Airbnb’s save Aussie country pubs is WARC’s top brand purpose campaign

Another day, even in lockdown, brings more awards and this time it’s WARC – donor of the Effies – with “Effective Use of Brand Purpose,” which may be of interest with brands and others competing to do the right things in the George Floyd crisis.

Airbnb Creative APAC won the Grand Prix for ‘the Country Pub’ project in Australia. According to WARC “Airbnb regained its position as the most popular booking site by creating a project to support rural communities by boosting the country pub, a gathering point for struggling country towns.

“The campaign used a combination of public policy, paid media, earned media and owned channels in a three-stage strategy to reach more than 15 million people, achieve over 30 million video views, and drive increased brand favourability and awareness.”

Well Aussies love their pubs (when they’re allowed in.)

The Evaluation Award, for a brand purpose strategy measuring both commercial and societal impact, went to FCB India for The Times of India’s Out & Proud – India Comes Out of the Closet campaign. The newspaper sparked a nationwide movement to normalise LGBTQ with a special Out and Proud classifieds section.

The Employee Engagement Award, rewarding a purpose-led strategy that is consistent both inside and outside an organisation, went to FP7 McCann Dubai for The Gift of Mom campaign for children’s retailer Babyshop, which increased brand affinity through a multi-channel Mother’s Day initiative centred around breast cancer in the United Arab Emirates.

The Sustainability Award, for a brand that has replaced a strategy or business practice with a more sustainable alternative and can prove that it has contributed to long-term brand health, went to Santa Clara for Native Bees, a campaign for Brazilian craft beer brand Cervejeria Colorado, highlighting the problem of bee extinction.

All the winners are here.