4A’s Celebrates Strategic Excellence with 2023 Jay Chiat Awards and Sold-Out StratFest

The 4A’s (American Association of Advertising Agencies) announced the winners of the 2023 Jay Chiat Awards across 11 categories on Monday, October 2nd. The event was hosted at CONVENE, located on 117 West 46th Street, New York. Two of the entries also earned special recognition over and above the category awards. Edelman won the Grand Prix award for the Unilever/Vaseline 'See My Skin' campaign and Leo Burnett Middle East took home the Agency of the Year award. 

View the 2023 Jay Chiat Awards winners here.

Entries for the 2023 program, which marks the Jay Chiat Awards’ 26th year, opened in March 2023 and were accepted through July 2023. Only submissions that were in market at some point between January 1st, 2022 and December 31, 2022 were considered eligible for the 2023 awards. “The Jay Chiat Awards place a premium on strategic contribution and its role in the outcome, market results and story told. We wanted to be meticulous about identifying bold and visionary strategic insights not eclipsed by creative work. Another key consideration was around how each strategic approach overcame challenges,” said Marla Kaplowitz, president and CEO of the 4A’s. 

In August, a panel of jurors selected 60 finalists from hundreds of entries received. “Events like the Jay Chiat Awards are a reminder that a great idea is a simple idea. No matter how hard things may seem, a big but simple idea can turn the telescope around, so you see the problem from an entirely new perspective. That’s why the awards are named for a man who helped turn an industry on its head,” said president and chief strategy officer at Havas Tim Maleeny who was the head juror for National Strategy. Lara O’Shea, head juror for Product/Service Creation Strategy and chief strategy officer at Hudson Rouge agreed. “The Jay Chiat Awards recognise and reward the craft of strategic thinking – the breakthrough and rigorous approaches that are the foundation of exceptional work. These awards challenge us to articulate how and why strong strategy leads to successful outcomes – the results that clients engage us for, “ she said. “The Jay Chiat Awards recognise that bright vision and sharp clarity are more necessary than ever to steer our most brilliant ideas,” emphasised Nick Childs, head juror for CX strategy and co-founder of DIRT. 

The JCAs set the stage for StratFest on October 3rd. The event brought together 250 attendees, noted speakers, panellists and workshop leaders from across the industry for a full day of talks, panels and workshops around a wide spectrum of topics focused on culture and strategy. Notable sessions included 'For the Culture' by Dr. Marcus Collins, an award-winning marketer and professor at the University of Michigan, 'Defying Your DNA: The Invisible Barrier to Bravery and How to Overcome It' by Joan Colletta, senior director of global marketing transformation at McDonald’s and Becca Peel, lead strategist, Contagious and 'Embracing the Managerial Role: From Inspiring Strategist to Empowering Leader' by strategy director at BBH, USA Timanni Walker, and alumni of the 4A’s Foundation’s Multicultural Advertising Intern Program (MAIP). Three of the Jay Chiat Award-winning case studies also featured among the presentations: Edelman’s 'See My Skin', alma DDB’s 'Think Ote' and Partners + Napier’s 'Is That A Gummy In Your Pocket'. Brian Bonilla, senior agency reporter, AdAge moderated the panel 'Why Agency Brands Matter' featuring 4A’s Strategy Committee co-chairs Elizabeth Paul, chief strategy officer, The Martin Agency & Tomas Gonsorcik, chief strategy officer, DDB Worldwide. The event culminated with a Fireside Chat between 4A’s President and CEO Marla Kaplowitz and renowned marketer and Founder and Principal of 5S Diversity Antonio Lucio covering a wide range of topics including the biggest concerns on CMOs’ minds, putting the focus back on creating ads to sell over winning awards and what AI could pave the way for. 

Google, Resonate, Pulsar, TikTok, Researchscape and LocaliQ were among StratFest 2023 sponsors. On-demand videos of the sessions are now available to registered attendees and will be available through Dec 31?