The Media Innovation Awards (MIAs) gala has come to a close for another year, with Initiative, Courage and Wavemaker leading the way as 2023 Best of Show winners.

The coveted Best of Show honour was bestowed upon Courage and Wavemaker’s “Street Fighter” campaign for KFC Canada on Wednesday night (Nov. 29). The fast-food chain’s campaign looked to connect with younger gamer audiences by making Colonel Sanders a playable character in the Street Fighter 6 video game. 

The Courage, Wavemaker and KFC team behind the award-winning “Street Fighter” campaign.

The KFC campaign also picked up a Gold medal (in the Best Use of Content – Best in Brand Integration category), as well as three Bronzes (Best Use of Media – Best in Experiential/Stunts – Budget Under $100K, Niche Marketing – Best in Niche Targeting, Best Media Insights – Best Disruption).

The Public Service Best of Show was awarded to Initiative and FCB’s “Inployable” campaign for the Canadian Down Syndrome Society. The campaign was set up to use LinkedIn to connect employers with vacancies to people with Down syndrome who struggle to find a job.

Initiative’s campaign also picked up a Gold medal (PS Best Use of Digital – Best in Social Media), as well as two Silvers (PS Best Media Insights – Best Disruption, PS Niche Marketing – Best in Niche Targeting) and a Bronze (PS Best Use of Media – Best in OOH Platforms).

The Initiative team behind the award-winning “Inployable” campaign.

The MIAs’ Special Jury Prize for DEI, meanwhile, was awarded to PHD’s “Hockey Jersey” campaign for Scotiabank. The campaign saw the bank publish a book inspired by the classic short story The Hockey Sweater, with diverse characters and a more contemporary storyline.

PHD’s campaign for Scotiabank also picked up a Gold medal (for Best Media Insights – Best Cultural Insights), as well as two Silvers (Best Use of Media – Best Integrated Campaign – Budget Over $250K, Planning With Purpose), and one Bronze (Niche Marketing – Best in CSR).

Zulu Alpha Kilo and Media Experts were among the most decorated winners of the night, picking up two Golds for the “Sound Shopping” campaign for Interac. Zulu Alpha Kilo also won a Gold with Zenith Media for its “Sephora Illumination” campaign for Sephora. 

The MIAs also recognized some of the top media leaders in the industry, honouring both Cathy Collier and Kevin Johnson with Media Leader of the Year awards.

Cathy Collier, OMD

Collier (pictured left) has led OMD Canada as its CEO for more than a decade. The agency boasts a client roster that balances local and global businesses including significant wins this past year in Clorox, Best Buy and Under Armour. She’s also overseen OMD Canada’s investment in research around attention as a measurement metric, having worked with Amplified Intelligence to use eye tracking to measure attention while people view advertising.

Kevin Johnson, GroupM

Johnson (pictured right), meanwhile, has served as GroupM CEO since 2021, starting the new role after working as CEO of MediaCom Canada for more than six years. Johnson has overseen the creation of the GroupM Sports & Live division, as well as sustainability initiatives like the GroupM Carbon Calculator that offers omnichannel carbon measurement. Johnson has also pushed for diversity across the GroupM agency group and its leadreship team, and supported diverse media by asking clients to pledge 5% of their total annual media budgets to publishers and media companies owned by or serving diverse audiences.

Full details on the Media Innovation Award winners and the jury that selected these winners can be found on the MIAs website.

The Gold medal winners at this year’s MIAs are listed below:

Citizen Relations

Elimin8Hate, “ReclaimYourName.dic”
Planning With Purpose

PepsiCo, “Cheetle in Cheadle”
Best Media Insights – Best Disruption

Courage

CIBC, “Send All the Love”
Niche Marketing – Best in Niche Targeting
Media partner: EssenceMediaCom

KFC, “Street Fighter”
Best of Show
Best Use of Content – Best in Brand Integration
Media partner: Wavemaker

Raising the Roof, “Streetswear”
Public Service Best Use of Media – Best in Experiential/Stunts

Essence Mediacom

Canadian Blood Services, “Light Up for Blood”
Public Service Best Use of Media – Best in Experiential/Stunts

Fuse Create

Hilton, “Hilton on the Green”
Best Use of Media – Best in Experiential/Stunts – Budget Over $100K
Niche Marketing – Best in Sponsorships

Initiative

Canadian Down Syndrome Society, “Inployable”
Public Service Best of Show
Public Service Best Use of Digital – Best in Social Media
Creative Partner: FCB

WWF, “re:grow”
Public Service Best Use of Digital – Best in Data-Driven Marketing
Creative Partner: Performance Art

OMD

Plenty of Fish, “Dick Pics”
Best Media Insights – Best Launch/Relaunch

PHD

Scotiabank, “Hockey Jersey”
Special Jury Prize for DEI
Best Media Insights – Best Cultural Insights

Unilever (Dove), “Keep the Grey”
Best Use of Digital – Best in Social Media

Zulu Alpha Kilo, Media Experts

Interac, “Sound Shopping”
Best Use of Media – Best in Audio Platforms
Products and Services – Best in Finance and Services

Zulu Alpha Kilo, Zenith Media

Sephora, “Sephora Illumination”
Products and Services – Best in Retail

Correction: This story has been updated to include Wavemaker as the media partner for the Best-of-Show-winning “Street Fighter” campaign for KFC, and to include EssenceMediaCom as the media partner for the Gold-medal-winning CIBC “Send All the Love” campaign.