Critical Mass, Wondery, Publicis Imagine and Hulu are 2025 Digiday Media Buying and Planning Awards winners
This year’s Digiday Media Buying and Planning Awards winners demonstrated a trend toward personalized, inclusive campaigns that leveraged high-impact creative and cross-channel integration to drive impactful results. Brands and agencies are also increasingly leaning on strategic partnerships and influencer marketing to amplify brand messaging and foster brand loyalty.
Critical Mass showcased the value of personalized creative in a campaign for Harley-Davidson. The effort, which earned the agency a win in the Best Use of Technology category, aimed to boost bike sales through a dynamic creative optimization program reaching specific audiences at various stages of their customer journey. Critical Mass optimized media efficiency by targeting on-site actions most likely to result in bike sales, lowering the cost-per-sale by 51%. By emphasizing loan applications and tailoring retargeting messages to individual behaviors, the campaign drove a 2x increase in loan submissions. A test-and-learn approach continuously improved performance, with dynamic, customized messaging significantly boosting engagement.
In the Strategy Executive of the Year category, Wondery’s head of global marketing, Bladimiar Norman, is recognized for an approach tailored to specific audience segments. Norman, who is responsible for overall content marketing for Wondery podcasts, began 2024 with “Wondery Means Business,” the first of six innovative marketing campaigns. The month-long campaign was built around a coordinated cross-functional effort to lift listenership across the entire business genre. By focusing on real business success stories, Wondery connected with new, younger audiences and fostered a deeper connection with the genre.
Agency Publicis Imagine and streaming service Hulu are among the winners in the Media Plan of the Year category. In collaboration with Publicis Imagine, Hulu Media leads Sharon Bodie and John Amalfitano spearheaded an innovative media plan for “Only Murders in the Building.” With the show entering its fourth season, the goal was to continue to grow its viewership to new heights and land the largest-ever audience for Hulu. The media plan took big risks by utilizing unconventional tactics, including outdoor advertising, collaborations with new partners and a fake movie page on Rotten Tomatoes. With over 40% of the plan involving new partners, the strategy exceeded Hulu’s viewership goal.
Explore all the 2025 Digiday Media Buying and Planning Awards winners below.
B2B Media Campaign of the Year – NEW
- Grammarly Becomes AI Leader, Boosts Enterprise Recognition (in partnership with 22squared)
Best Agency Partnership
- My Code & Spark Foundry – Starbucks Holiday Traditions
Best Connected/Streaming TV Campaign
- Ansira x Auto-Owners Insurance Streaming Success
Best Creative
- Decathlon – Activation July 19
Best CSR Initiative
- Mastercard Strikes a Chord Against Deforestation
Best E-Commerce Strategy
- Carhartt x January Digital: Record Holiday Performance
Best Emerging Technology Campaign
- Nike – Dodgers World Series Reactive ’24
Best First-to-Market Strategy
- Mādin & San Diego FC – Launching a Pro Soccer Team
Best Influencer Partnership
- Open Influence x Merkley+Partners Mercedes-Benz ‘Dream Days’
Best Omnichannel Campaign
- Jameson St. Patrick’s Eve
Best Out-of-Home Campaign
- Jameson St. Patrick’s Eve – Countdown
Best Retail Media Strategy
- Tinuiti & Honest: NTB Growth Unlocked with Amazon’s FSI
Best Social Commerce Strategy
- January Digital + Carhartt: Bold Social Fuels Ecomm Growth
Best Use of AI
- Cognitiv & Sargento Serve Up AI-Driven CTV Sales Growth
Best Use of Data
- Pernod Ricard USA – Measuring the Unmeasurable
Best Use of Media Mix Modeling – NEW
- Stella Rising & Covered California: A Smarter MMM
Best Use of Technology
- Decathlon – Activation July 19
- Harley Davidson’s H-D1 Marketplace
Media Campaign of the Year
- e.l.f. Beauty – “Change the Board Game”
Media Plan of the Year
- e.l.f. Beauty – “Change the Board Game”
- Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building Goes to Hollywood
Most Innovative Independent Media Agency
- DAC’s TotalSERP : A 360 Search Approach
Most Innovative Media Agency
- Kepler Group
- Movers+Shakers
Planning Executive of the Year – NEW
- Jonathan Cole – Tinuiti & CRVFT
Strategy Executive of the Year – NEW
- Blad Norman’s Genre-Defying Vision for Wondery
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