MANILA, PHILIPPINES – The inaugural YouTube Works Awards has named brand content, campaigns, and channels that stood out in effectiveness and creativity in 2020. Despite being a year fraught with challenges, brands in the Philippines set the bar high on effectively using YouTube to deliver results and tell stories that resonate with local audiences.
“As the pandemic changed life as we know it, the way we tell brand stories and engage audiences evolved too. YouTube Works Awards saw that despite the restrictions in creative production and reaching consumers, brands in the Philippines rose above the challenge and expanded the possibilities with YouTube to effectively drive results and tell stories that resonate with Filipinos,” said Gabby Roxas, Head of Marketing at Google Philippines. “Congratulations to all the winners and we look forward to the continued participation and support of the industry next year!”
The top awards went to RC Cola’s “Basta” campaign, which was lauded for being brave enough to take creative risks and making effective use of Gen Z’s surrealist humor. The campaign won both The David–which honors the campaign that created a Goliath-sized impact for a David-sized brand–and the Grand Prix–which awards the brand that demonstrated excellence throughout the entire process of creating the campaign. Garnering more than seven million views to date, the video boosted RC’s sales by 63% showing that taking bold, creative risks pays off.
“At a tumultuous time when it would normally be considered unconventional to experiment, bravery in exploring the bold and the new pays off,” said Leigh Reyes, Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) President, C3PO (Chair 3meritus and Product Officer) of MullenLowe TREYNA, and YouTube Works Jury Head. “RC Cola’s ‘Basta’ campaign pushed the boundaries of the Pinoy advertising approach, tapping into absurdism to cut through repetitive and mundane lockdown content. Congratulations to Gigil, RC Cola and the rest of the winners of the first-ever YouTube Works Awards!”
Roxas continued, “RC Cola’s story of a bizarre family who ended up showing that they are embracing and enjoying their difference is consistent with the campaign’s approach–the pursuit to unapologetically stand out in a sea of formulaic content to achieve marketing and business objectives. YouTube Works aims to celebrate and champion campaigns like this to invite brands to continue innovating, experimenting, and learning.”
Filipinos love following stories and characters that’s why half of the entries in YouTube Works Awards comprised multiple videos and formats with episodic content, all vying for the Best Multi-Video Storytelling award. The winner of this category–TNT’s “Free Games for All” series–capitalized on Filipinos’ love for gaming mixed with hugot lines to tell the story of four friends bonding over online games told through three videos. Driving a 165% increase in revenue versus the previous year, this campaign proved that YouTube viewers keep coming back for episodic content especially if it offers a compelling narrative.
The power of entertaining content and authenticity is at the heart of the winners of the Best Brand Channel and Best Collaboration awards respectively.
The Red Horse Lakas-Tama Channel, winner of the Best Brand Channel category, focused on building a channel that looked beyond product marketing to create content that its target market would watch and engage with especially over a bottle of beer: online concerts, variety show sketches, and entertainment-led videos. As a result, its subscriber base grew 2X from 26,000 in October 2019 to 54,000 in 2020, and the YouTube channel scored 3.4 million views last year. The channel continues to grow, with a subscriber base that now stands at more than 87,000.
As the winner of the Best Collaboration award, Lucky Me! Pancit Canton, together with YouTube creator Mimiyuuuh, created the “Pinakahihintay NaThin” campaign that put a lighthearted spin on the brand’s return to their original–and much-loved–thin noodles by calling out social media naysayers while challenging them to try the new and improved version of the product. With this, Lucky Me! saw a lift in purchase intent and brand favor, achieving a view through rate (VTR) 18% higher than campaigns without creator collaborations.
Rounding up the winners of this year’s YouTube Works Awards are two heartfelt campaigns that show how brands with purpose can drive impact in times of uncertainty.
P&G placed pandemic heroes at the heart of their “A Frontliner’s Sacrifice” campaign that puts the spotlight on the real, raw sacrifices of our frontliners while being away from their families to care for the sick. The online film won P&G the Force for Good award.
Globe Telecom’s “A Star Wars Experience For All” campaign won the Best Long Form Storytelling award for its heartwarming story about two young boys who created a special viewing experience for their deaf friend. The campaign shows the importance of inclusivity by representing and uplifting persons with accessibility challenges.
“I’d like to congratulate all the winners of YouTube Works. Their campaigns are truly inspiring and speak volumes about the future of advertising in the Philippines. From taking bold, creative risks to playing meaningful roles amid the pandemic, these brands effectively harnessed insights and stories to use YouTube in driving desired results. While there were many great campaigns this year, the Best Personalization award went unclaimed, nonetheless. This brings an opportunity for brands and agencies to challenge themselves further about contextual targeting and fully unlock this potential. I’m excited to see how they will take this challenge to bag the award next year,” said Gary de Ocampo, Chief Executive Officer, Insights Division, Kantar Philippines.
Find out more about the winners of YouTube Works here.
adobo magazine is an official media partner of the YouTube Works Awards.
