Wunderman Thompson’s campaign for BT Sport has taken home the Grand Prix at the DMA Awards 2020 after the three finalists faced-off live to pitch for the crown for the first time in Awards history.
The ‘Unscripted’ campaign won the top prize thanks to its creative execution, focused strategy and strong commercial returns – all in the face of a global pandemic.
Wunderman Thompson beat out Klarna’s in-house team and MullenLowe Group UK and Mediahub UK’s work for NHS England in the live virtual pitch-off. The campaign for BT Sport aimed to rewrite the sports TV rulebook, with the 2019/20 football season about to begin, but the broadcaster’s marketing budgets cut dramatically. The goal was to match the previous year’s sales with just a fraction of the media spend, the results were good enough to earn the campaign the Grand Prix against strong opposition.
“BT’s unscripted work stood out for its brutal single-mindedness in delivery. Whether they were football fans or not, it didn’t matter – the judges could see the pure power of the insight and the conviction of the delivery shine throughout. Capitalising on indignation to spread the campaign far and wide was genius and focusing on the future allowed its audience to crave to be part of it to take action. This was proven by the incredibly strong commercial returns,” said Matt Conner, Chair of the DMA Awards Committee. “Undeniably data-fuelled, the clever twist was not just to make data the enemy, but to use it to cause a public outcry. A fabulous piece of work and a very worthy Grand Prix winner against tough competition.”
“All the campaigns entered into the DMA Awards this year showcase the amazing work our industry has continued to deliver in the face of the immense challenges 2020 had to offer,” added Rachel Aldighieri, MD of the DMA. “The three pieces of work pitched in our live finale are examples of truly inspiring work, and all the judges would have been proud to be part of any of them. Winning a DMA Award means you’ve truly made a difference and having an impact, so every one of this year’s winners should be proud of their achievement too.”
This year’s Awards were judged virtually by over 300 senior marketers from agencies, brands and suppliers.