This is a story about the 2020 Shopper Innovation + Activation award winners.
No Name’s sarcastic and self-effacing tone – applied to everything from billboards to Twitter posts and news headlines (and in strategy’s case, story ledes) – is now as recognizable as the private label’s pared-down yellow-and-black packaging. For No Name, the stark yet consistent tone has become a calling card for the brand across every touchpoint of the path-to-purchase.
The SIA jury awarded the “Simple Check” campaign by John St. with the Grand Prix medal this year. It’s worth mentioning that, last year, another Loblaw brand – No Frills – walked away with the top prize, also alongside John St.
“Simple Check” also earned a Gold at the SIAs, which was developed by strategy to highlight the best activation, experiential and shopper marketing programs from 2019. This year’s 14-person jury was co-chaired by Loblaw’s Cheryl Grishkewich and Unilever’s Gina Kiroff.
Other big winners included Rethink – which picked up five Golds between campaigns for the Government of Ontario, Earth Paws Pet Products, Kraft Heinz and WestJet – and Cossette – which earned four Golds for McDonald’s Raptors sponsorship play and its “Friends Wanted” hiring blitz. Meanwhile, work for PepsiCo Foods and Mars Wrigley pushed BBDO Toronto to the top of the podium on three occasions.
Last year, the Shopper Innovation + Activation Awards were rebranded, giving the program a deeper activation lens. This year, in light of the concerns and restrictions of COVID-19, more changes were in store. Instead of a gala, the industry was treated to a virtual “grand reveal” in April, with strategy taking to social media with celebratory showreels of the winning brands and agencies.
The full cases can be found on the SIA site, along with video content celebrating each and every winner, which can be found below:
