
Time for in-house talent to own the spotlight
In-House marketing and advertising has come a long way in the past few years. Gone are the days when in-house marketing teams were only tapped for quick and inexpensive work.
Today, in-house teams lead creative and media strategy, produce broadcast-quality commercials, and drive business results for their brands, among many other capabilities.
The ANA In-House Excellence Awards will feature multiple categories to showcase the most creative, strategic and growth-driving marketing and advertising created by any type of in-house team dynamic.
Categories
Featured Categories
Branded Content
Original content created to support the marketing strategy of a brand that engaged, entertained, or informed a target audience, whether to enhance brand positioning or to promote products or services. Any creative content that wouldn’t be viewed as “advertising” is eligible, including TV programming, films, documentaries, online video, games, print, articles, online and offline media, branded entertainment, social content, or other types of content, in any form.
Business-to-Business Marketing
Programs/campaigns which target external business partners and decision-makers.
Experiential (in-person and virtual)
Efforts that engaged with a target audience either live/in-person or via a virtual/on-demand experience. All types of interactive engagement are a fit for this category: exhibitions, trade shows, sales meetings, webinars, samplings, product demos, etc.
Integrated Campaign
Campaigns that utilized three or more distinct marketing channels to engage a target audience with a single unified theme or message. Your submission should show how the integrated strategy used mixed media for maximum impact.
Internal Communications
Communication initiatives that engage and inform employees, providing understanding of company vision, goals, values, work culture, and/or D&I initiatives. All creative formats are eligible: video, print, email, websites, newsletters, magazines, direct mail, etc.
Socially Responsible
Entries in this category include all types of creative that directly address current social issues. Efforts that were focused on making a positive impact on society by supporting a social cause, charity, or corporate responsibility program are eligible. All creative formats are acceptable: video, print, email, websites, digital, outdoor, direct mail, etc.
Out of Home
Any type of marketing effort that reached your 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 (parks, shopping malls, airports, etc.)
Social Media
Best use of social media to achieve marketing objectives.
Special Showcase*
Best Collaborative Effort
Effective marketing is reflective of an effective collaboration. This award puts the spotlight on the best collaborative efforts involving in-house teams and their external agencies.
Best Media Plan
Securing just the right formula for when, where, and how a target audience receives a creative message is critical. This category will showcase those in-house media teams who got their formula just right. Entries in this category need to highlight the details of the media insight, the strategy, and the media plan that was implemented.
Significant Results
Entries in this category will need to demonstrate the effectiveness of the work and its positive contribution to building a brand and growth of the business. Providing facts and figures (sales, market share, etc.), your submission should explain why the effort was successful based on effectiveness of the creative execution and its measurable objectives.
In-House Agency of the Year
This specialty honor will go to the team that not only exemplifies excellence in the areas of creativity, strategy, and effectiveness, but represents what it means to be the “best in-house agency”. Fostering the right team dynamic is key to producing work that makes an impact – this award will ask teams to share details on their culture, business impact, and notable accomplishments achieved over the past year.
All in-house agencies - any size, from anywhere around the globe – are welcome to enter.
Requirement: To be considered for the In-House Agency of the Year Award, you must be recognized as an in-house agency that produces award worthy work in the 2023 ANA In-House Excellence Awards. In-house agencies winning an award for their work in any category will then be eligible for the In-House Agency of the Year honor
* Given the special focus of these categories, additional questions/assets in addition to the standard entry form will be required.
NEW! The In-House GEM Award
Spotlighting the industry's change makers and influencers committed to the authentic, accurate portrayals of women and girls in their marketing efforts.
Gender inequality is the one inequality that is truly global in scope. Yet, we know that marketing and media can create powerful change by addressing how women and girls are portrayed in advertising and marketing content.
The ANA's SeeHer Initiative, which has the mission of driving the accurate portrayal of women and girls in media, advertising, marketing and entertainment, has created a unique opportunity for all In-House Excellence Award applicants: The ANA In-House GEM Award.
The ANA In-House GEM Award will honor the top creative and powerful work that exemplifies the best-in-class accurate and authentic portrayal of women and/or girls in campaigns produced by in-house marketing agencies.
ANA In-House Initiatives
In-House Agency Committee
This committee is for client-side marketers that have or are looking to launch an in-house agency. An in-house agency can consist of full creative and/or media abilities, or focus on a particular tactic, such as social media, programmatic, or video production. This committee provides a forum for education, networking, and discussion that helps elevate individuals in their respective organizations, as well as advance the role in-house agencies play throughout the industry as a whole.
In-House Agency Fact Book
The ANA In-House Agency Fact Book is comprised of some of the best client-side marketer in-house agencies in the world. The ANA In-House Agency Fact Book highlights the structure, capabilities, and operations of in-house agencies at ANA client-side member companies. The fact book serves as a reference point for other in-house agencies and those looking to learn more or start their own in-house agency. Each fact sheet explores an in-house agency's capabilities, organizational chart (where provided), and other key data points. Updated: January 2023
Managing In-House Agency Creative Content and Legal Concerns
This study identifies four primary issues in-house agencies have with creative content development: attracting top-tier in-house agency talent, keeping in-house agency talent energized, applying key marketing processes, and having healthy creative tension. This study also provides strategies to address the concerns.
The Continued Rise of the In-House Agency
This ANA study concludes that the number of marketers with in-house agencies has grown substantially and workloads for those agencies are increasing. In-house agencies provide a range of services, including strategy, creative for traditional media, creative for digital media, and media planning/buying. Services that have grown significantly in recent years are content marketing, creative strategy, data/marketing analytics, media strategy, programmatic media and social media. (Released May 2023)