Rapp triumphs at DMA Awards with biggest gold haul

Omnicom’s UK data-driven marketing agency Rapp has emerged as the big winner from the first round of this year’s DMA Awards, scooping six golds in one of its best performances for more than a decade.

Rapp had the second highest number of nominations – 17 – when the shortlist was revealed in October, and ended up walking off with top prizes for Laithwaites (pictured), PayPal and Virgin Media campaigns.

The shortlist was led by Ogilvy UK on 22 entries but as has been proved over the years, the agency with the highest number of nominations rarely comes out on top on the night.

Even so, the evening it did prove fruitful for Ogilvy, which picked up five golds for work for Hellmann’s, Relate and Formula One. Elsewhere, VCCP and VCCP CX netted four golds, MRM and M&C Saatchi three and Edit, Engine and MBAstack two apiece.

However, none of these agencies did enough to make it on to the grand prix shortlist, which features three shops who were way down the pecking order in the awards stakes.

The battle for the top accolade will be between Engine and EA, which won two golds for the Kiyan Prince Foundation’s Long Live the Prince, MBAstack, which also picked up two golds for Solace Women’s Aid’s #MakeItStop and Wunderman Thompson UK, which went home with just a solitary gold for BT Sport’s The Unseen Stats.

As with last year’s grand prix, scooped by Wunderman, the winner will not be revealed until January.

As is tradition, more than 300 senior marketers from agencies, brands and specialists helped to judge the awards over a ten-day period. Mail management specialist Citipost Mail is the headline sponsor.

There were 35 categories in total, split across five tracks; industry sectors, channels, campaigns, data and craft; only one category, Best Use of Email, did not have a gold winner.

The full list of winners is detailed here:

Automotive
Gold: Land Rover Defender ‘Just Add Water. And Mud. And Ruts. And Rocks…’
Agency: Edit and Spark44
Client: Jaguar Land Rover

Travel and Leisure
Gold: Cunard: Navigating the Route to Recovery
Agency: Armadillo
Client: Cunard

Entertainment, Music and Publishing
Gold: The National: The Middle East Explained
Agency: MRM
Client: The National

Sport
Gold: Long Live The Prince
Agency: Engine and EA
Client: The Kiyan Prince Foundation

Utilities and Telecoms
Gold: Breaking the Great British Smile Drought
Agency: Rapp
Client: Virgin Media

Retail and Ecommerce
Gold: LynXmas, Smell Ready for Christmas
Agency: Oliver/U-Studio
Client: Unilever

Financial Services
Gold: How our data-fuelled imagination made it a Christmas to remember
Agency: Rapp
Client: PayPal

Public Sector
Gold: Bet Regret: Tap Out
Agency: M&C Saatchi
Client: GambleAware

Charity
Gold: #MakeItStop
Agency: MBAstack
Client: Solace Women’s Aid

Best B2B
Gold: My Toolstation
Agency: Havas CX Helia
Client: Toolstation

Best B2C
Gold: We Are The NHS: Then, Now, Always
Agency: MullenLowe Group UK
Client: NHS England

Best Use of Email
No gold awarded

Best Use of Social Media
Gold: Cadbury Twirl Orange Presale
Agency: VCCP
Client: Mondelez

Best Use of Unaddressed Print
Gold: War Graves Week
Agency: M&C Saatchi
Client: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Best Use of Mail
Gold: Land Rover Defender – ‘Build Your Own Adventure’
Agency: Edit and Spark44
Client: Jaguar Land Rover

Best Use of Out of Home
Gold: Let’s Talk the Joys of Later Life Sex
Agency: Ogilvy UK
Client: Relate

Best Use of Film, Video or Moving Image
Gold: #MakeItStop
Agency: MBAstack
Client: Solace Women’s Aid

Best Use of Voice or Audio
Gold: Wake up Call
Agency: Ogilvy UK
Client: Formula One

Best Integrated Campaign
Gold: Oreo – The Playful Network
Agency: Digitas UK
Client: Mondelez International

Best Launch Campaign
Gold: Cadbury Twirl Orange Presale
Agency: VCCP
Client: Mondelez

Best Brand Building Campaign
Gold: Wine Cellar Feeling
Agency: Rapp
Client: Laithwaites

Best Customer Acquisition Campaign
Gold: Wine Cellar Feeling
Agency: Rapp
Client: Laithwaites

Best Customer Journey
Gold: Canon – Fueling a virtuous circle of passion, proficiency and purchase propensity
Agency: VCCP CX
Client: Canon

Best Customer Retention or Loyalty Programme
Gold: Canon – Fueling a virtuous circle of passion, proficiency and purchase propensity
Agency: VCCP CX
Client: Canon

Best Performance Marketing Activity
Gold: How our data-fuelled imagination made it a Christmas to remember
Agency: Rapp
Client: PayPal

Best Thoughtful Marketing Campaign
Gold: Twitter Street
Agency: Rapp
Client: Virgin Media

Best Sustainability Campaign
Gold: Hellmann’s Animal Crossing
Agency: Ogilvy UK and Ogilvy Toronto
Client: Hellmann’s

Best Use of Data and Insight
Gold: The National: The Middle East Explained
Agency: MRM
Client: The National

Best Data Storytelling
Gold: The National: The Middle East Explained
Agency: MRM
Client: The National

Best Use of Marketing Automation
Gold: How Varelotteriet (The Danish Lottery) won over the nation
Entrant: MAPP
Agency: Ambition
Client: Varelotteriet (The Danish Lottery)

Best Use of AI
Gold: The Unseen Stats
Agency: Wunderman Thompson UK
Client: BT Sport

Best Writing
Gold: Let’s Talk The Joys of Later Life Sex
Agency: Ogilvy UK
Client: Relate

Best Design or Art Direction
Gold: Let’s Talk The Joys of Later Life Sex
Agency: Ogilvy UK
Client: Relate

Best UX
Gold: War Graves Week
Agency: M&C Saatchi
Client: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Best Creative Solution
Gold: Long Live The Prince
Agency: Engine and EA
Client: The Kiyan Prince Foundation