Welcome to the 2003 Best Media Plan issue of Strategy MEDIA. Apart from this introduction, we at Strategy didn’t write a word of it, but it’s probably the most compelling issue of the year.
That’s because it’s packed with the best media plans produced in 2002, and they are breathtakingly clever. You’d think that reading media plans would rank up there with reading actuary tables and doing your taxes, but in truth, they’re strangely addictive. Anyone who takes pleasure in seeing difficult problems neatly tied up with elegant solutions, anyone who loves that ‘Aha!’ moment when everything crystallizes, will get a kick out of these plans.
Besides, you have to find out how an ingenious Car Bait ad by Palmer Jarvis, which was carefully targeted at criminals, fooled an actual car thief into thinking the cops were on his tail, causing him to panic, run a red light and get picked up.
Thanks to all the media operations that took part by submitting even more plans than last year. You helped make Strategy’s seventh annual Best Media Plan competition the best ever.
Duncan Hood, Editor
How the winners were chosen
This is how it worked: Any media planning operation or division in the country was allowed to submit as many plans executed during 2002 as it wanted. Each plan could only be entered in one of the eight categories listed below.
Each plan was sent out to three judges, and each judge awarded it a mark out of 10. The marks from the judges were then averaged. The plans with the highest marks in each category won those categories, and the second-highest scorers won ‘runner up’ status.
There was no Best Plan Overall category. Rather, this award was reserved for the plan that received the highest score in any of the eight regular categories. The judges did not rate any plans that were worked on by their immediate operations. As much as possible, we distributed the plans so that judges wouldn’t be marking plans involving their clients’ direct competitors either. The judges worked independently, and none of the judges or participants knew who won the competition until the results were released to the public.
Our distinguished 24-member panel can be found on page 23. All volunteered to spend a weekend grading media plans. For this we offer our most sincere thanks.
The winners
Best plan overall
Winner
Carlsberg World Cup
Media: Labatt Media Group
Client: Labatt Breweries of Canada
Runner up
Bait Car
Media: OMD Canada – PJDDB group
Clients: ICBC; Vancouver Police Department
Best use of out-of-home
Winner
Carlsberg World Cup
Media: Labatt Media Group
Client: Labatt Breweries of Canada
Runner up
Volkswagen FCMM sponsorship
Media: PALM Publicité Marketing
Client: Volkswagen of America
Best use of radio
Winner
Bait Car
Media: OMD Canada – PJDDB group
Clients: ICBC; Vancouver Police Department
Runner up
Paramount Canada’s Wonderland
Media: HYPN
Client: Paramount Canada’s Wonderland
Best use of television
Winner (tie)
Dominican Republic: Land of Sensations
Media: MediaVest Worldwide (Canada)
Client: Dominican Republic Tourism
Winner (tie)
VW Olympic broadcast sponsorship
Media: PALM Publicité Marketing
Client: Volkswagen of America
Runner up
Queen’s Jubilee promotion
Media: OMD Canada – PJDDB group
Client: British Tourist Authority
Best use of newspaper
Winner
BMW Retailer Review
Media: The Media Company
Client: BMW Toronto Dealer Group
Best use of interactive media
Winner
Roll in the Loot with Rolaids Fruit
Media: Bates Canada
Client: Pfizer Canada
Runner up
Pop Tarts ‘Sweet Pop Machine’
Media: Initiative Media
Client: Kellogg Canada
Best use of multiple media
Winner
World of Taste Coffee
Media: Target Marketing & Communications
Client: Irving Mainway Convenience Stores
Runner up
Lavalife New York brand launch
Media: MindShare Canada
Client: Lavalife
Best plan for less than $1 million
Winner
Listerine PocketPaks CineScrambler
Media: Bates Canada
Client: Pfizer Canada
Runner up
Maya ‘You Won’t Believe Your Eyes’
Media: Media Experts
Client: Alias Wavefront
Best use of magazine
Winner
Passat 4MOTION insert
Media: PALM Publicité Marketing
Client: Volkswagen of America
Runner up
Showcase Magnolia promotion
Media: Alliance Atlantis Broadcast Group
Client: Showcase
