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World Media Awards: Focus on new talent and sustainable campaigns for 2023

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An annual event hosted by The World Media Group (an alliance of global media organizations including Reuters, The New York Times, Forbes, Fortune, and others), The World Media Awards showcase the best in international content-driven and cross-border advertising. The winning entries are amplified in a worldwide advertising campaign valued at more than €750k running across the World Media Group’s international media brands.

It’s that time of year again, the 2023 World Media Awards are open for entry and we’re looking forward to receiving entries from the very best creators of cross-platform, cross-border, content-driven advertising from all over the world.

Awards platforms provide an opportunity to share and celebrate best practices within an industry and, as such, the World Media Group, is always looking at how the WMAs can reflect some of the issues facing the marketing, media, and publishing communities today.

We support inclusion and engagement across the media industry, and one of the issues we hear about frequently, particularly post-pandemic, is how challenging it is to attract and retain new talent. That’s one of the reasons we’ve added the Rising Star category to the World Media Awards – to shine a spotlight on some of the talented young individuals who are pushing the boundaries of content marketing today.

The other huge challenge is sustainability and while we don’t have a specific ‘Sustainability’ category – these days, it’s an essential consideration across every category – we do request that each entrant supplies information on the carbon footprint and sustainable impact of their campaign. This initiative began with last year’s World Media Awards and, while it wasn’t mandatory, an impressive number of submissions included it as part of their measurement. As the race to net zero continues, we expect this to become an essential factor in measuring a campaign’s success.

This year there are ten Award categories open for general entry including ‘Rising Star’ and ‘Social Good’, along with the Content Leadership & Innovation award, which invites nominations from the WMG’s own members. The jury will select the Grand Prix from among the following category winners:

  • Automotive
  • Brand & Media Owner Partnership
  • Corporate Influencer
  • Financial Services
  • Luxury & Lifestyle
  • Media & Entertainment
  • Technology & Telecoms
  • Travel & Tourism

Championing international trusted journalism

The World Media Awards offer a unique prize to each of the sector category winners. The winning entries are amplified in a worldwide advertising campaign valued at more than €750k running across the World Media Group’s leading international media brands. Members comprise The Atlantic, BBC Global News, The Economist, Forbes, Fortune, National Geographic, Insider, Politico Europe, Reuters, The New York Times Company, Smithsonian, TIME, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post.

The WMAs are the only awards to celebrate the collaboration between brands, agencies and media partners to create powerful international content campaigns and are not for profit, with £50 of every £100 entry fee donated to Reporters Without Borders. This vital charity protects and supports journalism and freedom of speech around the world, a cause that reflects the ethos of all our World Media Group member brands.

To reflect the importance of collaboration in creating successful international, content-driven advertising campaigns, our independent jury is made up of heavy-weight judges from brands, agencies, and media owners. Leading this year’s line-up are co-chairs Jerry Daykin, Head of Global Media, Beam Suntory and Natasha Byrne, Managing Partner, UM.

You can enter the WMAs here. Campaigns must have intentionally targeted audiences in at least three countries and 75% of activity needs to have been implemented between January 2022 and March 2023. There is no requirement for campaigns to have run in any of the World Media Group brands. The closing date for entries is 18th May 2023.

The winners will be announced at an exclusive live ceremony on Thursday 7th September 2023. Shortlisted entrants will receive two free tickets to join the celebration as guests of the World Media Group, and additional tickets will be available for purchase.

Belinda Barker
Chief Executive, The World Media Group