The AdNews Agency Of The Year Award 2023 winners have been revealed.

The awards, with Samsung Ads as presenting partner, were judged by senior marketers and CMOs from across Australia. Read their insights into this year’s submissions here.

The winners, announced at a long lunch ceremony at the Noble Dining Room, SCG:

AdNews Agency of the Year (selected by AdNews) – Sponsored by Samsung Ads

Winner: Howatson+Company

Creative Agency of the Year – Sponsored by TripleLift

The winner: Howatson+Company

Finalists: BMF; The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song; Thinkerbell.

Media Agency of the Year – Sponsored by PubMatic

Winner: This Is Flow

Finalists: Kaimera; Match & Wood (Melbourne); OMD Australia.

Independent Agency of the Year – Sponsored by nexxen

Winner: Howatson+Company

Finalists: Akcelo; Kaimera; Thinkerbell; This Is Flow.

Small Agency of the Year (Headcount under 25)

Winner: Next&Co

Finalists: Bursty Company; Paper Moose; SICKDOGWOLFMAN; Tiny Disco

Digital Agency of the Year

Winner: Sparro & Jack Nimble

Finalists: CHEP Network; WiredCo.

PR Agency of the Year

Winner: Thinkerbell

Finalists: Eleven; Herd MSL; Poem

Ad Campaign of the Year – Sponsored by Quantcast

Winner: Flipvertising. CHEP Network for Samsung Australia

Finalists: Overcooked Generosity. BMF for ALDI Australia; EXHIBIT A-i. Howatson+Company for Maurice Blackburn; Come and say G’day. M&C Saatchi Group for Tourism Australia; Off Season. BMF for Tourism Tasmania

Media Campaign of the Year

Winner: Flipvertising. CHEP Network for Samsung Australia

Finalists: Somat – The Final Step. Wavemaker for Henkel; NAB Home Loans – Helping Australians hunt down their dream home. Mindshare for NAB; LEGO City Goes NITRO! Initiative Australia for The LEGO Group.

Small Budget Media Campaign of the Year (Less than $500,000)- Sponsored by Audience360

Winner: Voice of the Sea by Innocean for Australian Marine Conservation Society

Finalists: 35+ Howatson+Company for Lord Nelson Brewery; Sauce of Origin. WiredCo. for Pizza Hut Australia; LEGO City goes NITRO! Initiative Australia for The LEGO Group

Social Media Campaign of the Year

Winner: I’m Dying Inside: A modern period drama for Modibodi via Howatson+Company

Finalists: Colgate – Sound of a Smile. Wavemaker for Colgate-Palmolive; Through Their Eyes, Maybelline. HERO for Maybelline New York; The Plastic Forecast. M&C Saatchi AU for the Minderoo Foundation; Paramount Pictures – SMILE. Wavemaker for Paramount Pictures Australia. Collaborating partner: Hello Social.

Best Use of Data in Campaign Planning – Sponsored by OMA

Winner: Winning the Game for Kayo Sport. Mindshare for Streamotion

Finalists: Quick Service Media. Vistar Media and Hearts & Science for Mad Mex; Tonight, I’ll Be Streaming… Wavemaker for Paramount+; Flipvertising. CHEP Network for Samsung Australia; AAMI Crash Index. OMD & Ogilvy for Suncorp Group

Best Use of Content – Sponsored by SEVEN

Winner: The First Digital Nation. The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, for the The Government of Tuvalu

Finalists: Through Their Eyes, Maybelline. HERO for Maybelline New York; Un-Australia. The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, for Meat & Livestock Australia; Nedd’s Record Run. Bursty Company for Mobilise x Nedd Brockmann

Brand Partnership Award

Winner: She’s Electric. Innocean for Hyundai

Finalists: AAMI Grand Clanger Rescue. OMD and Seven for AAMI; Alienware; Leveling the playing field in gaming. EssenceMediacom Australia for Dell ANZ; Macca’s Footy. I’m lovin’ it. OMD for McDonald’s; LEGO City goes NITRO! Initiative Australia for The LEGO Group

Social Responsibility/Pro Bono Award

Winner: Through Their Eyes, Maybelline. HERO for Maybelline New York

Finalists: Public Kindness Announcements. Wavemaker for Kindness Factory; EXHIBIT A-i. Howatson+Company for Maurice Blackburn; Nedd’s Record Run. Bursty Company for Mobilise; The First Digital Nation. The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, for the The Government of Tuvalu.

Diversity Award

Winner: Show Up For IWD. Innocean

Finalists: Diversity’s Blind Spot. GroupM; Open House. M&C Saatchi Group.

The Game Changer Award – Sponsored by Amazon Ads

Winner: The First Digital Nation. The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, for the The Government of Tuvalu

Finalists: Digital Sustainability Initiative. GroupM; Through Their Eyes, Maybelline. HERO for Maybelline New York

Best use of AI – NEW- Sponsored by Integral Ad Science

Winner: EXHIBIT A-i. Howatson+Company for Maurice Blackburn

Finalist: Never Done Evolving. AKQA

Employer of the Year (headcount over 75) – Sponsored by Samsung Ads

Winner: Howatson+Company

Finalists: BMF; Initiative Australia; Spark Foundry; Sparro & Jack Nimble.

Employer of the Year (headcount under 75) – Sponsored by Samsung Ads

Winner: The Media Store

Finalists: Equality Media + Marketing; Example; Half Dome; WiredCo.

Marketing Team of the Year – Sponsored by Boomtown

Winner: Salvos Stores

Finalists: Bonds; Cashrewards; Tourism Australia.

The AdNews Effectiveness Award – Sponsored by Google

Winner: I’m Dying Inside. Howatson+Company for Modibodi

Finalists: Un-Australia. The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, for Meat & Livestock Australia; OzHarvest ‘The behaviour change that stuck’. R/GA Australia for OzHarvest; The First Digital Nation. The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, for the The Government of Tuvalu; Toyota Genuine Service – Odomilestones. Dentsu Creative for Toyota Motor Corporation Australia

Thank you to our sponsors for supporting this year’s event.

Presenting Partner – SAMSUNG Ads

Supporting Partners

Audience360

Boomtown

Google

Integral Ad Science

Nexxen

OMA

PubMatic

Quantcast

SEVEN