Twitch, iHeartMedia and Priceline are among the 2023 Digiday Award winners 

The 2023 Digiday Awards highlighted a surge in different techniques to gain customer engagement, from multisensory encounters to infusing cutting-edge technologies and more. This year’s winners also focused on collaborative partnerships to access untapped markets, craft distinctive offerings and spur innovation.

One program that touches upon all these themes won Best In-Game Advertising Strategy — Twitch and Adobe’s ‘Co-Op Drops’ campaign. Adobe wanted to showcase the power of its Creative Cloud in a way that could connect the university student gaming community via a first-to-market strategy.

To do so, it partnered with Twitch to reframe the Creative Cloud as practical and accessible. It created a custom Drops extension inspired by the Creative Cloud that Twitch streamers could use where their audience could decide the colors, textures and patterns of in-game items dropped. At its peak, tens of thousands of viewers simultaneously controlled a single Adobe project file, bringing fans and the games closer than before.

Another winner also leaned on sensory experiences and tech to inform its audience. Novartis and iHeartMedia’s new medical podcast, ‘Symptomatic’ won Best Audio Campaign this year. Novartis, a prominent multinational pharmaceutical company, was looking for a way to connect directly with its potential user base. It was inspired by the trouble millions of Americans face in seeking accurate diagnoses.

This led the company to partner with iHeartMedia to drive disease state awareness creatively through the lens of a medical mystery via a podcast. The duo took a simple approach of tapping into the human feelings of uncertainty that come with undiagnosed conditions and paired them with inspiring resolutions. ‘Symptomatic’ was so popular it landed in the top 1% of U.S. podcasts and reached number one on Apple’s documentary podcasts ranking.

One winner that focused on distinct offerings through its timely campaigns is Priceline. Its ‘Happy Price’ campaign won the company the Best PR Campaign and Best Use of Social awards this year. After Priceline retired its iconic ‘Negotiator’ campaign, it was time to introduce its unique deal proposition to a new generation of travelers through ‘Go To Your Happy Price.’ At a time when finding a happy price was more important than ever, the company sought a way to get the messaging in front of a large audience without spending too much.

With that in mind, the Super Bowl was the ideal ad spot, but to outsmart its competitors, who typically outspend Priceline 5-to-1, the company strategically launched the campaign and deals in a pre-game spot and tied everything to the game itself. By doing this, Priceline created a robust, multi-pronged launch to integrate into the Super Bowl conversation without spending like a sponsor.

And, to secure the Best Use of Social win, Priceline tapped Emmy-nominated talent Kaley Cuoco to create an interactive and bookable social media sitcom — featuring a theme song to reignite the company’s legacy. Kaley’s massive social following helped supercharge the Super Bowl campaign and triggered a ripple effect across platforms.

Explore all the 2023 Digiday Awards winners below — including a quick rundown of the campaigns and insights into why they won and what marketing teams can learn from them. Download the complete guide here.

Full 2023 Digiday Awards winners list below:

Best Audio Campaign

  • Novartis & iHeartMedia

Best Branding Campaign B2B

  • Hello Heart

Best Branding Campaign B2C

  • LifeStance Health

Best Collaboration

  • New York Times Advertising, Giant Spoon, and GE

Best Creative

  • Upwork

Best E-Commerce Strategy

  • January Digital x Carhartt

Best Experiential Campaign

  • Giant Spoon

Best Gaming/Esports Campaign

  • EA SPORTS x 160over90

Best In-Game Advertising Strategy

  • Critical Mass
  • Twitch and Adobe

Best Metaverse Gaming Activation

  • Mekanism and Eos

Best Metaverse Marketing Campaign

  • Intuit, NFL, WMG & Gamefam

Best Multi-Platform Campaign

  • Edelman

Best Organic Marketing Campaign

  • Movement Strategy & Prime Video

Best Partnership

  • Morgan Stanley & Courageous Studios

Best PR Campaign

  • Priceline

Best Product Launch Campaign

  • Julie

Best Search Campaign

  • Hearts & Science x Reckitt: Enfamil 2022 Trust Campaign

Best Use of AI

  • VOICE WATCH

Best Use of Influencer Marketing

  • P&G

Best Use of Social

  • Priceline

Best Use of Video

  • P&G

Leader of the Year

  • Disney Entertainment’s Shannon Ryan

Most Innovative Agency

  • Critical Mass

Most Innovative Brand

  • Atlas Obscura

Most Innovative Publisher

  • Made In Network

Most Innovative Technology Platform

  • Doceree

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