• by Joe Mandese  @mp_joemandese, July 15, 2022

CVS Health took "best in show" for its innovative "One Step Closer COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign" at the Association of National Advertisers' "In-House Excellence Awards."

Molson Coors in-house agency VOLT won the "In-House Agency of the Year" category, and L'Oreal won "Best Media Plan" for its "Defining Our Brows and Streaming Success" plan for Maybelline New York.

“We enlisted real people to tell us their real stories and share their real wishes about what they most wanted to be able to do once they had been fully vaccinated,” CVS said its submission to the ANA, adding: "Stories about what they wanted to get 'one step closer' to. Then we brought these stories to the masses via an omnichannel campaign consisting of TV, online video, social content, a TikTok challenge featuring the music duo Domino Saints, and a sweepstakes where people could win prizes themed around what they wanted to get one step closer to (cruises, travel, dating, etc.).”

The awards were presented in a virtual ceremony yesterday in which 10 other marketers and in-house agencies were awarded grand prizes in separate categories (see winners below):

• Branded Content: Original content created to support the marketing strategy of a brand that engaged, entertained, or informed a target audience. Any creative content not viewed as “advertising” is eligible. Winner: Frito-Lay.

• Experiential: Efforts that engaged with a target audience either live/in-person or via a virtual/on-demand experience. Winner: VOLT (Molson Coors).

• Integrated Campaign: Campaigns that utilized three or more distinct media channels to engage a target audience with a single unified theme or message. Winner: CVS Health/Heart Haus.

• Internal Communications: Communication initiatives in any creative format that engaged and informed employees and provided understanding of a company’s vision, goals, values, work culture, and/or DEI initiatives. Winner: Valley Bank.

• Social Media: Best use of social media to achieve a brand or company’s marketing objectives. Winner: The Content Studio at PepsiCo Beverages North America.

• Socially Responsible: All types of creative that directly addressed current social issues. Winner: The Content Studio at PepsiCo Beverages North America.

• Best Collaborative Effort: A showcase for the best and most successful collaborative efforts involving in-house teams and their external agencies. Winner: The Content Studio at PepsiCo. Beverages North America.

• Significant Results: Entries in this category demonstrated with facts and figures the effectiveness of their work and its positive contribution to building a brand and expanding a business. Winner: CVS Health/Heart Haus.

• Business-to-Business Marketing: Programs and/or campaigns that targeted external business partners and decision-makers. Winner: HP Inc.

• Out of Home: Any type of marketing effort that reached a target audience outside of their home. Open to all formats (kiosks, billboards, sidewalks, mass transit advertising, digital display boards, etc.), in all out-of-home environments, including parks, shopping malls, and airports. Winner: Propel (Swoop) and OLIVER.