OMD has achieved the highest number of entries on this year's M&M Global Awards shortlist, with a total of 35 nominations across 16 categories. MediaCom and MEC follow in second and third place, respectively.  

The top performing campaigns to feature on the shortlist include Double Robotics' 'Lucy the Robot' by independent agency Atomic 212 and Deutsche Telekom's 'Sea Hero Quest' from MediaCom.  

Now in its 27th year, the M&M Global Awards celebrate the best multi-market media campaigns from around the world. Reflecting the ever-changing and multifaceted global media landscape, the 2016 awards include seven new categories – Best Multiplatform Campaign, Best Use of an Influencer, Innovative Use of a Publishing Platform, Best Use of Creative Technology, Best international Growth Strategy, B2C Campaign of the Year and The Talent Award. 

“This year’s awards attracted a record number of entries, underlining the importance of international media and campaign excellence across multiple markets,” said Danielle Redwood, managing director for awards at C Squared. “Only the M&M Global Awards recognise the best in international media, and the gala dinner event promises to be another unforgettable night for the industry.” 

The winners will be announced at the M&M Global Awards gala dinner event at Grosvenor House in London on Thursday 8th September, 2016. For more details, click here.  

Check out the full M&M Global Awards 2016 shortlist below.  

The Festival of Media is delighted to welcome Jennelle Tilling, Chief Marketing Officer for KFC Global, as the chair of the jury for this year’s Festival of Media LatAm Awards 2016.

With responsibility for KFC’s brand marketing, innovation, digital presence and brand reputation in over 125 countries around the world, Tilling will oversee the final stage of the awards judging, which celebrates the best in media thinking across the Latin American region.

Other members of the shortlisting and final jury include: Jean Charles Cabrol, Managing Director at PHD Mexico; Patricia Martinez, Managing Director, OMD Mexico; Jose Daniel Salazar, Senior Brand Manager, Nestle Venezuela; and Luis Ruben Ortiz, Portfolio & Brand Strategy Director LatAm, SABMiller, among others.

For 2016, the Festival of Media Awards is expanding the scope of work that can be rewarded. There are now 20 award categories, split into five sections including Media, Content, Technology, Insight and Talent. 

To celebrate Jennelle Tilling’s involvement in this year’s festival and awards scheme, we’ve taken a look back at some of our favourite KFC campaigns from the Festival of Media Awards over the years:

How programmatic got Millennials fired up for KFC’s Hot and Cheezy Burger | Malaysia

KFC uses programmatic to develop content and reach Millennials to get them fired up for the Hot and Cheezy Burger. Read the full case study here>>>

This week brings to an end a pretty spooky burst of outdoor activity for London commuters, who were surprised and delighted by a giant sculpture of the iconic Stay Puft Marshmallow Man at Waterloo, as part of a complete train station takeover by Sony Pictures to promote the new ‘Ghostbusters’ movie.

The ‘super-sized’ out-of-home campaign, a collaboration between Sony Pictures, JCDecaux (campaign concept), Feref (creative), MGOMD and Talon (media), played up the idea of ‘something strange in your neighbourhood’ by transforming London’s Waterloo Station into a film-themed showcase for the past two weeks.

Connecting with people in the real world has never been more important to brands. Investment in experiential was up 6% in the first quarter of 2016, according to the latest Bellwether report, only one of two disciplines that saw an increase in spend – internet marketing was the other. Meanwhile, real world activations increasingly lie at the heart of a wide variety of campaigns, amplified through social and online channels to drive consumer engagement.

Experiential marketing is unrecognisable from what it used to be. Brand experiences are more creative, more ambitious and more unique. But has the promotional staffing world changed at the same pace? On the whole, no. Traditional brand ambassadors are no longer enough. Individuals need to share brand values and possess skills that go way beyond, superficially, “bringing a brand to life”.

To promote the upcoming movie remake of Roald Dahl's 'The BFG', Entertainment One has launched a experiential campaign which uses Google's Nearby Notifications beacon technology to bring six-foot "dream jars" to life. 

A total of 50 "dream jars" have been dotted around London in an initiative which plays on the concept that the BFG bottles dreams and blows them into childrens' bedrooms. The six-foot jars contain the childhood dreams of a range of celebrities including film director Steven Spielberg and actor Mark Rylance. 

Adding a new layer to the campaign through the help of Zenith by using Google's beacon tech, which launched last month, Android users (with Bluetooth switched on) that pass by one of the activations are notified that they are in close proximity (within 15 metres) to one of the real-life jars. If a user clicks through, they are given more information about the jars, the installation and the film. IPhone users can access the same content through Google Maps or Google Now. 

Advertising’s being driven more and more by digital innovation, so it was great to see my favourite channel, cinema, hailed by John Hegarty at Cannes Lions this year as a fantastic medium. This led to comments in the press along the lines that good old fashioned cinema continues to perform well without being seen as particularly innovative.

Traditional, maybe. But old fashioned and lacking innovation? I don’t think so!

To me, cinema is both pioneering and innovative. It was arguably the first truly immersive media experience, and over the past 20 years, cinema tech has evolved massively in terms of both sound and vision – take 3D, for instance. Meanwhile, the growth of the multiplex has made cinema a destination in itself, not to mention the boutique explosion, with  luxuriously comfortable seats and the ultimate in comfort food and drinks on tap. This has driven us all to fall even more in love with the movies, delighting in being a captive audience sharing the experience with family and friends, where ads are simply seen as part of the experience – to my knowledge, no one has ever left to make a cup of tea while they’re showing!

For its US launch, Tiger Beer went back to its Asian roots by repurposing a New York discount store into a pop-up showroom displaying more than 700 products showcasing the finest art, fashion, technology and design from artists in the region.  

The idea aimed to celebrate the true craft and creativity of the brand's origins, in contrast to the cheaply made Asian cliches and counterfeit goods that would usually populate New York's Canal Street stores.  

Members of the public could gain entry to the store simply by presenting a Tiger Beer coaster from one of several nearby bars.