BEST OF THE BEST 

Time to take a break from the daily grind to celebrate Adweek’s Best Media Plan winners across thirty-two categories.

The following represent the winner, category and client.

The envelope please ….

SMG,Campaign, $5-10MM,P&G Always

SMG,Best Social, $4MM +, P&G Always

W+K/Razorfish/Mindshare, Campaign $15MM +, Nike

W+K/Razorfish/Mindshare, Best Int’l Campaign $15MM +, Nike

UM, Campaign $10-15MM, Media Markt

SMG, Campaign $1-5MM, Newcastle Brown Ale

PHD, Campaign $500K-1MM, Oreo

DigitasLBi, Campaign Under $500K, Taco Bell

DigitasLBi, Best Social Under $500K, Taco Bell

UM, Best Programmatic, Neutrogena

Team One, Best Use of Data, Lexus NX

DigitasLBi, Best Use of Insights, American Express

Hill Holiday, Best Mobile $4MM +, John Hancock

DigitasLBi, Best Mobile $1-2MM, Taco Bell

Essence, Best Mobile $500K-1MM, Google Search App

Media Storm, Best Mobile Under $500, Fox: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Mindshare, Best Social $2-4MM, Dove

Horizon Media, Best Social $1-2MM, Burger King

Zenith, Best Social $500K-1M, FX: AHS/Freak Show

The Grid, Branded Content $4MM +, GE

W+K, Branded Content $1-2MM, Old Spice

Carmichael Lynch, Branded Content $500-1MM, Subaru

John St., Branded Content Under $500K, Canadian Safe School

Mediacom, Alternative Media $4MM +, Shell

Zenith, Alternative Media $2-4MM, Kohl’s

Van Wagner Group, Alternative Media $1-2MM, Hendrick’s Gin

Spark, Alternative Media $500K-1M, Delta Faucet

Ignition Factory, Alternative Media Under $500, Porsche

Mediacom, Int’l Campaign $1-5MM, Coca-Cola

UM, Int’l Campaign Under $1MM, H&M

Mediacom, Best Native Adv $1-2MM, Shell

Team One, Best Native Adv Under $500K, Lexus

WHAT IF NEWSPAPERS DIE ?

The current issue of BrandWeek touts the results of an AdWeek Media/Harris Poll that suggests that, while newspapers are read both online and in print by a majority of adults, paying for online content is not in the cards.

The newspaper industry has unfortunately created an appetite for free online news content in an effort to generate traffic for their websites. As more eyes landed on the their sites and as aggregation sites began to re-publish news content, the model began to backfire as newspaper circulation and online cpms dropped. It became a lose-lose combination.

A recent study released by the Pew's Center Project for Excellence in Journalism paints a picture that goes a long way to support Rupert Murdoch's efforts to raise a pay wall for online newspaper content. The study suggests that while the news landscape had expanded considerably through online channels, most of what the public reads and learns is overwhelmingly driven by traditional media -- primarily newspapers.

What happens if newspapers die?

To quote from the study ..."The questions are becoming increasingly urgent. As the economic model that has subsidized professional journalism collapses, the number of people gathering news in traditional television, print and radio organizations is shrinking markedly. What, if anything, is taking up that slack?"

Until such time that circulation and advertising can support the online models (unlikely), only a payment for content model will keep the information flow from drying up. If we do not wake up and pay for content origination, we are doomed to a Twitter-like world and information without substance.