The winning campaigns were for:
“The level of skill and innovation from these agencies this year was exceptional, making Digitas Liquorice, Gorilla and Yonder Media clear winners not only in South Africa but across the EMEA regions too. This is a significant accolade and one that they should both be very proud of.”
Among the brands, KFC was awarded across five categories (Lead Generation, Location Based, Relationship Building/ CRM and Social Impact) which resulted in their “Best in Show” achievement.
“KFC’s social impact for its ‘Add Hope’ work must also be highlighted. In the 7 years of running the “Add Hope” campaign, KFC has thus far raised R387m. KFC started a feeding scheme initiative known as “Add Hope”.
It partnered with over 137 feeding institutions across South Africa, reaching over 120,000 children daily, assisting towards feeding children’s early developmental age groups (newborns to 6-year olds) in crèches, kindergartens, nurseries, primary schools and shelters harbouring orphaned as well as underprivileged kids in extremely impoverished communities. The campaign was executed by Mark1.
“This must be applauded and shows the impact that campaigns like this can have on real global issues,” comments Utermark.
Of the award’s 13 judges, Lunga Ngcime agrees with Utermark and said during the judging process, that took place in September, he awarded campaigns that were rooted in consumer insights and truths, were authentic and relevant and most importantly helped to solve important issues. “KFC ticked all the right boxes and is a shining example of how a brand can do good, at scale.”
AdColony was awarded “Publisher of The Year” for its role in addressing critical issues of viewability and brand safety. Both impact the efficacy of campaigns as brands can be promoted on publishers’ sites that are irrelevant, or even alongside content that promotes terror and violence. In the case of viewability, a brand’s efforts may also not be seen at all, despite paying for these impressions.
Gorilla also performed exceptionally – thanks in large part to its socially impactful work as well as consistently delivering at the highest standard for Unilever. It was awarded Agency of the Year.
“We are an agency that takes a lot of pride in being able to tell big stories on small screens and winning our second MMA Smarties Agency of the Year award is an achievement that we're incredibly proud of. We're also grateful for the partnership we have with Shield and Unilever as they're a business that for years has driven the importance of creative and effective mobile marketing. We're a very happy Jungle this week,” said Michelle McEwan, Gorilla’s managing director.
This year’s standard of work was noted by the judges. They collectively said winning campaigns were forward-thinking, innovative and quality initiatives that support human’s basic needs or delivered notable business impact.
Utermark concluded:
The Smarties looks for work that goes beyond the creative and delivers tangible results for brands and organisations. Mobile plays a critical role in enabling this. The engagement and penetration rates of mobile users demonstrate a need to encourage growth from brands and agencies to ensure mobile is brought into the creative strategy conversation at a much earlier stage of any campaign planning. Nevertheless, we’re excited to see the strides that brands and agencies are taking to affect these important outcomes.
| CATEGORY | ENTRY NAME | ADVERTISER BRAND | LEAD AGENCY | AWARD |
| EMEA: Promotion | Azishe | Shield | Gorilla/ Mindshare | GOLD |
| Shoprite_Checkers Win a Car | Shoprite | Yonder/ Mediashop & 99c | SILVER | |
| Be the Next Champion | Shield | Gorilla | BRONZE | |
| Product/ Service Launch | #ShieldReady | Shield | Gorilla | SILVER |
| Debonairs Pizza Smokin BBQ | Debonairs Pizza | AdColony/ The Mediashop | BRONZE | |
| Lead Generation | KFC CRM Rewards Programe | KFC | Yonder Media | GOLD |
| Shoprite_Checkers Win a Car | Shoprite | Yonder Media/ Mediashop and 99c | SILVER | |
| Location Based | KFC Zinger | KFC | Vicinity Media | BRONZE |
| Lucozade Boost Your Drive | Suntory | Mindshare South Africa | GOLD | |
| Dischem – Winter Care Guide | Dischem | Mobiclicks | SILVER | |
| Relationship Building/ CRM | Unilever Top Sellers | Unilever | Digitas Liquorice | GOLD |
| KFC CRM Rewards Program | KFC | Yonder Media | SILVER | |
| EMEA: Relationship Building/ CRM | Whatsfordinner Leave No Food Behind | Knorr | Digitas Liquorice | GOLD |
| Mobile Social | #ShieldReady | Shield | Gorilla | BRONZE |
| Miller Genuine Draft Mbali Chatbot | Miller | Just Palm | SILVER | |
| Pressure Moments | Shield | Gorilla | BRONZE | |
| EMEA: Mobile Social | Whatsfordinner Leave No Food Behind | Knorr | Digitas Liquorice | BRONZE |
| Mobile Video | OMO Father’s Day | OMO | Digitas Liquorice | SILVER |
| Whatsfordinner Leave No Food Behind | Knorr | Digitas Liquorice | GOLD | |
| Volkswagen SA – How to Adventure 360 | Volkswagen | Mobiclicks/ PHD | SILVER | |
| Social Impact | Coding a better future | ABSA | YDigital | BRONZE |
| Add Hope in VR | KFC | Mark1 | GOLD | |
| Cross Media | Surf School of Shine | Surf | Digitas Liquorice | GOLD |
| Be The Next Champion | Shield | Gorilla | SILVER | |
| Cross Mobile | Lucozade Boost Your Drive | Suntory | Mindshare South Africa | GOLD |
| EMEA: Cross Mobile | Whatsfordinner Leave No Food Behind | Knorr | Digitas Liquorice | GOLD |
| Innovation | Miller Genuine Draft Mbali Chatbot | Miller | Just Palm | GOLD |
| Lucozade Boost Your Drive | Suntory | Mindshare South Africa | BRONZE | |
| Unilever Top Sellers | Unilever | Digitas Liquorice | SILVER | |
| EMEA: VR/AR | OMO Stains Don’t Matter | OMO | Digitas Liquorice/ Mbongiworks | BRONZE |
| Brand Awareness | #ShieldReady | Shield | Gorilla | SILVER |
| Killer Combination | Domestos | Niche Guys | BRONZE | |
| Add Hope in VR | KFC | Mark1 | SILVER | |
| Industry Awards | ||||
| Best in Show | KFC CRM Rewards Program | KFC | Yonder Media | GOLD |
| Marketer of the Year | Unilever | GOLD | ||
| Agency of the Year | Gorilla | GOLD | ||
| Publisher of the Year | AdColony | GOLD |
