Google Canada is highlighting and celebrating the best of the Search Marketing world with the Google Search Honours Awards.
The awards honour Canadian marketers and their agencies who are finding innovative ways to make the most of their marketing dollars by using AI-powered Search strategies.
The submissions for this year’s awards showcased how companies were able to drive growth using AI-powered strategies, experimentation, strategic change management, and the implementation of innovation to ultimately maximize results.
“AI is the most disruptive technology marketers have faced in a generation, and the benefits of adopting Google AI-powered Search are clearly evident in the impressive entries we received. It’s safe to say that we had our work cut out for us in narrowing down to the shortlist,” says Matthew Rivard, director, strategy and product acceleration, Google Canada.
Across three categories and six awards 24 contenders have made the Google Search Honours Awards shortlist.
The following submissions have made the shortlist and are presented in alphabetical order for each category. In both the Reach Expansion and Value Impact categories one Best in Class winner and one Rising Star will be honoured.
The Reach Expansion category recognizes work that leverages AI-powered Search tools to efficiently connect with a wider audience.
| Shortlist for Reach Expansion – Best in Class Award: | Shortlist for Reach Expansion – Rising Star Award: | |
| Canadian Tire | BMO | Reprise Digital | |
| Hudson’s Bay | Desjardins | Glassroom | |
| Lululemon Athletica | Hyundai | Innocean | |
| RBC Insurance | WebAgency | Simplii Financial |
The Value Impact category celebrates AI-powered work that uses smart bidding strategies to get the most out of Search advertising investments.
| Shortlist for Value Impact – Best in Class Award: |
Shortlist for Value Impact – Rising Star Award: | |
| Air Canada | Destination BC | Noise Digital | |
| Jewlr | Scotiabank | |
| QuickBooks Online | Shopify | |
| Toyota | Saatchi & Saatchi/Synergize | WestJet Airlines Ltd. | Touché! |
The final category is AI Innovation, which shines a light on those who are pushing the boundaries and breaking new ground with AI-powered Search campaigns. The two awards in this category are Marketer of the Year and Agency of the Year.
| Shortlist for AI Innovation – Marketer of the Year | Shortlist for AI Innovation – Agency of the Year | |
| Canadian Tire | Mindshare | |
| Lululemon Athletica | PHD | |
| QuickBooks Online | Saatchi & Saatchi/Synergize | |
| TD Bank | Starcom |
“What’s interesting about all of these entries is that none of them tell a story of perfection, but rather one of progress through experimentation,” says Matthew Rivard. “It’s these companies that are willing to lean into experimentation and iteration that are seeing the greatest success with AI-based Search strategies. We’re looking forward to celebrating everyone shortlisted and the eventual winners in November.”
Winners will be announced at an exclusive event this November in Toronto.
