Innovation SABRE Awards North America 2025 - CATEGORY WINNERS

The Innovation SABRE Awards

Experiential Marketing

Live Events

• Can't Touch This — Neon with Bospar

Online/Virtual Events

• Doritos + Stranger Things: “Live From The Upside Down” — Frito-Lay North America with Ketchum, OMD, Observatory and ShakerMaker

Digital Promo & Activation

• Don't Get McShammed — Jack in the Box with Small Girls PR

Sponsorships

• Championing Equity for Collegiate Women Athletes — H&R Block with Carmichael Lynch Relate

Earned Media

Digital/Print Media: General, Consumer and Lifestyle Media

• Pumpkin Spice Trash Bags — Hefty with ICF Next

Digital/Print Media: Business/Trade Media

• The Home Depot’s Associate First Approach to Spring Hiring — The Home Depot with MSL

Broadcast Media

• Gingerbread Dive Bars — Miller High Life with ICF Next

Product Reviews

• Arby’s Had Beef with the Burger Industry, so They Fixed It. — Arby's (Inspire Brands) with MSL

Earned Media with Influencers + Communities

• The Reality Flag — Human Rights Campaign with BCW, WPP, VMLY&R, Hogarth, Wavemaker

Persuasive Content

• Ugly Truths Holiday Sweaters — Canadian Mental Health Association with Citizen Relations

Content Creation for Media Sites (Earned)

• Arby’s Ignites the Fish Wars with Rapper Pusha T’s Fish Diss — Arby's (Inspire Brands) with MSL

Sponsored & Paid Media

Content Creation for Media Sites (Paid)

• Reaching Multi-Lingual Moms Through Digital Marketing — FeverAll with RLA Collective, a Ruder Finn Company

Paid Influencer Programs + Endorsements

• PINK For All: Helping PINK Stand for Inclusivity — Victoria Secret PINK with HUNTER

Product Placement (Entertainment Vehicle)

• All Together Now: Guinness St. Patrick’s Day 2022 — Guinness – Diageo NA with Taylor PR, MKTG, QCM

SEO/Content Distribution Program

• Keeping the Ball Rolling Amidst Uncertainty: Reimagining Storytelling & SEO for Synopsys’ Corporate Blog — Synopsys with The Hoffman Agency

Digital Marketing/Advertising

• On The Fence — Illinois Department of Health with TimeZoneOne with partners Schafer Condon Carter, Tessa Films and Civis Analytics

Social Media & Community Management

Overall Use of Social Media & Platforms

• National Roast Day — Wendy's with Ketchum, VMLY&R and Spark Foundry

Social Video

• Madden Ratings Hotline — EA SPORTS with 160over90

Social Photos

• Reigniting the legacy of Tres Generaciones through social photography — Tres Generaciones with Day One Agency

Influencer Marketing

• One Sequential Step at a Time from Tip to Grip — Tampax (Procter & Gamble) with MSL

Crowdsourcing & Co-creating

• Combatting Online Toxicity: Jigsaw’s Harassment Manager Launch — Google Jigsaw with M Booth

Platform-Specific Campaigns

Best Use of Instagram

• Dove InstaGrants — Mars Wrigley with Weber Shandwick

Best Use of LinkedIn

• Microsoft Viva: Bedtime Stories for Bosses — Microsoft Canada with Veritas / M&P

Best Use of TikTok

• Arby’s Heats Up TikTok and TV Screens with the Diablo Dare — Arby's (Inspire Brands) with MSL

Best Use of Twitter

• The Heinicke Deal — A-B InBev, Bud Light with 3pm Agency / Weber Shandwick

Owned Media

Website

• Depression Looks Like Me Takes Aim at Mental Health Representation — The Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson with FleishmanHillard

Mobile Apps

• Keeping it REAL with Bravo’s “Million Dollar Listing'' alum Fredrik Eklund — Real Messenger with Bospar and The Society Group

Digital Publishing

• Stories From Hilton: A Revamped Home for Storytelling — Hilton

CSR, ESG and DEI Reporting

• EV Supply Chain — General Motors

Annual Report

• Ford Integrated Report — Ford Motor Company

Documentary Film and Video

• Not the Science Type — 3M with Ketchum, Generous Films, and Passion Point Collective

Tools and Tactics

AI/Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Immersive Technology

• Chipotle Mexican Grill - Roblox Boorito — Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency

Audio: Podcasts + Music

• Kind Cities — Lenovo with Zeno Group

Gamification/User-Generated Contests

• #belairdirectDriveChallenge — belairdirect with Clark Influence and Omnicom Group

Identity Branding

• Flamin' Hottie Snackable Screens — Frito-Lay North America: Doritos and Cheetos with Ketchum Goodby, Silverstein & Partners, D3, OMD and ShakerMaker

Illustrations + Photography

• Gingerbread Dive Bars — Miller High Life with ICF Next

Meme

• Chipotle Mexican Grill x Corn Kid — Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency and Cameo for Business

Real-time Engagement (Crisis and Issues)

• Pride Proud — San Francisco Pride with Bospar

Real-time Engagement (Newsjacking)

• Papa Johns One-Day Contracts — Papa Johns with Current Global

PR in the Metaverse

Virtual Worlds

• Launching The First Dog Park In The Metaverse — Get Joy with Sēd and Metaverse Technologies, Inc.

Metaverse Events and Experiences

• Samsung Superstar Galaxy on Roblox — Samsung with UEG

Gaming in the Metaverse

• Animal Crossing Omnipod Bay — Insulet with Porter Novelli

NFTs

• Dwyane Wade x Budweiser Zero NFT — Budweiser with Allison Partners

Partnerships

Media Partnership

• When Cancer Grows Old — Sanofi with GCI Health

Influencer Partnership

• Beers & Queer History — Miller Lite with ICF Next

Celebrity Partnership

• Baking 9 to 5: Duncan Hines x Dolly Parton — Duncan Hines with Conagra Brands and M Booth

NGO and Charity Partnerships

• The Hero Wagon — Radio Flyer with Current Global

Brand Partnership

• Doritos + Stranger Things: “Live From The Upside Down” — Frito-Lay North America with Ketchum, OMD, Observatory and ShakerMaker

Data and Analytics

Social Listening

• Have You Ever Put Butter on Pop-Tarts? — Kellogg's Company with Weber Shandwick

Data in Campaign Planning and Development

• Demolishing Data SilosIntegrated Analytics & Brand Perception Dashboard — Zoom with Zeno Group

Behavioral Science

• One Sequential Step at a Time from Tip to Grip — Tampax (Procter & Gamble) with MSL

Insight

• SAXX Celebrates the Snip — SAXX with Zeno Group, Quality Meats

Original/Commissioned Research for PR

• Tropicana Toothpaste — Tropicana with MullenLowe PR, Cramer-Krasselt, OMD

Measurement and Post-Campaign Analysis

• Building a Measurement Engine — Michelin with Ketchum

The Tech Stack Awards

Social Media and Social Listening Tools

• Measuring Jake from State Farm’s Debut on TikTok — State Farm with Ketchum

Campaign Measurement Tools

• omniearnedID™ Brand Lift Methodology Quantifies the Power of PR for Wendy’s — The Wendy's Company with Ketchum

PR Software and Services

• PRophet: AI-Driven Tech That Makes PR Pros More Performative — PRophet with KWT Global

Campaign Awards

Platform Creation

• Here for What Matters — Dollar General with BCW, HZ

Content Marketing Campaign

• Doritos + Stranger Things: “Live From The Upside Down” — Frito-Lay North America with Ketchum, OMD, Observatory and ShakerMaker

Storytelling

• Cracker Jill — Frito-Lay with Ketchum

Data-Driven Campaign

• Sleighing the Holidays with Surimi Seafood — Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) with Ketchum

Boldest Campaign

• #TapeOutHate — Budweiser - Labatt Breweries of Canada with Veritas

Most Disruptive Campaign

• #TapeOutHate — Budweiser - Labatt Breweries of Canada with Veritas

Combating Disinformation

• The Super Legit Book of Really Real Egg Facts — Egg Farmers of Canada with Citizen Relations

Corporate Values in Action

• Puffs Power Pals Soar to New Heights — Puffs (Procter & Gamble) with MSL

Start-Up Marketing Campaign

• Can't Touch This — Neon with Bospar

Emerging Sector Campaign

• #SaveBrockOllie — Weedmaps with MikeWorldWide

Pro-Bono Campaign

• The Reality Flag — Human Rights Campaign with BCW, WPP, VMLY&R, Hogarth, Wavemaker

Micro-Budget Campaign

• Pride Proud — San Francisco Pride with Bospar

This Year’s Issue: Ukraine

• The Brand Agency x Spend with Ukraine — Spend with Ukraine with The Brand Agency

Agency Awards

Disruptive Agency of the Year

• Spool, the first people first agency — Spool Marketing and Communication with Spool Marketing and Communication

Data-Driven Agency of the Year

• How Insightful Analytics Empower Empathy Intelligence​ — Ketchum with Ketchum

Purpose-Driven PR Agency of the Year

• From Purpose Driven Mindset to Championing Courageous Moves: Zeno Impact Continues to Grow — Zeno Group with Zeno Group

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

• Hotwire - Igniting Possibilities — Hotwire with Hotwire

Agency Thought Leadership

• Examining Weaponized Disinformation Against Corporate America — Marathon Strategies with Marathon Strategies

Agency of the Future

• Not Just A PR Agency — Bospar with Bospar

Individual Awards

Creative Professional of the Year

• Josh Budd — Citizen Relations

Data Professional of the Year

• How A Business Major ‘Dropout’ Became An Expert In Data Analysis — OkCupid

DE&I Professional of the Year

• Judith Harrison — Weber Shandwick

Iconoclast of the Year

• Curtis Sparrer: Taking a Stand and Speaking Up — Bospar with Bospar

Innovator of the Year: Agency

• Catherine Merritt, Creator of a New Kind of Agency — Spool Marketing and Communications with Spool Marketing and Communications

Innovator of the Year: Brand

• A Team 'Inspired': Innovating with Inspire Brands — Inspire Brands with MSL

And finally…

Write your own category

• Nurturing Pioneers to Solve Health Inequities — Johnson and Johnson with Ketchum, J3, Medium Rare, The Shark Group and Real Chemistry

Innovation SABRE Awards North America 2025 - CATEGORY WINNERS

The Innovation SABRE Awards

Experiential Marketing

Best in Live Events

• Boards of Change — City of Chicago and When We All Vote with Current Global, FBC

Best in Online/Virtual Events

• Seeing Farm Tech in Action Through Virtual Reality — John Deere with Racepoint Global

Best in Digital Promo & Activation

• Under a Rock — Hotels.com with ICF Next

Best in Sponsorships

• Iceman to Canton — Coors Light with ICF Next & Alma

Earned Media

Best in Digital/Print Media — General/Consumer/Lifestyle Media (Earned)

• Bigger Picture — Budweiser with Allison+Partners

Best in Digital/Print Media — Business/Trade Media (Earned)

• How the embrace of innovative tech won Alaska Airlines and a startup major coverage in top-tier pubs — Alaska Airlines, Airspace Intelligence with Alaska Airlines PR, The Bulleit Group, C C

Best in Digital/Print Media — Regional (Earned)

• How EV startup Indigo Technologies caught the wave of Boston’s new tech buzz — Indigo Technologies with The Bulleit Group

Best in Broadcast Media — National (Earned)

• Iceman to Canton — Coors Light with ICF Next & Alma

Best in Broadcast Media — Regional (Earned)

• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar with Bospar

Best in Product Reviews (Earned)

• Bospar Takes Unistellar To New Heights — Unistellar with Bospar

Best Earned Media with Influencers + Communities

• Midol's No Apologies Period — Bayer with twelvenote (a Lippe Taylor Group company)

Best Persuasive Content

• "Who is TSMC?" — TSMC with The Hoffman Agency

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Earned)

• Bayer Gives Heart Attack and Stroke Survivors a “Most Meaningful Melody” to Inspire a Focus on Their Health — Bayer with twelvenote

Sponsored & Paid Media

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Paid)

• Don't Wait - For Each Other For Us All — New Jersey Department of Health with Kivvit

Best Influencer Programs + Endorsements (Paid)

• Iceman to Canton — Coors Light with ICF Next & Alma

Best Media Partnership

• Tide Designs First Laundry Detergent for Space   — Tide

Best SEO/Content Distribution Program (Paid + Organic)

• Resurrecting the Synopsys Corporate Blog — Synopsys with The Hoffman Agency

Best in Digital Marketing/Advertising

• Clorox Scentiva YAS CLEAN! — Clorox Scentiva with Ketchum

Social Media & Community Management

Best Overall Use of Social Media & Platforms

• Tampax Gets a (Social) Makeover — Tampax with Procter & Gamble

Best Use of Social Networks

• Chipotle Mexican Grill - Discord Career Fair — Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency

Best Use of Social Video

• Clorox Scentiva YAS CLEAN! — Clorox Scentiva with Ketchum

Best Use of Social Photos

• Basil Hayden’s Posts Worth Toasting To — Basil Hayden with Day One Agency

Best in Crowdsourcing & Co-creating

• Think Quik: A Social Influencer Success Story by GoPro — GoPro with Hotwire

Best in Real-time Engagement

• Elevating the Gender Gap in Sports — DICK'S Sporting Goods with 160over90, VMLY&R

Best in AI/Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Immersive Technology/NFTs

• Seeing Farm Tech in Action Through Virtual Reality — John Deere with Racepoint Global

Best Meme/ Idea that Taps into a Cultural Moment

• #ShotforSam Vaccine Incentive Program — Samuel Adams with MullenLowe Goodby, Silverstein & Partners Hearts & Science

Best Use of Gamification/User-Generated Contests

• Gamers' Paradise — 7-Eleven with M Booth

Brand Content & Creativity

Best in Brand Narratives

• Tide Designs First Laundry Detergent for Space   — Tide

Best in Digital Brand Platforms

• Syngenta Media Summit Adapts – and Thrives – in Virtual Environment — Syngenta with G&S Business Communications

Best in Brand Film/Video

• Happy Birthday, Twitter — Canadian Centre for Child Protection with No Fixed Address

Best Use of Illustrations + Photography

• How Airspace Intelligence explained its tech through the use of smart art — Airspace Intelligence with The Bulleit Group

Best in Audio: Podcasts + Music

• Clorox Scentiva YAS CLEAN! — Clorox Scentiva with Ketchum

Best in Identity Branding

• Bar Smells — Miller Lite with ICF Next

Best in Social Good + Public Service + Activism

• Bigger Picture — Budweiser with Allison+Partners

Best in Brand Purpose

• The Strivers Initiative — Mastercard with Ketchum, McCann, CARAT

Analytics + Insights

Best Use of Original/Commissioned Research for PR

• The 3M State of Science Index: Shattering Stereotypes with "Not the Science Type" — 3M with Ketchum, Generous Films, and Passion Point Collective

Best in Measurement, Post-Campaign Analysis

• The Incredible Egg Challenge — American Egg Board with Ketchum

Best in Marketing Technology

• omniearnedID “Cracks” the Code on Measuring Return on Influence — American Egg Board with Ketchum and Omnicom Public Relations Group

Agency Spotlight

Best Agency Disruption

• Accessible By Design — Current Global with Current Global

Best Agency Thought Leadership

• Home Country as Stakeholder: The Rising Geopolitical Risk for Business Leaders — Weber Shandwick

Most Innovative Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar with Bospar

Best Event - Agency (Virtual or Live)

• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar with Bospar

Special Campaigns

Public Service: Covid-19 / Pandemic

• Bigger Picture — Budweiser with Allison+Partners

Public Service: Social Justice / Racial Equity / #BlackLivesMatter

• Detroit Youth Choir 'Glory' — The Detroit Youth Choir with Imagination

Public Service: Other Non-profit / Charity

• Cottonelle BLKHLTH #GoodDownThere — Cottonelle with Ketchum

Healthcare / Pharmaceutical / Health-tech

• Using AI and Real-World Data to Hyper-Target Heart Patients — Abbott with Real Chemistry and Swoop, part of Real Chemistry

Travel/Hospitality

• Under a Rock — Hotels.com with ICF Next

Consumer

• BIC Gets Lit with Snoop Dogg & Martha Stewart — BIC with MikeWorldWide

Fashion/Retail

• Thanksgiving Turkey Protection Plan — Whole Foods Market with MikeWorldWide

Technology/Clean Energy/Biotech

• Bospar Takes Unistellar To New Heights — Unistellar with Bospar

Corporate Reputation/B2B/Investors

• Aligning Education, Skills & Jobs - A Social & Economic Imperative — IBM

Employee Activism/Engagement

• Bospar Messes With Texas — Bospar with Bospar

Politics/Public Affairs/Lobbying/Government

• Fighting For Our Veterans' Health — IAVA with ROKK Solutions

New to Market

Best New Company / Executive Launch

• PMI: Leveraging a Change in Leadership To Achieve a Better Future, Faster — Philip Morris International

Best New Product / Brand Launch

• Ford F-150 Lightning Reveal — Ford Motor Company with Imagination & Wieden Kennedy

Innovation Excellence

Innovator of the Year — Agency

• Bospar: the Politely Pushy, Work-From-Home Agency — Bospar with Bospar

Innovator of the Year — Brand

Innovation SABRE Awards North America 2025 - CATEGORY WINNERS

The Innovation SABRE Awards

Experiential Marketing

Best in Live Events

• Pantone Color of the Year 2020: A multi-sensory experience — Pantone with Huge

Best in Online/Virtual Events

• Future of Fit — Fitbit with FleishmanHillard

Best in Digital Promo & Activation

• Making Luxury a Virtual Experience — Grand Seiko with Ketchum

Best in Sponsorships

• Royal Canin Puppy Pre-Show AKC National Championship Dog Show — Royal Canin

Best in Trade Shows & Awards

• Come Home to Fresh Air — Broan with Cramer-Krasselt

Earned Media

Best in Digital/Print Media — General/Consumer/Lifestyle Media (Earned)

• Good Humor: A New Jingle for a New Era — Good Humor (Unilever) with Edelman

Best in Digital/Print Media — Business/Trade Media (Earned)

• How Bospar Helped Yellowbrick Clap Back! — Yellowbrick with Bospar

Best in Digital/Print Media — Regional (Earned)

• Relief for Utah’s Service Industry and Sanitization for the Navajo Nation — Ogden's Own with GreenRoom

Best in Broadcast Media — National (Earned)

• #RIPeanut — Planters with ICF Next and VaynerMedia

Best in Broadcast Media — Regional (Earned)

• Divided by Design: Findings from the American South — E Pluribus Unum with Berni Consulting

Best in Product Reviews (Earned)

• How Nautilus Went Pedal-to-Pedal with Peloton — Nautilus, Inc. with The Hoffman Agency

Best Earned Media with Influencers + Communities

• Beat the Zombie Funk with Mucinex — Mucinex / Reckitt Benckiser with Lippe Taylor

Best Persuasive Content

• Electric Vehicle Myths Busted — Ford Motor Company with WPP (BCW, PS-B, GTB), Chrome

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Earned)

• Checkr Drives Important Social Change by Highlighting Inequality in Hiring — Checkr with Method

Sponsored & Paid Media

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Paid)

• Subway: Beyond Meatball — Subway Restaurants of Canada with Veritas

Best Influencer Programs + Endorsements (Paid)

• Suckers for Brew — Coors Light with ICF Next

Best Media Partnership

• Nacho Average Showdown — Frito-Lay North America: Tostitos with Ketchum

Best SEO/Content Distribution Program (Paid + Organic)

• FREMONT POLICE DEPARTMENT RECRUITMENT PIVOTS IN THE FACE OF NATIONAL TRAGEDY — Fremont Police Department with The Hoffman Agency

Best in Digital Marketing/Advertising

• Chipotle Wins The Super Bowl with TikTok Timeout — Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency, BCW

Social Media & Community Management

Best Overall Use of Social Media & Platforms

• Beat the Zombie Funk with Mucinex — Mucinex / Reckitt Benckiser with Lippe Taylor

Best Use of Social Networks

• MUCINEX® Changes the OTC Landscape By Going DTC — MUCINEX® with Barbarian (Digital Agency), m ss ng p eces (Production Company) and Legend (Influencer and PR)

Best Use of Social Video

• Chipotle Wins The Super Bowl with TikTok Timeout — Chipotle Mexican Grill with Day One Agency, BCW

Best Use of Social Photos

• Bread & Breakfast — Hotels.com with ICF Next

Best Use of Social Publishing / Blogs

• How Bospar Helped Yellowbrick Clap Back! — Yellowbrick with Bospar

Best in Crowdsourcing & Co-creating

• Going the Extra Smile — Frito-Lay / Lay's with Ketchum, The Marketing Arm, OMD

Best in Real-time Engagement

• America Could Use a Beer — Coors Light with ICF Next

Best in AI/Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality/Immersive Technology

• Puerto Rico Virtual Vacay — Discover Puerto Rico with Ketchum

Best Meme/Viral Campaign

• Agree to Disagree: Jif Settles the Jif vs. Gif Debate — Jif/JM Smucker Co. with MSL, PS1 (Publicis, Zenith, Publicis Media, Moxie), Giphy, Funny or Die

Best Use of Gamification/User-Generated Contests

• Black Forest Plants the First Ever Virtual National Forest on Instagram — Black Forest with Day One Agency, Duncan Channon, Golin, Geometry, Mindshare

Brand Content & Creativity

Best in Brand Narratives

• Tampax Partnered With Amy Schumer To Turn Question Marks Into Periods — Tampax with MSL (lead agency) Saatchi & Saatchi, Carat, Wunderman Thompson (partners)

Best in Digital Brand Platforms

• Extending STAGR's Unsurpassed Service Model with a Robust Digital Ecosystem — Stallergenes Greer with W2O

Best in Brand Film/Video

• The Macallan: World's Best Scotch Whisky Experiences — The Macallan with M Booth

Best Use of Illustrations + Photography

• Profiles in Resilience Poster Series — International AIDS Society (AIDS 2020) with W2O

Best in Audio: Podcasts + Music

• Bring Back Bronco Podcast — Ford Motor Company with GTB, Pacific Content, Hill Knowlton Strategies

Best in Identity Branding

• BRINGING THE LALLEMAND BRANDS TOGETHER – AND TO LIFE​ — Lallemand Animal Nutrition with G&S Business Communications

Best in Social Good + Public Service + Activism

• Project 100 — GiveDirectly with Precision

Best in Brand Purpose

• Hyatt x Zeno - Brand Purpose — Hyatt Hotels Corporation with Zeno Group

Analytics + Insights

Best Use of Original/Commissioned Research for PR

• 2020 Census: Shape Your Future. Start Here. — U.S. Census Bureau with BCW Global

Best in Measurement, Post-Campaign Analysis

• Diffusion for Burrow: Achieving PR ROI Through Data-Driven Media Strategy & Measurement — Burrow with Diffusion

Best in Marketing Technology

• It's Time to Prove It: Proof BusinessGPS for Marketing & Communications — Proof Analytics with Hasan & Partners, W2O

Agency Spotlight

Best Agency Disruption

• Invention in PR — Adam Ritchie Brand Direction with Adam Ritchie Brand Direction

Best Agency Thought Leadership

• Innovation in the Age of COVID-19 — Kivvit

Most Innovative Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Initiative

• Expanding FH Perspectives with True Mosaic — N/A with FleishmanHillard

Best Event - Agency (Virtual or Live)

• Media Genius Master Class: Fellows Edition — Weber Shandwick

Special Campaigns

Public Service: Covid-19 / Pandemic

• We Are In This Together: Anheuser-Busch Responds To COVID-19 — Anheuser-Busch

Public Service: #BlackLivesMatter / Racial Equity

• Children Belong in the Conversation: HP Empowers Families to Tackle Tough Conversations — HP Inc. with Edelman

Healthcare / Pharmaceutical / Health-tech

• MUCINEX® Changes the OTC Landscape By Going DTC — MUCINEX® with Barbarian (Digital Agency), m ss ng p eces (Production Company) and Legend (Influencer and PR)

Travel/Hospitality

• Launch of the Chief Virtual Learning Officer (CVLO) Program — Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants with Allison Partners

Consumer

• #RIPeanut — Planters with ICF Next and VaynerMedia

Technology/Clean Energy/Green Energy

• Microsoft Teams: Solving Video Fatigue through Together Mode — Microsoft with WE Communications

Corporate Reputation/B2B/Investors

• Avaya: Reinvigorating a 20-Year-Old Brand — Avaya with Hotwire

Employee Activism/Engagement

• Camp John Hancock – Manulife — John Hancock

Non-profit / Charity

• Clorox Clears Teachers’ Back-to-School Wish Lists — The Clorox Company with Ketchum

Politics/Public Affairs/Lobbying/Government

• Keeping Cannabis Essential Amid The Pandemic — Cannabis Information Project with Marathon Strategies

Lean Marketing

• Buy Happiness – Rent a Finn — Visit Finland with Zapwater Communications

Micro Marketing

• Sparking A Dialogue of Hope for LGBTQ Youth — The Trevor Project with GCI Health

New to Market

Best New Company / Executive Launch

• How Prodoscore Makes Work from Home Actually Work — Prodoscore with Bospar

Best New Product / Brand Launch

• Unleash the Cheetle: Introducing Cheetos Popcorn — Frito-Lay North America - Cheetos with Ketchum

Innovation Excellence

Innovator of the Year — Agency

• An Act of Defiance! — Bospar with Bospar

Innovator of the Year — Brand

• Kathy Krenger, Senior Vice President of Global Communications — Hyatt Hotels Corporation with Zeno Group

Innovator of the Year — Business Leader

Innovation SABRE Awards North America 2025 - CATEGORY WINNERS

The Innovation SABRE Awards

Experiential Marketing

Best in Live Events

• #AcceptanceMatters — Mastercard with Ketchum, McCann, BMF

Best in Digital Promo & Activation

• Chipotle Reward Me - The only thing better than free money is free Chipotle — Chipotle with Day One Agency

Best in Sponsorships

• Over Delivering for Super Bowl LIII — Pizza Hut with Zeno Group

Best in Trade Shows & Awards

• From Shadow to Spotlight - How speaking helped Zoox gain an inside track on rivals — Zoox with The Bulleit Group

Earned Media

Best in Digital/Print Consumer Media (Earned)

• Driscoll's Rosé Berry Limited Edition Summer Launch — Driscoll's with Allison Partners

Best in Digital/Print B2B Media (Earned)

• WSJ really IS the Future of Everything, when it comes to AI and Ethics — Affectiva with March Communications

Best in Broadcast Media (Earned)

• Teen Summer Challenge — Planet Fitness

Best in Product Reviews (Earned)

• SickKids Airbnb — SickKids Foundation with No Fixed Address

Best Earned Media with Influencers + Communities

• Mahomes 57 — Heinz with ICF Next

Best Persuasive Content

• UL Close Before You Doze — UL with Allison Partners

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Earned)

• Natty Light Summer Intern — Natural Light with M&C Saatchi Sport & Entertainment

Sponsored & Paid Media

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Paid)

• The Super American Pecan-A-Thon — American Pecan Council with Weber Shandwick

Best Influencer Programs + Endorsements (Paid)

• David Dobrik Breaks Records with Chipotle — Chipotle with Day One Agency

Best Media Partnership

• #SponCon Vows — Hotels.com with ICF Next

Best SEO/Content Distribution Program (Paid + Organic)

• Fremont Police Department Turns to Microsite to Reach Job Candidates — City of Fremont with The Hoffman Agency

Best in Digital Marketing/Advertising

• Fantasy Life — Fantasy Life with Hot Paper Lantern

Social Media & Community Management

Best Use of Integrated Social Media

• OpenTable Goes Into #DiningMode for Mother’s Day — Open Table with Carmichael Lynch Relate

Best Use of Social Networks

• Keeping Fortnite Fresh — Wendy's with Ketchum with VMLY&R and Spark Foundry

Best Use of Video Networks

• ASMR for DIYers — Behr with ICF Next

Best Use of Photo Networks

• Tag Responsibly, Keep Jackson Hole Wild — Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board with Exponent PR

Best in Crowdsourcing & Co-creating

• Chipotle’s Summer of TikTok — Chipotle with Day One Agency

Best in Real-time Engagement

• Wrangler Claps Back - Lil Nas X Collection — Wrangler with French | West | Vaughan

Best Meme/Viral Campaign

• Mahomes 57 — Heinz with ICF Next

Best Use of Gamification/User-Generated Contests

• Keeping Fortnite Fresh — Wendy's with Ketchum with VMLY&R and Spark Foundry

Brand Content & Creativity

Best in Brand Narratives

• Broadway the Rainbow — Skittles with ICF Next

Best in Digital Brand Platforms

• Microsite Tells the Fremont Police Department's Brand Story to Job Candidates — City of Fremont with The Hoffman Agency

Best in Brand Film/Video

• Railroad Ties — Ancestry with Weber Shandwick

Best in Brand Animation

• EARTH — RYOT (A Verizon Media Company) with Rogers & Cowan

Best Use of Illustrations + Photography

• Ask About the Curve — Endo Pharmaceuticals with Ogilvy

Best in Audio: Podcasts + Music

• RUNAWAY TRAIN 25 — National Center for Missing & Exploited Children with Powell Communications and M/H VCCP

Best in Identity Branding

• Doritos Another Level — Frito-Lay with Ketchum

Best in Social Good + Public Service

• 360PR HELPS STONYFIELD ORGANIC TAKE ITS MISSION TO NEW PASTURES — STONYFIELD ORGANIC with 360PR

Best in Brand Purpose

• Secret x USWNT: Equal Work, Equal Sweat, Equal Pay — Secret Deodorant (Procter & Gamble) with DeVries Global

Analytics + Insights

Best Use of Social Media or Analytics for Audience Insights or Influencer Targeting

• Conoco Chooses Go with #MyHeroConoco — Phillips 66/Conoco with Carmichael Lynch Relate

Best Use of Original/Commissioned Research for PR

• "It's About Respect" Sexual Violence Prevention Pilot — Washington State Department of Health with C C

Best in Measurement, Post-Campaign Analysis

• Edelman Intelligence for Hologic: Getting Tested Gets Put to the Test — Hologic

Best in Marketing Technology

• Zignal Labs – Best in Marketing Technology — Zignal Labs

Agency Spotlight

Best Agency Disruption

• Ketchum: A Pivot Toward the Future — Ketchum with Ketchum

Best Agency Publishing Platform

• Techruptors & the Social Permission Tipping Point — Ketchum with Ketchum

Most Innovative Recruitment/Retention Initiative

• We're not in Kansas Anymore — Bospar with Bospar

Most Innovative Diversity & Inclusion Initiative

• FH Perspectives — Not Applicable with FleishmanHillard

Best Live Event - Agency

• A Healthcare Targeted Approach to Provide Client Value — N/A with W2O

Special Campaigns

Corporate/B2B

• Hack The Bracket — Adobe

Consumer

• Reese's Candy Converter — Reese's with Zeno Group

Healthcare

• Taste Test Drive — GSK Consumer Healthcare, Nicorette with Weber Shandwick

Financial Sector

• Data Rules Everything Around Me (D.R.E.A.M): How Zelle® used Data to Make “Everyday Better” — Early Warning with Huge

Social Good/Non-profit

• Just One Trip — King County Metro with C C

Social Purpose

• The Shape of History — Hulu with Courageous Studios/UM

Politics/Public Affairs/Lobbying/Government

• Ad Hoc Utilities Group Public Affairs Campaign — Ad Hoc Utilities Group (AHUG) with Chartwell Strategy Group

Technology

Employee Engagement

• #HitMeWithYourFluShot — Christiana Care Health System

Lean Marketing

• A More Fashionable Finland with #ANTHROINFINLAND — Visit Finland with Zapwater Communications

Micro Marketing

• How to create an October Surprise — Unisys with Bospar

New to Market

Best New Company Launch

• Making Masturbation Mainstream — plusOne with Hotwire

Best New Product Launch

• LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime – The Building Bricks to Confidence in Learning — LEGO Education

Innovation Excellence

Most Innovative Agency Initiative

• Courageous Studios — Courageous Studios

Innovator of the Year — Agency

• Jim Weiss — N/A with W2O

Innovator of the Year — Brand

• Catherine Hernandez-Blades, SVP & Chief ESG & Communications Officer, Aflac — Aflac

Innovation SABRE Awards North America 2025 - CATEGORY WINNERS

The Innovation SABRE Awards

Experiential Marketing

Best in Live Events

• Milking My Ladies: Launching the Elvie Pump — Elvie with SourceCode

Best in Digital Promo & Activation

• #RepresentLove — Tinder with M Booth

Best in Sponsorships

• Taste the Gold: Hershey’s Shares Olympic Gold Platform — The Hershey Company with Ketchum

Best in Trade Shows & Awards

• Beauty gets ugly: Chainsaws and soldiers at CES — FOREO with GreenRoom PR Agency

Earned Media

Best in Digital/Print Consumer Media (Earned)

• Exclusive the Rainbow — Skittles with ICF Next

Best in Digital/Print B2B Media (Earned)

• Bringing Life-Altering Med-Tech to National Attention — INSIGHTEC with Red Lorry Yellow Lorry

Best in Broadcast Media (Earned)

• Helzberg Diamonds Breaks the Rules of Engagement — Helzberg Diamonds with Carmichael Lynch Relate

Best in Product Reviews (Earned)

• Retro Pitch Hits Emotional Touch Point with Reviewers — Nautilus Inc. with The Hoffman Agency

Best Earned Media with Influencers + Communities

• Influencers Take to the Skies and Go #UPINTHEFINNAIR — Finnair with Zapwater Communications, Inc.

Best Persuasive Content

• Feel More: Redefining Masculinity by Destigmatizing Masturbation Around the World — TENGA with Burson Cohn & Wolfe

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Earned)

• JIM, The First Smart Decanter — Jim Beam with ICF Next

Sponsored & Paid Media

Best Content Creation for Media Sites (Paid)

• Welcome to the Water Revolution — Niagara Conservation with Padilla

Best Influencer Programs + Endorsements (Paid)

• Colgate Saves Water, Builds Business and Slows GHG Emissions — Colgate-Palmolive with BCW

Best Media Partnership

• Challenging Perceptions to Change the Future of Food — Land O'Lakes with Exponent PR, Colle McVoy

Best Seo/Content Distribution Program (Paid + Organic)

• Fremont Website Takes Holistic Approach to SEO — City of Fremont with The Hoffman Agency

Best in Digital Marketing/Advertising

• Taste is Blind: How Arla Got Consumers to Care About an Upstart Cream Cheese — Arla with Carmichael Lynch Relate

Social Media & Community Management

Best Use of Integrated Social Media

• #RepresentLove — Tinder with M Booth

Best Use of Social Networks

• Mayochup — Heinz with ICF Next

Best Use of Video Networks

• Hilton Declares Affordable Suites for All — Embassy, Homewood and Home2 Suites by Hilton with GSDM and rbb Communications

Best Use of Photo Networks

• Celebrating Equal Parts Cocktails, Charity and Creativity for Negroni Week 2018 — Campari with M Booth

Best Use of Blogs

• Calling in the Experts: Answers for Tough Questions on the Farm — Cenex with Exponent PR

Best in Crowdsourcing & Co-creating

• Champions of Science: The Art of Ending Stigma — Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

Best in Real-time Engagement

• Kit Kat Love Story — Kit Kat with Ketchum

Best Meme/Viral Campaign

• Mayochup — Heinz with ICF Next

Best Use of Gamification/User-Generated Contests

• Outrageous Fans Outrageous Product = Outrageous Launch — Reese's with Ketchum

Brand Content & Creativity

Best in Brand Narratives

• Prosocial: Changing the Conversation Around 13 Reasons Why — Netflix with Zeno Group

Best in Digital Brand Platforms

• Alizila - — Alibaba Group with N/A - all done in house

Best in Brand Film/Video

• Today's All-American Family and Unconscious Bias — HP with Edelman

Best in Brand Animation

• Explanimators Video Series — Microsoft with Microsoft Story Labs

Best Use of Illustrations + Photography

• Creating an Unlikely Water Hero — Scotts Miracle-Gro with Zeno Group

Best in Audio: Podcasts + Music

• Two Scientists Walk Into a Bar, a podcast for the scientist (in all of us) — Genentech, a member of the Roche Group with Weber Shandwick

Best in Identity Branding

• Barefoot Wines Creates Parody Music Group, the Slay Team — Barefoot with MWWPR

Best in Social Good + Public Service

• Prescribed to Death — National Safety Council with Ketchum, Energy BBDO, m ss ng p eces, The Mill, Flare, PHD

Analytics + Insights

Best Use of Social Media or Analytics for Audience Insights or Influencer Targeting

• Conoco Launches “Choose Go” — Phillips 66/Conoco with Carmichael Lynch Relate

Best Use of Original/Commissioned Research for PR

• Clean is the Beginning — Clorox with Ketchum

Best in Measurement, Post-Campaign Analysis

• Development of the Hypatia Gravity Score to Measure Media Impact — Hypatia with Lippe Taylor

Best in Marketing Technology

• W2O's Search Magic 8-Ball: Using Search Analytics to Map Intent and Drive PESO Activation — Not Applicable

Agency Spotlight

Best Agency Marketing

• Creating Cultures of Empowerment: Have Her Back — Golin with Golin

Best Agency Disruption - Tools & Tactics

• Meet Q: AI Powered Community Management — Weber Shandwick with Weber Shandwick

Best Agency Blog, Editorial, Communications Platform

• W2O Integrated Thought Leadership — W2O

Best Live Event - Agency

• W2O – Joining Forces with SXSW Interactive 2018 to Provide Client Value — W2O

Special Campaigns

Corporate/B2B

• Teaching Chefs to Go Whole Hog for Prosciutto di Parma — Consorzio del Prosciutto di Parma with Padilla

Consumer

• Exclusive the Rainbow — Skittles with ICF Next

Healthcare

• Champions of Science: The Art of Ending Stigma — Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson

Financial Sector

• Mental Health & The Finance Advice Relationship — Bridgehouse Asset Managers

Social Good/Non-profit

• More Powerful Together: Shining a New Light on the HeForShe Movement and Gender Equality — United Nations HeForShe Movement with FleishmanHillard New York

Government/Public Affairs/Lobbying

• The Patients Are Waiting: How HARPA Will Change Lives Now — Suzanne Wright Foundation with Ketchum

Technology

• #RepresentLove — Tinder with M Booth

Employee Engagement

• Opportunities & Challenges Animation Series — Merck with Gagen MacDonald

Crisis Management

• From “S.O.S” to “Bienvenidos”: Puerto Rico Asks Media To #CoverTheProgress — Discover Puerto Rico with Ketchum

Lean Marketing

• How an unknown startup went against tech favorite: Elon Musk — Thor Trucks with The Bulleit Group

Micro Marketing

• The Hot-Cheetos Turkey — Reynolds with ICF Next

New to Market

Best New Company Launch

• How an unknown startup went against tech favorite: Elon Musk — Thor Trucks with The Bulleit Group

Best New Product Launch

• The Day IHOP Flipped the Script — IHOP with Creative: Droga5 /Media Buying: Initiative/ Social Media: MRM/McCann /POP: Barkley US

Innovation Excellence

Most Innovative Project - University/College Level (Pro Bono Category)

• W2O’s Center for Social Commerce — W2O

Most Innovative Agency Initiative

• Creating Cultures of Empowerment: Have Her Back — Golin with Golin

Most Innovative Marketing/Communications Professional - Agency

• Adam Ritchie, PR Inventor — Adam Ritchie Brand Direction with Adam Ritchie Brand Direction

Most Innovative Brand Marketing/Communications Professional - Brand

• My Special Aflac Duck — Catherine Hernandez-Blades/Aflac with Sproutel
• TIme to Vote — Levi Strauss & Co and Patagonia