These Innovative Agencies Deftly Delivered Impactful Messaging in Troubling Times

Amid a rapidly changing ecosystem, media agencies play an increasingly critical role in helping brands deliver marketing to consumers with maximum impact. Modern media agencies need to get particularly creative to cut through an ever more cluttered media landscape, and the best media plans of the past year found ways to innovate—from deepfakery and utilizing data to deliver ads 24 hours after a workout to barbershop screenings and Awkwafina lending her voice to New York’s 7 train. In 2020, media plans also had to evolve to meet consumers’ changing media habits as crises unfolded worldwide. Adaptability and versatility were more important than ever and were the cornerstones of many of our Media Plan of the Year winners, particularly those released during the Covid-19 pandemic.