The awards say that 2020 was a record year for the WMAs, with entries up by 50%. Johan Jervoe, CMO at UBS, was announced as the winner of the WMAs Content Leadership and Innovation Award.

This award is for the individual recognised by peers for their talent in creating exemplary content-driven campaigns with brand bravery, creativity and innovation. Jervoe will receive his special award at this year's WMAs celebration.

The awards attracted strong international interest from: 
  • Australia
  • Chile
  • France
  • Germany
  • Hong Kong
  • Kenya
  • Singapore
  • South Africa
  • the United Kingdom
  • the United States of America, and 
  • other countries spanning APAC, EMEA and the Americas.
The shortlist includes a variety of renowned international brands including: 
  • Audi
  • Bayer
  • British Airways
  • Canon
  • Formula One
  • Levi's
  • PlayStation
  • Prada
  • Shell
  • BNP Paribas
  • Samsung, and
  • Sonos.
The entries were shortlisted by an international team of over 30 jurors from leading advertisers, agencies and publishers, who reflected on the importance of collaboration between all three parties when creating effective content-driven marketing campaigns.

The jury is co-chaired by Josh Krichefski, CEO of EMEA at Mediacom. The full list of judges can be seen here.

"We had a stellar line-up of contenders for the Content Leadership and Innovation Award this year and choosing a winner was incredibly tough," says Krichefski. "All nominees have demonstrated brand bravery, creativity and innovation in pushing the boundaries of content marketing to achieve outstanding results."

"In the end, Johan Jervoe edged out the competition with his bold approach to developing the UBS brand identity and strategy, backed up by his commitment to driving industry best practice around viewability measurement and audience targeting," adds Krichefski.

Alex Delamain, president of the World Media Group and SVP, head of sales EMEA at The Economist, says, "As the WMA celebrates its fifth year, we have been delighted to see a substantial increase in high-quality entries from all over the world."

"Supporting authentic storytelling through journalistic and commercial content is at the heart of what the World Media Group does so I'm pleased to see such a diverse range of campaigns from almost 40 international brands on the shortlist — demonstrating the valuable role content marketing plays in bringing stories to life," concludes Delamain.

The final category winners will be announced at the WMA reception at the Ham Yard Hotel in London on Thursday, 30 April. The winner of this year's Grand Prix Award will also be announced on the night, joining previous years' Grand Prix winners:
  • London and Partners
  • Tata Motors
  • Shell, and
  • Fox.
The awards are unique in that all winners not only walk away with a trophy and kudos on the night, but will also see their work celebrated in an exclusive worldwide advertising campaign valued at €650K+.

The campaign will run across leading international media brands, including:
  • The Atlantic 
  • BBC Global News
  • Bloomberg Media Group
  • Business Insider 
  • The Economist
  • Forbes
  • Fortune, National Geographic 
  • The New York Times 
  • Reuters 
  • Time 
  • The Wall Street Journal, and
  • The Washington Post,
Details of the shortlisted entries can be found here.

For more information, visit www.world-media-group.com. You can also follow the World Media Group on Twitter.