Bospar: the Politely Pushy, Work-From-Home Agency — Bospar
• Hotwire: The Comms Consultancy that Powers the World's Most Innovative Tech Brands — Hotwire
• Lippe Taylor CEO, Paul Dyer, as Innovator of the Year — Lippe Taylor
• Virginia Devlin. Innovator of the Year. — Current Global