DraftFCB Media’s Mini SOHO campaign wins CAANZ Media Awards Best in Show

Draft FCB Media’s campaign for Mini SOHO swept the pool at the 2011 Communication Agencies Association of New Zealand (CAANZ) Media Awards held tonight at the Langham in Auckland, along with being awarded the coveted Best in Show title.

Draft FCB Media also won Media Agency of the Year, plus five gold awards and three silver awards.

OMD New Zealand also had a big night, winning two gold awards and 14 silver Awards.

The premise of selling a big-ticket item, over the internet, without any of the usual sales support was a challenge the DraftFCB Media team rose to. While using the internet to buy and sell goods is not new, the Mini SOHO – What’s your Number? campaign took this to a new level. Ten Kiwis bought a brand new, $50,000 Mini SOHO online – sight unseen, without a test drive and without any of the traditional discount negotiation offered by car yards.

The intricate and thorough execution of this campaign, whereby DraftFCB Media built 15 different personalities for each Mini SOHO it had to sell, is testament to the power of effective use of advertising media to deliver outstanding results for the client.

DraftFCB Media also won Gold in the IT/Telecommunications/Consumer Durables & Automotive, Best Use of Out of Home, Best Use of Digital and Best Smart Media Idea categories for this work.

Media Agency of the Year was awarded to DraftFCB Media for its outstanding achievements in meeting core business goals in conjunction with constantly striving to be a great place to work.

DraftFCB Media, part of the DraftFCB Group, set out in 2010 to achieve growth in billings and clients along with building capability in the organisation to better suit the needs of its clients. It achieved all this along with maintaining a steady staff base and supporting the wider advertising industry via CAANZ initiatives.

The Media Brand of the Year award was won by TVNZ, which over the past few years evolved from a standard definition, two-channel television network, into a digital media company delivering content on a variety of platforms. In an increasingly competitive environment, TVNZ has differentiated itself by keeping innovation at the core of is business model. It has reached more New Zealanders in more meaningful ways along with focusing on delivering the best outcome for advertisers and viewers alike.

A special Leadership Award was given to Derek Lindsay, managing director, DraftFCB Media at this year’s awards. Lindsay has headed up the DraftFCB Media team since April 2006, and arguably 2010 was one its best years yet. He led the business out of the recession and wrapped up the year with more clients, staff and revenue than forecast. His, and the agency’s success, was reflected by winning the Best in Show title, the Media Agency of the Year, five gold awards and three silvers at this year’s CAANZ Media Awards.

The executive judging panel, comprising some of New Zealand’s leading marketers, commented that the finalists and winners of this year’s awards were outstanding examples of smart media campaigns. The ability to engage and delight consumers and deliver excellent results for clients showed how strong use of strategic insight was used to drive the media programme.

The final round of judging resulted in 13 gold and 23 silvers along with a Highly Commended.  The full list of winners is as follows:

Gold Awards:

Best in Show

DraftFCB Media,

Mini SOHO – What’s your Number?

Media Agency of the Year

DraftFCB Media

Media Brand of the Year

Innovation and TVNZ,

TVNZ

Leadership Award   

Derek Lindsay, Managing Director,

DraftFCB Media