Global, Spark Foundry and SPP win Best Use of Audio at Media Week Awards 2020

Global, Spark Foundry and SPP Media have been awarded the gold in Best Use of Audio at the Media Week Awards 2020 for their work for Versus Arthritis.

The Best Use of Audio category, which is sponsored by Radiocentre, recognises innovation, creativity, planning, the use of data and results through having an effective and smart audio strategy. Among other criteria, judges look for how the ambitious use of audio was made the heart of a campaign.

Global, Spark Foundry and SPP Media’s ‘Stolen Stories’ work saw UK charity Versus Arthritis turn expectations of audio on their head, by airing real stories from people with arthritis with removed sections – leaving only silence – in reflection of how arthritis can rob people of the life story they’re writing. These moments jolted listeners out of inertia and encouraged them to take arthritis more seriously. Arthritis affects 10 million people in the UK, two thirds of whom are under 65.

The activity culminated in an Arthritis Action Day; a collaboration bringing all of Global’s Radio brands and over 30 voices together to tell audio stories of people they knew with arthritis, demonstrating its pervasiveness throughout society and the effect it has on people’s ability to be independent, on their work and their intimacy with the people they love.

The category, sponsored by Radiocentre, was presented by Client Director Lucy Barrett. She said:

“This was the standout entry in the category. A clear objective and a solid rationale for why audio – in this case radio – was the medium of choice. The entry demonstrated how a high reach combined with innovative creative led to really good awareness and understanding of the disease, and the results were all backed up by independent research.” 

The hotly contested Best Use of Audio category also had nominations from: ITV and Sounds of Love Island, for Spotify and Universal; ITV and Uncommon Creative Studio’s silent ad break for Dunelm, Seat, Network Rail, Gilette and Oral-B; Spotify and Omnigov @ Manning Gottlieb OMG’s modern slavery ad for The Government’s Home and Cabinet Office; The Guardian Labs and Starcom, with #WhereYouShopMatters for Visa; and Verizon Media for Galaxy Chocolate: Sorry, Not Sorry.

ITV and Uncommon Creative Studio’s silent ad break took home the bronze, while silver went to The Guardian Labs and Starcom for their work with Visa.

Watch the Media Week Awards ceremony below: