Special Awards

A special award, recognizing the best use of direct mail marketing.

The Canada Post Direct Mail Award is free to enter. Please review the requirements carefully to ensure your entry is eligible.

Overview

The new marketing landscape continues to evolve, grow and change and that can bring challenges but also many new opportunities to achieve success!  At the heart of impactful marketing, this continues to be true: deliver the right message to the right person at the right time via the right channel.  As marketers, we are operating in an integrated world, amplifying our programs via multiple channels.  The key is to identify the media mix which is most impactful.  All channels have proven, effective roles to play in acquisition, retention and developing advocates for brands.

Direct mail has a unique ability to complement and amplify other channels as well as provide a targeted and personal connection.  The home continues to be central to our lives and where decisions that really matter are made. That makes direct mail the ideal channel to break through to your target.  Today, direct mail can be individually customized and delivered programmatically to the customer in as little as 48 hours, it can be combined with digital to drive higher brand recall, it can target consumers through location-based observed behaviour via smartphones or simply be integrated in an omni-channel marketing campaign.

The Direct Mail Award, sponsored by Canada Post, recognizes strategy, creativity and results as achieved in an integrated marketing campaign that includes the specific channel of direct mail. The Direct Mail Award recognizes the most outstanding integrated marketing execution of the year.

Who Should Enter

Any campaign that has strategically utilized direct mail as a part of an integrated marketing campaign within the last 18 months. The direct mail piece needs to have been delivered using Canada Post properties.

In addition to being an eligible entrant, fulfillment houses, statement design firms, consultants, form design firms and printing companies may be interested in collaborating with clients to develop an award submission.

A panel of judges, appointed by Canada Post and CMA, will select one winner based on the following criteria:

1. Creative solution. The campaign must use creative that inspired emotion, connected consumers with the brand or motivated a change of behaviour.
2. Strategic thought. We consider a campaign to be strategically sound when it has considered 3 attributes: Data – reaching the target market with precision to deliver relevance and value, Physicality – triggers emotion and Connectivity – strengthens connections across media touch points.
3. Results. These should be measurable, robust metrics that demonstrate how a campaign achieved its business objectives and business impact. The results could be an increase in sales, brand recall, a shift in perception or a proven behaviour change.

How to Enter

The Direct Mail Award, sponsored by Canada Post is FREE to enter!

You can enter as many times as you like; submissions can be the same creative as your other entry, or an entirely different campaign.

Instructions

Apply for this award on the CMA Awards entry website.

1. Select "Canada Post Direct Mail Award" from the drop–down menu and complete the entry form
2. If you copied and pasted/replicated this entry from another award entry, be sure to edit the text to address the criteria for the Canada Post Direct Mail Award
3. Complete the entry as needed

Each entry must be submitted and uploaded individually. If you are entering the same materials in more than one discipline/category, you must upload the files separately for each entry.

All entries, including French market campaigns, are to be written in English to ensure fair judging. Please provide English translations in print or "dubbed–in" for any creative elements in French.

By entering this award, you grant Canada Post permission to use your entry to demonstrate a "gold standard".

A special award, recognizing the best use of data and analytics in marketing.

The Environics Analytics Data-Driven Marketing Award is free to enter. Please review the requirements carefully to ensure your entry is eligible.

Overview

The volume of available data, deeper analytics capabilities and innovations in technology allow marketers to connect more effectively with their customers and markets than ever before.

Whether aiding in the development of an overall marketing strategy, informing the planning of a campaign or evaluating the success of a specific promotion, data analytics is an essential tool in every marketer’s portfolio.

The Data-Driven Marketing Award, sponsored by Environics Analytics, recognizes innovative, creative and exemplary applications of data and analytics in the development of or as key elements in executing marketing campaigns that produce exceptional results.

Who should enter

For a marketing campaign or initiative to be considered for the Data-Driven Marketing Award, it must make use of data–driven analytics in a significant or meaningful way, whether in the development, execution or assessment of the campaign.

A panel of judges, appointed by Environics Analytics and CMA, will select one winner based on the following criteria:

• Creative planning and execution involving data analytics, such as developing a segmentation model to determine the best audiences to test–market a new product; combining purchase history and social values to produce more relevant or personalized messaging for an effective direct marketing campaign; or measuring the current and prospective value of customers to increase product sales per customer. 
• Strategic thought, such as analyzing past data on behaviour and preferences to identifying high–value target customers; determining knowledge gaps and accessing additional data to create a more comprehensive view of customers; or evaluating metrics within the marketing mix to allocate budgets more effectively and efficiently.
• Results: Innovative engagement, such as leveraging consumer segmentation information to identify and service pockets of underserved markets; offering sponsorship and reward program opportunities to partners that offer products of interest to current customers as determined by their lifestyles and purchase histories; or using social media data to identify and address health–related concerns within specific populations, such as recent immigrants and new parents.

How to Enter

The Data-Driven Marketing Award is sponsored by Environics Analytics and is FREE to enter!
You can enter as many times as you like; submissions can be the same creative as your other entry, or an entirely different campaign.

Instructions

Apply for this award on the CMA Awards entry website.

1. Select "Data-Driven Marketing Award" from the drop–down menu and complete the entry form
2. If you copied and pasted/replicated this entry from another award entry, be sure to edit the text to address the criteria for the Data-Driven Marketing Award
3. Complete the entry as needed

A special award, recognizing opportunities to better represent people in online ads, inspire more inclusive and authentic advertising content, and uncover the positive impact of inclusive portrayal — for people and businesses.

The Meta Business Equity Award is free to enter. Please review the requirements carefully to ensure your entry is eligible.

Overview

People around the world are demanding to see themselves better represented in advertising. They want to see the true diversity of their communities depicted more often—and more accurately—across many areas, including race, gender, sexual orientation, and people with disabilities. These expectations apply to a brand's full range of marketing, including their online campaigns. In fact, 71% of people expect brands to promote diversity and inclusion in their online advertising.

At Meta, we recognize the power of creativity to positively impact not only businesses and brands, but also the world at large. This CMA Award recognizes creative work that represents the communities that marketers serve across Canada and the world, work that rejects stereotypes and embraces, promotes, and confronts prejudice and inequality by representing individuals and groups of people in an inclusive, equitable, and socially conscious way.

Who Should Enter

All entries must be part of a paid advertising campaign with new creative from 2021 or 2022.

The objective of the award is to identify increased opportunities to represent diverse people in online ads, inspire more inclusive and authentic advertising content, and recognize the positive impact of inclusive portrayal — for people and businesses.

Entries will need to demonstrate ideas that positively challenge and shift ingrained inequality, discrimination or injustice. The CMA Business Equity Award recognizes work that implicitly or explicitly addresses issues of inequity or prejudice, through the conscious representation of inclusive representation in advertising. Feel free to submit the full breadth of a campaign or program to demonstrate that inclusive representation is clear throughout all tactics.

The award will evaluate campaigns in terms of their use of inclusive representation in every step of the advertising creative – from the consumer insight or idea to the creative brief, right through to production – not just the diverse talent appearing on camera.

Entries will be evaluated in three areas by a panel of judges appointed by Meta and the CMA:

1. Inclusive - Advertising portrays individuals in ways that are authentic and free from stereotypes, while promoting and embracing unique identities in a manner that helps all communities feel welcome, understood and valued.
2. Representative - Advertising includes individuals who represent diverse backgrounds and identities. Factors that should be considered include, but are not limited to, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status, religion, age, ability and body type.
3. Developed by diverse clients, suppliers and partners - Advertising is developed by clients, suppliers and partners (including agencies) who represent diverse backgrounds and communities. These individuals include, but are not limited to, writers, producers, filmmakers, designers, production staff, on-screen talent and editors.

How to Enter

The Business Equity Award is sponsored by Meta and is complimentary to enter!

You can enter as many times as you like; submissions can be the same creative as your other entry, or an entirely different campaign.

Instructions

Apply for this award on the CMA Awards entry website.

1. Select "Meta Business Equity Award" from the drop–down menu and complete the entry form.
2. If you copied and pasted/replicated this entry from another award entry, be sure to edit the text to address the criteria for the Business Equality Award.
3. Complete the entry as needed.

Each entry must be submitted and uploaded individually. If you are entering the same materials in more than one discipline/category, you must upload the files separately for each entry.

All entries, including French market campaigns, are to be written in English to ensure fair judging. Please provide English translations in print or "dubbed–in" for any creative elements in French.

By entering this award, you grant Meta permission to use your entry to demonstrate a "gold standard" of Business Equity.

A special award, recognizing the best B2B marketing campaigns.

The LinkedIn B2B Marketing Award is free to enter. Please review the requirements carefully to ensure your entry is eligible.

Overview

For the first time in the history of media, you can reach the world’s professionals—all in one place. LinkedIn is the largest global community of business professionals with 675 million members and growing. These are the decision-makers, influencers, and leaders of today and tomorrow.

They come to LinkedIn with purpose and consume a range of professional content. This includes industry news, expert advice, professional learning, peer insights, and recommendations. This is a very different mindset and intent from other social media platforms. And it’s precisely this aspirational mindset that has led to the explosion of content now shared weekly on the LinkedIn feed.

This mindset and intent makes LinkedIn a uniquely powerful social media channel for B2B marketers. Offering a full suite of products to help companies gain relevant visibility and recognition with their most valuable audiences, LinkedIn has proven a sound investment, which is why 97% of B2B marketers utilize it for their content marketing efforts.

The LinkedIn B2B Marketing Award rewards brands and agencies that leverage the world’s largest professional community to capture attention and drive business results in a business-to-business setting. The award will consider campaigns in terms of their use of strategy, creativity, LinkedIn’s products and campaign results.

Who Should Enter

In this category, we are looking for campaigns that use LinkedIn’s platform to achieve business goals. All entries must be part of a paid advertising campaign reaching an advertiser's primary target audience.

The campaign may be submitted by agencies or brands and will be evaluated in four areas by a panel of judges appointed by LinkedIn and CMA:

• Strategy. The campaign must have a strategy that reaches a brand’s target market and solves a business problem in a unique and effective way.
• B2B and LinkedIn. Effective use of marketing solutions from LinkedIn in a B2B marketing campaign. The campaign can be an integrated media execution beyond just digital, but winners will be selected based on the innovative use of digital advertising products from LinkedIn.
• Creative. The campaign submitted must use creative that inspired emotion, connected customers with a brand, or motivated a change in behaviour.
• Results. The outcome of the campaign must have a significant impact for the brand or business, whether it be calculated brand impact, leads delivered, cost per acquisition or sales lift.

How to Enter

The B2B Marketing Award is sponsored by LinkedIn and is FREE to enter!

You can enter as many times as you like; submissions can be the same creative as your other entry, or an entirely different campaign.

Instructions

Apply for this award on the CMA Awards entry website.

1. Select "B2B Marketing Award" from the drop–down menu and complete the entry form
2. If you copied and pasted/replicated this entry from another award entry, be sure to edit the text to address the criteria for the B2B Marketing Award
3. Complete the entry as needed

Each entry must be submitted and uploaded individually. If you are entering the same materials in more than one discipline/category, you must upload the files separately for each entry.

All entries, including French market campaigns, are to be written in English to ensure fair judging. Please provide English translations in print or "dubbed–in" for any creative elements in French.

By entering this award, you grant LinkedIn permission to use your entry to demonstrate a "gold standard" of B2B marketing.

A special award, recognizing the top agencies and/or brands showing the power of creativity on the TikTok platform.

The TikTok Power of Entertainment Award is free to enter. Please review the requirements carefully to ensure your entry is eligible.

Overview

Presented by TikTok, the TikTok Power of Entertainment Award will seek to honour an agency or brand that understands TikTok’s core DNA— showing the power of creativity is on the platform—and created work made for TikTok that drove cultural and/or commercial impact. 

Who Should Enter

There is no cost to enter and entry is open to campaigns, videos or actions that debuted and ran on TikTok between Dec. 1, 2021 and June 1, 2023. The supporting evidence must include work that ran in Canada on TikTok in those 18 months and can consist of videos, creative examples and case studies. All work entered must have been intentionally made for TikTok and/ or a major component was inspired by TikTok and lived on and off platform.

The campaign, video or action will have leaned into one or more of TikTok’s core pillars and deliver on TikTok's mission to inspire creativity and bring joy:

• Community: Highlighted or engaged a community by showing up authentically, partnering with creators, and/or took advantage of community moment(s) and turned it into a movement.
• Sound: Leveraged or created net-new audio and/or trending sounds to amplify creative.
• Co-creation: Incorporated co-creation tools like duet, stitch, and hashtag challenges to spark user-generated content.
• Entertainment: The content was entertaining, sparked joy, and showcased brand storytelling in a surprise and delight way.

How to Enter

The TikTok Power of Entertainment Award is sponsored by TikTok and is complimentary to enter!

You can enter as many times as you like; submissions can be the same creative as your other entry, or an entirely different campaign.

Instructions

Apply for this award on the CMA Awards entry website.

1. Select "TikTok Power of Entertainment Award" from the drop–down menu and complete the entry form.
2. If you copied and pasted/replicated this entry from another award entry, be sure to edit the text to address the criteria for the TikTok Power of Entertainment Award.
3. Complete the entry as needed.

Each entry must be submitted and uploaded individually. If you are entering the same materials in more than one discipline/category, you must upload the files separately for each entry.

All entries, including French market campaigns, are to be written in English to ensure fair judging. Please provide English translations in print or "dubbed–in" for any creative elements in French.

By entering this award, you grant TikTok permission to use your entry to demonstrate a "gold standard" of Power of Entertainment. Anything you submit, including results of the work, may be published.

This award will be judged by CMA and TikTok.

The advertiser must have obtained consent to use the image(s) and recordings or videos of any people who appear in the ad, including parental consent for images of children/youth if applicable. Campaigns must not be primarily targeted to children under 13.