The Digiday Media Buying and Planning Awards recognize companies, campaigns and technology that have been most successful in the modern media landscape. This year’s nominees leaned on emotionally driven narratives and audience-driven personalizations to deliver connected, full-funnel experiences at scale.
Nominees in the Media Campaign of the Year category include Uber Advertising, which built a full-funnel holiday campaign for Diageo designed to capture consumer attention during the spirit industry’s most competitive sales period. The effort combined digital, experiential and commerce-driven tactics across Uber’s advertising ecosystem, including Journey Ads, homepage takeovers and post-checkout placements, guiding consumers from discovery to purchase. The campaign also included a “design your own bottle” Don Julio activation and a Bryant Park Winter Village experience. The integrated approach delivered measurable business results, with portfolio gains across tequila, whiskey and vodka demonstrating the effectiveness of connecting high-intent consumer moments with coordinated storytelling and commerce-focused media placements.
In the Media Plan of the Year category, finalists include the NFL and CBS/Paramount+ for their “Count on Sundays” 360-degree campaign. The effort — which spanned TV, streaming, social, digital, stadium media and dynamic OOH placements — positioned the NFL as a dependable constant in an unpredictable cultural moment. Using contextual audience insights, creative executions were customized for specific environments, from airports to subway stations, making the messaging feel timely, localized and relevant while maintaining a unified brand identity across channels. The campaign delivered strong business results, helping CBS secure its highest NFL opening weekend ratings in 27 years, with viewership up 15% from the previous season’s kickoff weekend.
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