B&T Awards The Work: Best Digital Campaign Sponsored By Twitch

It’s hard to believe digital was once an outlier category. Then, we reasoned, such was its ubiquity there was no point having digital as a category at all. The outrage was real!

Now, with no physical barriers other than their creative minds, the shortlisted work for the B&T Awards for Best Digital Campaign presented by Twitch, were genuinely of another universe.

In 2023, entrants were asked to address the below criteria.

The jury will be looking for a strong creative idea specific to the chosen digital medium or media. Demonstrate a strong creative insight. Demonstrate suitability of strategy, media channels, solution and execution against the original brief. Show your outcomes: primarily, delivered effective business results (ROI, brand lift, sales revenue) and secondary, delivered audience engagement (reach, watch time & view duration, sentiment). This category covers all digital channels.

We’d love to see you in the night. Why not come along and see who will be crowned the winners at the Hordern Pavilion on Friday 24 November 2023? Early bird tickets are limited so don’t run the risk of paying full price later.

Secure your table now!

And if you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out the entire short lists for the 2023 B&T Awards here and here.

Catch up also on the B&T Awards shortlisted work here:

• B&T Award For Bravery
• B&T Award for Diversity
• Best Content Marketing Strategy
• Best CTV Campaign
• Best Data-Driven Marketing Campaign
• Best Digital Campaign, sponsored by Twitch
• Best Direct Response Campaign
• Best Integrated Campaign
• Best Media Campaign
• Best OOH Campaign
• Best PR Campaign
• Best TV Campaign
• Best Use of Sponsorship

Below are the finalists with each heading showing the name of the agency, the name of the campaign and then the client footing the bill. The words are as submitted by the entrant.

CHEP Network, Flipvertising, Samsung

How do you turn branded content into a game that GenZ, the most ad-skeptical generation, want to play? By using data and retargeting in a creative way. That’s the story of Flipvertising.

As we noticed more and more conversation on Reddit and other platforms about algorithms and how to avoid or subvert them – we used this insight into emerging behaviour to power an entirely new style of data-driven direct advertising that felt very much the zeitgeist.

By ‘flipping’ the traditional targeted advertising model on its head, we created a competitive ‘internet sport’ where punters actively sought to get targeted by Samsung ads to win the new Galaxy Z Flip4 phone.

To find the winning ad, clue-hunters searched for three specific terms via Google that linked to our films. At first glance, each film was an amusing product demo, but also contained a clue hinting at the next search term to enter the retargeting pool. Whoever watched all three films went into the final retargeting pool and was served the winning ad as a YouTube pre-roll? The first person to find the ad per day, won a new Galaxy Z Flip4.

With such a technical, data-led execution, understanding the impact of extremely small targeting pools whilst ensuring the data integrity and technical requirements to ensure ads fired correctly within the timeframe was an incredible feat of data engineering.

Ultimately in flipping the technology to serve a single advert, we found an incredible creative use of data whilst sending our audience on a free-wheeling exploration of UGC content that celebrated the new Z Flip4 features.

Through a campaign built on knowledge of ad targeting but executed very differently from the norm, we gave our audience the opportunity to experience more content than any traditional targeted campaign could ever have achieved.

HERO, Through Their Eyes, Maybelline

Maybelline New York wanted to engage with Gen Z, in particular the burgeoning gaming demographic, now with a total audience of 17 million in Australia. The brief was to connect with young female gamers in a meaningful and authentic way and enrich their gaming experiences.

The brand had a clear and long-established purpose; ‘give everyone the self-confidence to express their beauty, to play and to make change’. We knew of anecdotal evidence that female identifying gamers were facing constant abuse online resulting in many playing in silence, or not at all. It seemed the online gaming world was a place where many don’t feel free to express themselves.

To change the game, we commissioned an Australian research survey with over 600 gamers to garner deeper insights into the problem and the results were confronting. Over 83% of female identifying gamers have experienced abusive behaviour online and as a result the majority turn off their microphones.

Our strategy was not just to simply shine a light on an existing problem, but to amplify the silent voices on the subject matter, and create allies both male and female in the online gaming world.

We set out to show male gamers what it was like to play through a woman’s eyes. Two prominent Aussie male gamers had their real identities disguised with voice modification software and fake female profiles in an online first-person shooter game. They experienced first-hand the level of constant abuse and bullying experienced by the opposite sex.

Shared out by our four gamer influencers, the film quickly resonated with the online gaming community and beyond. Appreciating they’d been heard, female-identifying players shared their stories, many who had been hiding in silence, and most importantly millions of male gamers called for others to stand up and say something.

M&C Saatchi Group / Collider Studios, The Plastic Forecast, Minderoo Foundation

ntroducing The Plastic Forecast.
A daily reminder of the weight of our plastic problem.

Plastic has damaged our planet in unimaginable ways. It’s now being found in our rain.

Together, Minderoo Foundation and M&C Saatchi created a world first weather metric informing the public how much plastic will fall from the sky on any given day. It was launched in Paris during the UN’s Plastic Treaty discussions at UNESCO headquarters.

It showed up next to weather reports, across social media, and in the news – directing viewers to plasticforecast.com. The site provided live updates on the weight of plastic falling on Parisians that day, with weekly, monthly and yearly figures available.

In just two weeks, The Plastic Forecast gained international coverage and reached over 1.3 billion people.

The Plastic Forecast is coming to more major cities soon, with a very simple message. Despite being impossible to avoid, The Plastic Forecast is possible to change.

OMD, The Ultimate Buff only at Macca’s, McDonald’s

Macca’s brand love among Gen Z was declining as traditional advertising failed to connect with this audience. Gen Z deeply engage in their interests and form close-knit communities, prioritising constant online connectivity, particularly in the realm of gaming and e-sports. We knew we’d found our platform!

Our approach involved starting slowly and building value through a long-term partnership with Blizzard, the largest game developer in Australia. By earning their stripes, Macca’s provided a stable platform for growth in esports, actively adapting to the dynamic audience demands. We leveraged the partnership with Overwatch 2 and created a limited-time menu in the My Macca’s app, offering exclusive Overwatch game content with each Overwatch 2 meal. A unique in-game skin for Overwatch 2’s main character, Tracer, was unlocked through customer participation.

To amplify the digital campaign, Macca’s partnered with multiple gaming media groups, esports publications, and top streamers. Collaborating with Australia’s biggest esports team, The Chiefs, they hosted a livestreamed Overwatch 2 x Macca’s house party, engaging their fan base. Blizzard’s exclusive channels and Macca’s extensive digital channels were utilized for promotion.

The results were impressive, with Macca’s achieving its most successful organic post ever, reaching a vast audience and exceeding sales targets. Macca’s gained new customers through the MyMacca’s App and solidified their position as the top non-endemic brand supporting gaming in Australia, growing their rating as the preferred QSR for gamers.

The partnership garnered global coverage from major gaming publications, generating over 2,000 content pieces across 50 countries, reaching over 100 million gamers worldwide.

Macca’s successful collaboration with Blizzard and their authentic approach in the gaming industry not only reversed the declining trend of brand love among Gen Z but also established them as a prominent player in the gaming and esports community.

Publicis Worldwide, Lag Kills, Queensland Transport and Main Roads

Macca’s brand love among Gen Z was declining as traditional advertising failed to connect with this audience. Gen Z deeply engage in their interests and form close-knit communities, prioritizing constant online connectivity, particularly in the realm of gaming and e-sports. We knew we’d found our platform!

Our approach involved starting slowly and building value through a long-term partnership with Blizzard, the largest game developer in Australia. By earning their stripes, Macca’s provided a stable platform for growth in esports, actively adapting to the dynamic audience demands. We leveraged the partnership with Overwatch 2 and created a limited-time menu in the My Macca’s app, offering exclusive Overwatch game content with each Overwatch 2 meal. A unique in-game skin for Overwatch 2’s main character, Tracer, was unlocked through customer participation.

To amplify the digital campaign, Macca’s partnered with multiple gaming media groups, esports publications, and top streamers. Collaborating with Australia’s biggest esports team, The Chiefs, they hosted a livestreamed Overwatch 2 x Macca’s house party, engaging their fan base. Blizzard’s exclusive channels and Macca’s extensive digital channels were utilized for promotion.

The results were impressive, with Macca’s achieving its most successful organic post ever, reaching a vast audience and exceeding sales targets. Macca’s gained new customers through the MyMacca’s App and solidified their position as the top non-endemic brand supporting gaming in Australia, growing their rating as the preferred QSR for gamers.

The partnership garnered global coverage from major gaming publications, generating over 2,000 content pieces across 50 countries, reaching over 100 million gamers worldwide.

Macca’s successful collaboration with Blizzard and their authentic approach in the gaming industry not only reversed the declining trend of brand love among Gen Z but also established them as a prominent player in the gaming and esports community.

Resolution Digital, Contiki Relaunch, Contiki

As the world began to open after +2 years of global lockdowns and border closures, all eyes were on the travel industry, arguably one of the most impacted sectors throughout the pandemic. Eighty-two travel agents and tour operators folded in 2021 alone.

With +350 tours to promote, an unpredictable travel landscape and an audience with almost zero brand awareness, Contiki’s re-entry was fraught with risk.

Resolution tackled the challenge head on with a laser sharp focus on our new audience – the allusive Gen Z. By recruiting some awesome travel buddies like Pinterest, TikTok and even Tinder (who doesn’t love a holiday fling!) and using very unconventional creative, Contiki was able to stage a killer comeback.

The campaign reached 87 per cent of the target audience and achieved 33x ROAS.

The campaign was shortlisted in the Google Premier Partner Awards and scored a Pinterest commissioned case study.

Rufus powered by Initiative, Terminal Tournament Takeover, Prime Video

To launch Prime Video’s new blockbuster series, ‘The Terminal List’, into the Australian zeitgeist, Prime Video needed to cut through the action genre competition by bringing to life this new series’ intense action like never before.

In a first-of-its-kind activation, we launched APAC’s first ever ‘Call of Duty: Warzone’ tournament, giving the hungry player base their first opportunity in years to live out their own action hero fantasies. Our ‘Terminal Tournament Takeover’ went far beyond simple sponsorship and badging of the tournament, with the creation of a blockbuster 6-hour live stream with Australia’s #1 esports team and 30 of the country’s biggest gaming influencers. At the same time, we flooded ANZ gaming publications and Activision Blizzard’s own digital platforms with our show trailer and branded assets, even adding some Hollywood-inspired adrenaline by arranging for the series’ star, Chris Pratt, to record a series of special messages for the audience and personally welcome players and fans to the tournament.

In a series of major global firsts, we negotiated the rights to use COD game-play content within a bespoke promotional trailer, in addition to becoming the first ever non-Activision Blizzard trailer to be hosted on the COD platform, embedding ‘The Terminal List’ branding within Steam’s game-launcher and being featured within the global edm sent to every registered player. By facilitating deep connection and cutting through the action noise with gaming,

‘The Terminal List’ became the #1 watched series on Prime Video AU at the time of launch. We delivered unprecedented, earned reach, with over 6x the planned campaign impressions (70MM vs. 11.4MM) and 10x proactive editorial placements across gaming publications. Thanks to the quality of the digital idea to deliver an integration above and beyond integrations, ‘The Terminal List’ cemented itself as a must watch action title for Australians nation wide.

The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, Tuvalu, The First Digital Nation, Tuvalu

Tuvalu, a low-lying Pacific nation, is facing an impossible challenge. At the current rate of global sea level rise, the entire country will be submerged in decades.

Tuvalu has been urging the world to act for years, but now, time has all but run out. As the ocean closes in, Tuvalu is forced to ask: What happens to a country without land?

In his speech at COP27, Minister Simon Kofe announced a radical plan for survival: Tuvalu will become the world’s first digital nation.

By recreating Tuvalu in the metaverse, piece-by-piece, the country can preserve its culture, history, and government services, long after its land disappears.

But the digital nation is more than just an archive. International law currently dictates that a country needs a “defined physical territory” to exist, so Tuvalu risks becoming the first country to lose its sovereignty due to climate change. The digital nation is at the centre of the fight for a new definition of statehood under international law – a way to protect Tuvalu’s sovereignty and place on the world stage.

The project’s launch reached 2.1 billion people and 173 major global publications, pressuring leaders into action. Days after the announcement, a historic loss and damage fund for nations like Tuvalu was established at COP27. And already, nine different nations have agreed to legally recognise Tuvalu’s digital statehood – making the project not just a tragic climate adaptation strategy, but a powerful provocation for global action.

Tuvalu will become the world’s first digital nation – but without meaningful climate action, it won’t be the last.

The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, BENEE Bagels, Youthline & ASB Bank

New Zealand is facing a youth mental health crisis. With one in four young people experiencing anxiety, we paired New Zealand’s biggest pop star, BENEE, with neuroscientists to create a song that calms you when you’re feeling anxious.

This was not an ad. It contained no message or branding. It was a tool, clinically proven to reduce the symptoms of anxiety, designed to reach struggling young people through their screens and headphones.

BENEE collaborated with scientists from Auckland University of Technology to produce the song ‘Bagels’ using musical elements shown to relax the nervous system, modify brain activity, and ease anxious feelings.

The music video was scientifically designed with calming visual techniques used in the treatment of trauma patients.

In the largest study of its kind ever conducted on the effects of music on anxiety, ‘Bagels’ was neurologically tested on listeners. It was found to out-perform all other test tracks at reducing short-term anxiety and calming brain activity, leading to it being dubbed ‘the most relaxing song in the world’.

‘Bagels by BENEE’ was released as an official single across all major music platforms, YouTube and social media, giving young people access to a free tool they could use anywhere, anytime they feel overwhelmed.

Type + Pixel, Enter The Flavour-Verse, Baskin-Robbins

When Baskin-Robbins collaborated with Sony Pictures to launch across the Spider-Verse Pt 1, they challenged us to devise a campaign that would make sense to fans, retain the pop culture spirit of the Marvel franchise and remain faithful to what both brands stood for.

So we started by asking ourselves: what does a spandex-wearing superhero and a global icecream chain have in common? The answer was simple: variety. In the same way that the concept of the multi-verse is central to the Spider-Verse franchise, multiplicity of flavours is central to Baskin-Robbins. This became the lynchpin of our campaign, giving birth to our creative platform: Enter the Flavour-Verse. An invitation to fans of both brands to immerse themselves in an alternate universe – one where flavours and superheroes collide.

To appeal to our demographic of Gen Z pop culture fans, Gen Y parents and their movie-going tweens, we developed an experience-rich, mobile-first strategy that tapped into their online behaviours and favoured platforms.

At the heart of the campaign was a gamified experience which used custom 3D assets and AR technology to place fans inside the action, giving them the chance to defeat the bad guy and save the Flavour-Verse using their virtual web-shooters. Access to the game was via a custom mobile site which leveraged the Spider-Verse visual aesthetic and showcased BR’s exclusive Spidey product range. We spread the word and drove clicks via a paid digital campaign featuring animated ads across YouTube, TikTok, and Meta.

Not only did our collab play a part in making Across the Spider-Verse Pt I the biggest animated hit in Sony’s history, it also helped to make autumn 2023 one of Baskin-Robbins’ most successful on record, delivering a 267% ROI and smashing sales targets. All in all, we reckon that’s a pretty heroic result.

Yahoo, Music Drop, Jack Daniel’s

Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Whiskey, a long-standing market leader in American whisky in Australia, faced the challenge of connecting with a younger audience (21-29yo) amidst shifting alcohol consumption trends. To address this, the brand embarked on an ambitious campaign named “Music Drop,” in partnership with Yahoo and visionary collaborators, merging Web3 technology and music in a global first for the business.

Recognising 70% of consumers desired brand innovation with new technology and AR features increasing purchase likelihood by 11x, Yahoo Creative Studios (YCS) presented an innovative buyable idea with diverse audience reach. It involved an immersive Web3 treasure hunt and music collectibles, engaging music fans using blockchain technology.

Central to the campaign’s success was its incorporation of three progressive bands—Winston Surfshirt, Stand Atlantic, and Psychedelic Porn Crumpets—who resonated with younger audiences, infusing authenticity and uniqueness into the campaign.

The “Music Drop” game offered exclusive artist content through ‘AR drops’ at chosen timings and locations across major Australian cities. To cater to the tech-savvy target audience, fans were encouraged to visit these locations, scan virtual record crates with their smartphones, and collect virtual music tracks and experiences. Prizes included a trip to Tennessee, artist Digital Pressings, and JD drink vouchers.

The complex project required collaboration among agencies like Starcom, Yahoo, Serenade and SmartMedia Technologies, with YCS leading the way. YCS developed an easy-to-use proprietary NFT wallet, ensuring a seamless UX by removing barriers that hindered engagement.

The campaign used a strategic mix of traditional and digital channels, including Yahoo’s market-leading DSP, DOOH activations in high-traffic nightlife locations, native content, display advertising, and PR, to maximise outreach and pique interest among the target audience.

Despite challenges, the campaign garnered millions of impressions and transformed perceptions among the younger demographics. It demonstrated Jack Daniel’s commitment to adapt to changing trends in the alcohol industry.

Watch the film here.