The ‘LEGO City Goes Nitro’ campaign by Initiative Australia won the prestigious Grand Prix at the 2023 MFA Awards, with AAMI, Netflix, Samsung, NRMA Insurance and Dell also taking to the stage as winners at last night's black tie gala dinner in Sydney.
Initiative Australia is believed to have had the biggest awards haul in MFA history for any one agency to achieve in a single year - taking home a record-breaking 10 Awards, including the prestigious Grand Prix and highly-coveted NGEN awards.
The MFA Awards celebrate the most effective and impactful work created by media agencies, demonstrating the industry’s purpose of We Are The Changers.
As well as Initiative Australia, agencies recognised for their work were OMD & Ogilvy, Wavemaker, EssenceMediacom, Match & Wood, CHEP Network, Slingshot Media, Intender, This is Flow, GroupM and OMG Australia.
Close to 150 judges, including eight CMO Signature Judges, participated in the judging this year, adding a strong advertiser voice to the selection process. Collectively, the judges looked for work that demonstrated effectiveness and long-term business growth.
Industry veteran Belinda Rowe (pictured right) was inducted into the MFA Hall of Fame, recognising her contribution across many aspects of the industry, including her mentoring and championing of women leaders.
Also recognised with an Industry Contribution honour was Chris Winterburn, managing director of Media i Group Australia.
The NGEN Award, which recognises the talent of young media agency executives with less than five years’ experience, was won by Kate O’Loughlin and Summer Treseder from Initiative Australia. This year was Kate’s third consecutive listing as an NGEN Award finalist, and Summer’s second.
Sophie Madden, MFA CEO, said the great thing about the MFA Awards is that every year the industry sees the highest quality of strategic thinking, innovation and effectiveness, and this year was no different.
"The work recognised among the finalists and the winners is up there with the best globally, and really lives up to the promise of our industry purpose of being The Changers," Madden said.
"Congratulations to the winners and a huge thank you to the MFA Awards Steering Committee and our judges who devote a significant amount of time to the rigorous process of selecting the best of the best."
The 2023 MFA Awards winners are:
Grand Prix – sponsored by Seven
LEGO, LEGO City Goes NITRO!, Initiative Australia
Creative from LEGO City Goes NITRO!
- Outcomes awards
Behaviour Change
Suncorp Group, AAMI – Crash Index, OMD & Ogilvy
Brand Impact
NRMA Insurance, Cricket Covers, Initiative Australia
Business Impact
LEGO, LEGO City Goes NITRO!, Initiative Australia
Data-Led Activation – sponsored by News Corp Australia
Suncorp Group, AAMI – Crash Index, OMD & Ogilvy
Best Long-term Results
Lotterywest, Ethical Econometrics, Initiative Australia
- Execution awards
Best Content Strategy
Netflix, Stranger Things 4 Launch, Wavemaker, Akcelo & Jack Nimble
Best Integrated Campaign
LEGO, LEGO City Goes NITRO!, Initiative Australia
Best Use of Small Budget
LEGO, LEGO City Goes NITRO!, Initiative Australia
Environmental, Social & Governance Award – sponsored by SBS Media
Suncorp Group, AAMI – Crash Index, OMD & Ogilvy
Best Innovation in Media
Samsung Australia, Flipvertising, CHEP Network
Media For Good
GroupM, Digital Sustainability Initiative
Best Partnership Award
Alienware by Dell, Levelling The Playing Field In Gaming, EssenceMediacom & POPSUGAR
- Channel excellence awards
Best Use of Audio
Mars Petcare Australia, WHISKAS Audio Purrs, EssenceMediacom
Best Use of Outdoor – sponsored by Outdoor Media Association
NRMA Insurance, Cricket Covers, Initiative Australia
Best Use of Retail
Universal Sony Home Entertainment, How Universal Sony Home Entertainment’s Bullet Train Created A Media-first Retail Partnership To Drive Results, Slingshot Media
Best Use of Screens
Amazon Prime Video AUNZ, Terminal Tournament Takeover, Initiative Australia
Best Use of Search
Care For Kids Group, [Parental Advisory] Finding The Right Local Childcare, Intender
Best Use of Social
Netflix, Welcome to the Upside Down Under, Wavemaker, Akcelo & Jack Nimble
Best Use of Technology
Samsung Australia, Flipvertising, CHEP Network
Events & Experiential
LEGO, LEGO City Goes NITRO!, Initiative Australia
- People and culture awards
Agency Talent & Culture – Less than 100 employees
This is Flow
Agency Talent & Culture – More than 100 employees
OMG Australia
Pro Bono/Cause Marketing Incentive – In recognition of Pam Lane
UnLTD & Radio Lollipop, Helping Children’s Charity Radio Grow Its Reach, Match & Wood
NGEN Award
Kate O’Loughlin & Summer Treseder, Initiative Australia
Check out last year's winners here.
The 2023 MFA Awards sponsors are:
Grand Prix Sponsor: Seven Network
Platinum Sponsors: News Corp Australia, Outdoor Media Association, SBS Media
Gold Sponsors: Ad Standards, Google, Meta, Nine, OzTAM
Silver Sponsors: Commercial Radio & Audio, Foxtel Media, Lion, Yahoo!
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