Romanian MSL The Practice, awarded Silver and Bronze Stevies at 2019 International Business Awards
MSL The Practice is the only Romanian agency to receive recognition in the 16th Annual International Business Awards, winning 1 Silver Stevie and 1 Bronze Stevie. Winners were celebrated at the Gala Event on 19 October in Vienna, Austria.
MSL The Practice was named the winner of a Silver Stevie Award in the Corporate Communications category, for the campaign “Equality Works Better”, client IKEA Romania.
IKEA believes everyone has the right to be treated fairly and be given equal opportunities, regardless of their gender. But the company treats this issue with high responsibility and wants to generate a much wider impact than its own organization. The “Equality Works Better” campaign started with putting the topic on the public agenda, since little had been discussed around gender equality in Romania before, especially in the private sector. In a second step it was time for real action. IKEA Romania, The Romanian Diversity Charter and supported by the Swedish Embassy have launched a CEO Call for Action and Task Force for Gender Equality, a network of companies and organisations advocating for equal representation of women in leadership positions, equal pay for the same work and equal opportunities for women and men. Two years since its debut, this campaign managed to get together the Romanian Presidency, the Swedish Embassy, state authorities and some of the some of the biggest companies in Romania in order to form a task force which is determined to take the gender equality pledge further. More than 240 decision makers and decision influencers (NGOs, stakeholders, journalists, bloggers, companies) participated in the gender equality debates, generating more than 200 media articles on a sensitive topic.
Regarding the “Equality Works Better” campaign, the judges considered that it tackled hard issues with creative thinking, that it created a lot of different occasions relevant enough to trigger communication and media coverage, and that it set a good example for other Romanian companies.
The agency also won a Bronze Stevie Award in the Marketing – Consumer Products category, for the campaign “Get your YOU on!”, client Remington Romania.
Since Romanian men are expected to take on traditional roles and behaviours (be tough, don’t cry, suck it up, behave manly, choose manly jobs), the Remington campaign challenged these stereotypes and inspire Romanian men to be themselves through relatable stories speaking about vulnerabilities and self-acceptance. The campaign tackled a very sensitive topic and succeeded in producing a meaningful impact on both consumers and the brand. Campaign results: 5 million reach, 73,000 social interactions, male products sales grew by 24%, women products sales grew by 7%. Some of the consumers reactions: “I’m absolutely in love with this campaign”. “Remington did this cool thing. We want more!”. “One of the most authentic campaigns in Romania lately”.
“Get your YOU on!” campaign was appreciated by the judges for supporting Romanians to break out of their traditional roles and stereotypes, for doing a great job in giving a voice to a brand, for its strategic and creative thinking and also for its brand and business impact.
The International Business Awards are the world’s premier business awards program. All individuals and organizations worldwide – public and private, for-profit and non-profit, large and small – are eligible to submit nominations. The 2019 IBAs received entries from organizations in 74 nations and territories.
A record total of more than 4,000 nominations from organizations of all sizes and in virtually every industry were submitted this year for consideration in a wide range of categories. Stevie Award winners were determined by the average scores of more than 250 executives worldwide who participated in the judging process from May through early August.