Active took home the Best in Show Award for its Myer Santaland concept at the Shop! (formerly POPAI) 2018 Marketing at Retail Awards.
The Santaland piece was created alongside agency Ideaworks by Y&R, and took out several of the major prizes on the night, known as Pinnacle Awards. The Pinnacle wins included the Tom Harris best in show Marketing at Retail, Best Design & Innovation, and Best Shopper Experience.
Zita Watkins, general manager, Marketing, Active, says, “The Best in Show certainly shows that we are backing up these awards. We won the same award last year, so to take it two years in a row is great.
“We also won best design and innovation, and another Pinnacle Award. Knowing that we are trailblazers in a difficult market, consistently, makes us feel like we are doing the right thing, and challenging ourselves. Our customers are challenging themselves as well, and we are being rewarded for it.”
Carla Bridge, Shop! ANZ general manager, says, “While every year has stand-out entries, this year our Awards program was especially competitive, owing to the high calibre of the campaigns submitted.
“There was a noticeable lift in the standard of entries right across the board, in most categories, there were several worthy winners, however, we were only able to award gold, silver and bronze in each category.
“We have seen a surge in popularity in the non-traditional Shopper Experience categories. While the more traditional Physical Display categories remain as strong as ever, 2018 has really been a tipping point for newer disciplines such as Digital and Experiential.”
The print work for Best Display was completed by Ainbow for the Star Wars: The Last Jedi piece for The Walt Disney Company, designed with Spark, while PepsiCo and XPO Brands won the People’s Choice Awards for Doritos Crackers.
In the two largest and most tightly contest categories – Integrated Path to Purchase and Occasion-Based Campaign, Convert Communications and Edelman won two golds for their Sprocket Mother Day entries for HP Australia.
Experiential, the fastest growing category of the Shop! Marketing at Retail Awards programme, saw Myer Santaland by Active and Ideaworks by Y&R take home gold.
In Grocery (Food), Fonterra dominated the Permanent category, winning gold for its Ideal Chiller campaign with The Xine and Hussmann and Silver for its Next Generation In-Aisle Fridges with Clemenger BBDO and Parmalat.
Fonterra’s Ideal Chiller received three gold on the night, while its Next Generation Fridges received two silver.
In Health and Beauty, Gold prizes went to Revlon’s Youth FX Floor stand by POP This POP That in Temporary, and EDA’s Bvlgari Travel Retail system for Permanent.
The annual Shop! ANZ Marketing at Retail Awards recognise and reward best practice, innovation, and excellence in retail and shopper marketing across Australia and New Zealand. Now in their 20th year, the Awards span 22 categories, covering physical display (both permanent and temporary) and shopper experience.
The organisers say that the 2018 Awards were the biggest ever, attracting a record number of entries at 222, some 65 more than 2017, and with the highest standard across the board.
To achieve gold, silver and bronze awards, entrants must hit set scores – in the case that a score is not met in a category for that year, no prize is awarded.
Bridge explains, “These awards are a true testament to the strength and success of retail marketing in Australia and New Zealand and prove that the sector is a robust and indispensable element in the retail mix.”
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