Winner brand: Merck

Merck maintained market leadership by co-creating and evaluating future oncology treatment scenarios. Jolan Simpson, who judged this award, said, “Health care is an emotionally intense area and ensuring that the way patients are cared for in the future is aligned with client feedback is extreme foresight.”

“Any improvement in the experience of a cancer patient as they manage their illness is extremely important. Caring not only to sell to its customers but to care about making their lives as much easier to live as possible is an altruistic endeavor. Thank you, Merck.”
– Janet M.
Consumer Verbatim

Winner brand: Logitech

Logitech pivoted as Covid disrupted learning according to consumer requirements. Through connecting with customers, Logitech recorded its strongest growth performance ever in this sector. Judging this category was Estrella Lopez Brea who said, “Great example of ability to quickly understand the challenge, to pivot quickly and provide an offer that’s relevant for the new context. Great job!”

“I have a child in virtual school. Therefore, I understand the need for researching ways to make learning easier for students, parents, and teachers. It was difficult for everyone when covid hit and schools shut down. There were no resources available to help the children that year. But Logitech has done the groundwork for making virtual learning easier and making outcomes more successful for everyone involved. This is really important because our children are the future.”
– Shanna J.
Consumer Verbatim

Winner brand: McDonald’s

McDonald’s marketing organization wanted to build a culture of allyship and inclusion, and created a DEI committee within US Marketing to do just this. Through an interactive, internal kick-off event in June, the team was able to encourage high participation with speakers leading discussions on DEI work and individual small group breakout sessions, seeing measurable levels of impact in both internal engagement, individual commitments to actions and team DEI goals. Judging this panel was Karin Jørgensen who said this award showed, “a very strong commitment from organization related to change and a very impactful case.”

“All stories, and all voices matter, be sure you’re capturing and showcasing all of them. The ones that can make you better might surprise you. And that goes for your own team as much as your customers.”
– Matt Cahill
Senior Director, Consumer Insights Activation, McDonald’s

Winner brand: ATB Financial

ATB overhauled its mobile and web banking to provide customer-centric solutions. Their customer insights laid the foundation for ATB to reimagine a better digital banking experience to meet the evolving financial needs of their clients. Judge Jolan Simpson said, “This was an intense situation given they were facing end-of-life for their platform. This submission showed great complexity (a digital transformation is no easy task) and robustness of approach.”

“ATB Financial did the necessary work to meet the needs of their customers. Finances are important in everyone’s life. So, when you have a brand making sure that the experiences around banking is easier, that’s particularly great.”
– Eric R.
Consumer Verbatim

Winner brand: Mars Food

To further inclusion and equity in the face of accelerating issues of racial injustice, Mars sought to rebrand Uncle Ben’s to Ben’s Original™. To do this with the necessary care and sensitivity, and to do it right, Mars Food listened to consumer voices globally and across diverse perspectives, as they worked toward their ambition to help create a more equitable future. Mars Food also crafted a new brand purpose for Ben’s Original™ to take action by creating opportunities that offer everyone a seat at the table. “We are thrilled that the insights work we did to drive the rebrand to Ben’s Original™ has been recognized in this way. This is an incredibly important topic and we knew we needed to listen as much as possible to our Associates, stakeholders, community members and consumers to learn and understand how to do this the right way,” said Katie Kaylor, Global Consumer Insights at Mars Food.

“This is a life and community-changing initiative. It is a very important step towards equality, humanity and rights.”
– Ravichandran B.
Consumer Verbatim

The Better Why Report

Hear from over 100 insights leaders on how to grasp the opportunity of this inflection point.

With recommendations for success, this report will leave you with inspiration about how to:

• Structure the strategic and the tactical
• Work more effectively with agency partners
• Design your projects with purpose and at speed
• Translate customer needs into business imperatives