FCB Media named Media Agency OTY and wins Best In Show at the 2017 CAANZ Beacon Awards

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Made From Remains_Hero (1).jpgThe media industry’s best, brightest and most beautiful gathered in Auckland last night for a sell-out event to celebrate award-winning work from the past year at the 2017 CAANZ Beacon Awards, in association with NZME. A crowd of just under 1000 was at the Viaduct Event Centre to recognise those behind the most innovative and effective media solutions that have driven great results for clients.

With the theme of this year’s Beacons: ‘How far would you go to win?’, it seemed FCB Media’s answer was: ‘All the way’. After dominating the 2016 awards, FCB Media was once more the agency to beat. It was named Media Agency of the Year for the second year running, and again took the supreme award of Best in Show, this year for its innovative campaign ‘Made From Remains’ (pictured) for New Zealand Fire Service (also awarded Gold for Social Marketing/Public Service, Best Creative Media Idea, and Best Collaboration). In total, FCB Media won nine Golds and seven Silvers on the night through campaigns for Flight Centre, Volkswagen, Inland Revenue, Maritime NZ, New Zealand Fire Service, and Mitre 10, plus the Best in Show award.

A panel of local and international judges assessed this year’s entries, with only half of those making it through to the finalist stage. From the finalist field, the judges awarded just 16 Gold and 31 Silver Beacon Awards, making a win in either colour an exceptional achievement.

MediaCom was another big winner on the night with four Golds for Safekids Aotearoa’s driveway safety campaign, plus a Gold and three Silvers for its challenger campaign for Maori Television’s launch of Game of Bros, and a Silver for its work with KFC.

MBM’s work on The K Bar Experience for J.H. Whittaker & Sons won a Gold and two Silvers, with the agency also winning two more Silvers for its work with Loyalty NZ and Slingshot.

The night’s other Gold award went to Ogilvy & Mather for its social experiment campaign ‘Do You Care Enough To Be A Cop?’ for New Zealand Police.

Dentsu Aegis Network took home four Silver Beacon Awards for its work with ASB, Holden New Zealand and Microsoft, while Zenith snared three Silvers for its ‘Welcome to the Other Side’ campaign for Lion’s Tokyo Dry.

Advertiser of the Year was Safekids New Zealand after collecting four Golds with MediaCom. The Beacon Award for Sales Person/Team of the Year went to The Media Collective at Bauer Media Group, while Adshel was named Media Business of the Year.

Julie-Ann Hedges of MediaCom Wellington won the Sandy Smith Inspiring Individual Award. Described as an icon of the industry, Hedges was acknowledged as a straight shooter, talented thinker and an enormously encouraging leader.

FCB Media’s Best in Show award for its ‘Made From Remains’ campaign came after careful deliberation by a panel of international judges, who said the diversity of the short-listed entries made evaluation tough.

Says Anna Chitty, CEO, PHD China and Best in Show judge: “From the campaign objective, the driving insight, creativity in execution, business results and the degree of difficulty for delivering the entire effort, all elements were scrutinized and we are thrilled to see that the New Zealand media community is still delivering world class work. The technical expertise in the industry came through many of the entries, and the power of collaboration and integration both cross function and discipline is delivering brilliant outcomes for New Zealand clients.”

The Media Agency of the Year Award, won by FCB Media for the second consecutive year, is an entered category judged on the merits of a business over a calendar year. Judged by a panel of independent business people and auditors, it takes into account business vision, employee development, financial performance, client acquisition and development, industry contribution, and creativity and innovation.

The 2017 Beacon Awards in association with NZME were also proudly sponsored by TVNZ, SKY, Soar Print, The Radio Bureau, Nielsen, Val Morgan Outdoor, Bauer Media, Trade Me, KPEX, QMS Media, MediaWorks and Facebook.