UAE, 22 May 2023: The MMA have announced the winners of the esteemed SMARTIES MENA Awards. MMA SMARTIES honour the most innovative and effective modern marketing campaigns from across the Middle East and North Africa region. 

The industry leading gala, took place at The Rixos, JBR.  The annual competition shines a spotlight on the most effective modern marketing campaigns from 2022 and with 90 trophies awarded throughout the evening, with this being the organisations largest event to date. SMARTIES winners were commended for their outstanding innovation and creativity resulting in significant business impact. All winning campaigns are recognised by the World Advertising Research Center (WARC). 

One standout winner of the night was Yas Island and Initiative MENA / Momentum MENA who won across 5 categories, including ‘Brand Experience’, ‘Cross Platform – Digital Only’, ‘Social Media Marketing’, ‘Audio / Voice / Sonic Branding’ and ‘Short or Long Form Video’. Together, Yas Island and Initiative MENA / Momentum MENA took home 7 trophies; 4 gold, 1 silver and 2 bronze.

 

The most highly scored campaign, ‘YAS YAS Baby, by Yas Island’, Initiative MENA & Momentum MENA was awarded best in show by our esteemed judging panel. 

One highlight of the evening included revealing the winner of the hotly contested ‘Purpose Driven Marketing – Sustainability (Brand & Product & Initiative)’ award. The silver award went to TikTok for their TikTok Climate Action campaign. SMARTIES MENA judges were particularly impressed with the campaign, complementing on the innovative approach. 

This year the MENA SMARTIES received a record number of award submissions. As a result, the ‘Marketing Impact – Brand Experience’, ‘Purpose Driven Marketing – Cross Platform’ and ‘Purpose Driven Marketing – Digital’ categories were particularly competitive. Across the 3 most competitive categories, thirty campaigns were shortlisted and eighteen trophies were given out on the night. 6 companies were awarded silverware in the ‘Marketing Impact – Brand Experience’ category with Ithra by Aramco and Leo Burnett KSA / Ithra by Aramco with Inspire Your World, and Yas Island and Initiative MENA / Momentum MENA with Yas Yas Baby, both taking home gold awards. 

Melis Ertem, Regional Director of the MMA said “It has been a spectacular year for the MENA SMARTIES. We saw a record number of submissions across all categories with exceptionally high quality campaign results throughout. The success of MENA SMARTIES is proof of a thriving marketing industry, demonstrating our belief that collaborative working can shape the future. I congratulate all the winners for their hard work and look forward to next year.’