Uber Advertising, the NFL, WPP Media and Mazda are among the finalists of the 2026 Digiday Media Buying and Planning Awards

In the Media Plan of the Year category, finalists include the NFL and CBS/Paramount+ for their “Count on Sundays” 360-degree campaign. The effort — which spanned TV, streaming, social, digital, stadium media and dynamic OOH placements — positioned the NFL as a dependable constant in an unpredictable cultural moment. Using contextual audience insights, creative executions were customized for specific environments, from airports to subway stations, making the messaging feel timely, localized and relevant while maintaining a unified brand identity across channels. The campaign delivered strong business results, helping CBS secure its highest NFL opening weekend ratings in 27 years, with viewership up 15% from the previous season’s kickoff weekend.

WPP Media and Mazda earned a nomination in the Best Omnichannel Campaign category for the docuseries “First to the Finish.” The series spotlighted women in motorsports, including two drivers and a team owner competing in the 2024 Mazda MX-5 Cup Championship, aligning with the automaker’s “Move and Be Moved” platform and challenger brand identity. Supported by a multichannel strategy spanning Amazon, social media, Reddit, YouTube and major publications, the campaign blended sports storytelling with brand messaging to reach fans of women’s sports, documentaries and racing culture. The series generated 16 million minutes watched and nearly 587,000 full-series viewers while driving 1.68 billion earned impressions and significant lifts in search activity and social engagement.

See the complete list of finalists below.

B2B Media Campaign of the Year

• Unlock EZ Mode: Hobart Handler 140EZ Welding’s Cheat Code
• Sierra & Mediasmith: Account-Based Excellence in B2B AI
• Noble People & Atlassian: Confluence – Set Knowledge Free
• Noble People & Justworks: Fueling Small Business Momentum
• How Workday unified brand and industry messaging at scale
• Kraft Heinz & SALT Media– Heinz Verified

Best Agency Partnership

• Primitive Unlocks 4x Digital Media Growth with Pathlabs
• Fossil Q4 Campaign: Assembly x ReachTV x Digital Culture Grp

Best AI Platform – NEW

• Clinch’s Flight Control: AI Content Orchestration Platform
• CPG Agency Leverages Keen to Justify Media Budget
• Digiday Awards – Go Fish Barracuda Platform
• SWYM: AI-Driven Supply Shaping & Decisioning Platform
• Xnurta & Outward Hound – Full-Funnel DSP Launch
• Cognitiv’s DLAP Brings Intelligence to Advertising

Best Connected/Streaming TV Campaign

• BetMGM Interactive CTV Framework
• MINI Aceman Takes the Wheel on Samsung’s Home Screen
• Podean & TIGI: Scaling Brand Growth via Prime Video & AMC
• Spectrum Reach Content Data Signals Case Study
• Trust & Will “Make it Count”
• Samsung Ads x Havas x Domino’s: Launch of Gamebreaks for CTV

Best Creative

• Barron’s Investor Circle Brand Campaign
• Henry Rose & Good Moose – Michelle Pfeiffer Brand Video
• Steph Curry Shoots the Moon

Best Creative Use of AI – NEW

• Kotányi AI Chef – Creative Conversational Brand Experience
• Small Team. Big Stage. Built in 5 Days
• Spectrum Reach Architect
• Southeast Toyota & 22squared – The Truck Like You Truck Tool

Best CSR Initiative

• MobileFuse

Best E-Commerce Strategy

• Podean & WaterWipes: Full-Funnel Approach to Scaling Growth

Best Emerging Technology Campaign

• Old Navy & Gamefam: Building Brand Love on Roblox

Best First-to-Market Strategy

• Rain & Shopify — First-to-Market with Paramount’s Precision+
• RPA Runs First Cross Channel Agentic Media Buy With Newton
• First-to-Market Strategy – StreetTalk Conversation Creative

Best Influencer Partnership

• Critical Mass & BMW North America: iX LCI Launch Campaign
• Harmelin Media – Red Lobster Cheddar Bay Biscuit
• Henry Rose & Good Moose – Crystal Nicole Partnership

Best Omnichannel Campaign

• DenTek Ultimate Fantasy Football Punishment
• EssenceMediacom & Indeed – Making Skills the Main Thing
• Go Fish Digital & Teravalis – Teravalis Grand Opening
• Mindshare & Zespri – The Zespri KiwiBrothers
• WPP Media & Mazda – First to the Finish
• Old Navy & Gamefam: Building Brand Love on Roblox

Best Out-of-Home Campaign

• Critical Mass, GSP & MINI USA: Defy the Expected
• Fossil Q4 Campaign: Assembly x ReachTV x Digital Culture Grp
• Lights by billups and Jellyfish for HOKA
• Sea-Doo Murals by billups and Cossette Média
• Vistar Media and Carl’s Jr.: Queso Crunch DOOH Campaign
• WTFabulous by billups / R&R partners for LVCVA
• Steph Curry Shoots the Moon

Best Retail Media Strategy

• Fossil Q4 Campaign: Assembly x ReachTV x Digital Culture Grp
• Mile Marker & Freshpet – Retail Media Partnership
• Salt XC & Chobani – Reframing Retail From ROAS to Growth
• SPAR Tailormade, Intelligent Retail Media System
• Tinuiti & Sony Electronics: The TNF Couch-to-Cart Evolution
• Mindshare & Dove – Born to Run

Best Social Commerce Strategy

• Critical Mass & Havas ATTN
• Taylor Farms Social Commerce Launch with TikTok & Instacart

Best Use of AI in Planning – NEW

• Ansira’s AI-Driven Hyperlocal Media Plan
• CPG Agency Leverages Keen to Justify Media Budget
• Equativ AI Media Planner: Transforming Programmatic Planning
• Ribeye: AI That Reinvents Local Media Planning
• TSY & JobsOhio – AI-Led Media Planning for Talent Attraction
• Ljubljana Airport FLY 2.0: AI-Optimized Media Planning

Best Use of AI in Search – NEW

• Pinnacle Advertising – GentleCure PMAX Strategy
• Joybird x Go Fish AI Search

Best Use of Audio – NEW

• Mindshare & Booking.com – Booking.Yeehaw

Best Use of Data

• Kroger Data Helps Crossmedia Drive Planet Fitness Gym Joins
• Lucid Motors & Blis: Turning Real-World Data into EV Demand
• Nexxen DSP Turns Intent into Travel Demand
• PubMatic & Heineken – Supply-Path Identity for CTV
• Stella Rising & Big Y – Custom Data for a Community Grocer
• First Horizon Bank x Mindgruve Brand Media Study

Best Use of Media Mix Modeling

• Coca-Cola Holiday Magic on the Move: An Integrated Journey
• Stella Rising & Covered California: Modeling the Mission
• Croud x Nespresso: Turning MMM Into a Media Decision Engine

Best Use of Technology

• Doorbell Diaries by Uber Advertising
• Fossil Q4 Campaign: Assembly x ReachTV x Digital Culture Grp
• Nexxen DSP Turns Intent into Travel Demand
• Spectrum Reach Content Data Signals Case Study
• Xnurta & Wuffes – AI Technology Powering Category Growth
• Mindshare & Vaseline – Vaseline Verified

CEO of the Year – NEW

• Arnaud Créput – Equativ
• Oz Etzioni – Clinch
• Harshit Jain – Doceree
• Crystal Foote – Digital Culture Group
• David Krupp – billups

Media Campaign of the Year

• Steph Curry Shoots the Moon
• Uber Delivers the Holiday Spirit with Diageo
• Fossil Q4 Campaign: Assembly x ReachTV x Digital Culture Grp
• NFL x CBS/Paramount+: Count on Sundays
• Noble People & Atlassian: Confluence – Set Knowledge Free
• Noble People & Justworks: Fueling Small Business Momentum
• Nike 2025 North America Marathons by billups, PMG, W+K
• DUDE Wipes & Powers of Reasoning – The Big Dump

Media Plan of the Year

• WTFabulous by billups / R&R partners for LVCVA
• Noble People & Justworks: Fueling Small Business Momentum
• Lucid Motors & Blis: Turning Real-World Data into EV Demand
• DUDE Wipes & Powers of Reasoning – The Big Dump
• NFL x CBS/Paramount+: Count on Sundays
• Nike 2025 North America Marathons by billups, PMG, W+K
• Salt XC & JusRol – Reimagining The Holiday Playbook

Most Innovative Independent Media Agency

• Splunk & The Stoke Group: Humanizing Big Data Through Motion
• Mile Marker Agency Independent Omnichannel Media
• billups

Most Innovative Media Agency

• Salt XC
• Kepler – Putting the Future in Focus

Strategy Executive of the Year

• Nebo Agency – Kelly Betancourt, SVP of Advertising
• NBCUniversal – Gina Reduto, EVP of Strategy