The 2022 Shopper Innovation and Activation (SIA) Awards kicked off this week with the announcement of its co-chairs, Susan O’Brien and Tracey Cooke, as well as a new look. 

The SIA Awards showcase breakthrough achievements that span brand activations, experiential,  retail innovation and shopper marketing. The program is also a part of strategy‘s annual Shopper Marketing Forum (SMF), a conference taking place in May with programming spanning path-to-purchase innovation and new retail models to consumer trends.

O’Brien (pictured, left) hails from Canadian Tire as the chief brand and customer officer, where she oversees all aspects of the brand including customer experience across all channels. In the strategy world, she was named one of the publication’s 2019 Marketers of the Year.

Cooke is the head of marketing and commercialization at Nestle Canada, where she is responsible for building the CPG’s portfolio of brands and driving sustainable growth. Prior to CPG, Cooke’s background includes expertise as a creative director at several agencies.

To determine the winners of this year’s SIA Awards, O’Brien and Cooke (pictured, right) will lead a group of  multifaceted industry execs, to be announced in the coming weeks.

This year, Wunderman Thompson reenvisioned the SIAs branding for the future, with a new logo and trophy. The SIAs identity work led by ECD Ari Elkouby now features a flame as part of the program’s emblem logo, demonstrating the ideas that connect with consumers and ignite passion for a brand. 

“It was designed to move the program beyond its shopping cart roots and retire the build-your-own trophy-in-a-bag for a more iconic identity that speaks to the creative confluence required to spark consumer action across the activation, experiential, retail space,” explains Mary Maddever, Brunico EVP, editorial director and publisher of strategy. 

In addition to the redesign, the program is also introducing three new categories: Omnichannel experience, Overcoming challenge, and PR. Entries for the Shopper Innovation and Activation Awards are now open, with the early bird deadline on November 15. For more information on eligibility and how to enter, visit the SIA Awards website.