Page 20 - Internationalist Magazine 2013 66

Winners in The Internationalist Awards for Innovative

Digital Solutions Demonstrate How Social Media

Shines in Building Brand Advocacy

• VW’s Beetle Shark Cage & Dove’s Real Beauty Sketches are Top Winners

• Mobile, Multi-screen and Gaming Solutions Abound

• Personalization Becomes Primary

• Millennials Are a Favored Target

On November 14, atop New York’s Times Square, some of advertising’s best and brightest from around

the world gathered at an elite Winners Dinner to celebrate outstanding case studies in the 5th Annual

Internationalist Awards for Innovative Digital Solutions. The Winners Celebration was produced in
association with BBC Digital, Publicitas, Thomson Reuters and RPM Sports.

Two Grand Prix winners were announced—Volkswagen’s “Beetle Shark Cage” and Unilever’s Dove “Real

Beauty Sketches.” Interestingly, one Grand Prix winner worked to win over men, while the other aimed

to build conidence among women. Volkswagen focused on the need to encourage men to love a car that

was once preferred by women, while Dove underscored how women globally may learn they are more
beautiful than they think. Although both campaigns have already received great notoriety and strong

acknowledgement, each demonstrated in these Awards for Digital Solutions, a tremendous viral capability

in a social media age when buzz, sharing and endorsement can create a groundswell for brand preference,

advocacy and loyalty.

This year’s winning case studies also demonstrated how business-to-business campaigns are gaining traction

and showing the sophistication of their mass consumer-targeted counterparts. A “Best B2B” award was given

to Boeing and DraftFCB for “From Inspiration to Innovation,” which tells the stories of Boeing engineers and

technologists who develop innovative solutions that literally change the world. As part of an effort to lead up

to Boeing’s 2016 centennial, the campaign uses the company’s owned media channels, including Boeing.
com/stories microsite, a custom iPad app, and the Boeing YouTube channel, as the primary hubs for the

videos, which post to Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube to drive viewership and engagement.

A new award for “New Market Solutions” was presented to Dubai Customs for their WCO Digital Event

Guide, submitted by Initiative MENA. In 2013, Dubai Customs had the honor of hosting The World Customs
Organization (WCO) annual event, and wanted to impress these prestigious visitors. Using GPS technology

and Twitter, country delegates received welcome messages appearing on live electronic billboards in real time

as they made their way to the hotel. Upon check-in, each delegate was given a personalized tablet with Dubai

Customs 2013 WCO IT app, which could be used as a personal assistant, guide and networking tool during

the 3-day event. At least 30 major business deals were accomplished via requests initiated via app.

The Internationalist Awards for Innovative Digital Solutions are an acknowledgment of how today’s

marketing strategies are affected by the media and technology revolution in a Post-Digital Age. Inspiring

case studies are scored for insights, strategy, and results. Unlike many awards that cite the best in a single

category, The Awards for Innovative Digital Solutions enable all entries to be judged as examples of

worldwide best practices; winners are those with the highest point scores. This year, 167 cases were submitted
from 31 different locations worldwide.

18 the internationalist