Last Thursday evening, Visit Britain took home the Grand Prix at the 2026 World Media Awards for its ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ campaign, entered by OMD Germany. The award was presented at a ceremony at London’s Ham Yard Hotel, hosted by Katie Razzall, culture and media editor for BBC News.
The World Media Awards, now in their 11th year, celebrate excellence in international content marketing and cross-border advertising campaigns that demonstrate creativity, effectiveness, and global reach, say the organisers World Media Group.
Winner of the Grand Prix as well as the Travel & Tourism category, ‘Starring GREAT Britain’ recognised people’s existing emotional connection to Britain through film and TV, and turned that connection into real travel destinations. The campaign shifted the conversation from winning tourists to winning fans, and was built on an ambitious collaboration between studios, rights holders and tourism partners.
The campaign showed impressive results overall, added World Media Group, with judges particularly impressed by the proven ROI in Germany where the campaign delivered £11 for every £1 invested, generating £27 million in incremental value from German visitors.
“Starring GREAT Britain' is content-driven advertising at its best,” said Jamie Credland, CEO, World Media Group. “It highlights an impressive collaboration between Visit Britain, major studios and rights holders to bring together footage from 14 film and TV productions. The campaign met fans where they already watch, from cinema and streaming to film media and podcasts. It’s a simple, memorable idea, brilliantly executed through partnerships, with clear commercial impact.”
The awards, presented by the World Media Group, recognise global brands, agencies and media partners creating the most effective content-driven marketing and advertising campaigns. This year’s winners included campaigns from Afreximbank, Belmond, Brand Scotland, Cargill, Deutsche Telekom, Equinor, Ferragamo, L’Oréal Groupe, LEGO, Samsung, UBS, ViiV Healthcare as well as Visit Britain.
In addition to the 10 campaign-based awards, two special Awards were announced on the night to celebrate individuals recognised by their peers for their contributions to content-led marketing.
Victoria Pawsey, global brand & media partnerships director at BCG, received the Award for Content Leadership and Innovation, which recognises individuals who demonstrate exceptional talent in creating exemplary international content-driven campaigns that show brand bravery, creativity and innovation.
Marta Samper, international partnerships director at Omnicom Media, took home the 2026 World Media Award for Rising Star, which celebrates emerging talent in international media who are already making a difference early on in their careers.
The independent jury, made up of judges from brands, agencies and media owners, was led by co-chairs Georgina Benjamin, head, CIB Marketing (Europe) at Standard Chartered, and Adam Nunn, business operations director, EMEA at Omnicom Media. The World Media Awards Ceremony was supported by Brand Metrics.
The full case studies for this year’s winning entries, along with the winners of previous years, are available to read in the World Media Group’s Creative Vault here.
The winners of the World Media Awards 2026 are as follows:
CORPORATE INFLUENCER
WINNER: Afreximbank: Impact Stories
Brand: Afreximbank
Entered by: CNN
Judges’ Comments: Emotionally connected stories around the impact Afreximbank made through investing in people who could positively impact lives with the stories tying back to the economics of the regions involved. The judges remembered both the stories and the people who spoke about the difference this investment had had on their lives. An outstanding and very memorable entry.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
WINNER: The Craft of Sport
Brand: UBS
Entered by: New York Times Advertising
Credits: The Athletic, Publicis Groupe
Judges’ Comments: A genuine emotional connection, built on a brand with a long-standing, well-regarded reputation and a message that resonated strongly with judges. Strong content, done authentically and elegantly, carrying real hope and optimism throughout. Judges described it as a proper piece of journalism that cut through the noise of the category.
TECHNOLOGY & TELECOMS
WINNER: Samsung’s Journey to AI Brand Visibility
Brand: Samsung
Entered by: Starcom Worldwide
Credits: Brandlight
Judges’ Comments: The entry tackled a broader industry challenge around generative and AI-driven search, addressing LLMs directly as the key audience, redefining what search means for a brand. As one of the first campaigns to take this approach, judges described it as ahead of its time in its strategy, metrics and results, both within its category and against the wider field.
Highly Commended: OWN YOUR WORLD
Brand: Deutsche Telekom
Entered by: Mindshare/WPP Media
Credits: Emetriq GmbH, INGO Stockholm, Whalar
Judges’ Comments: The campaign found a way to have a conversation we all need to have, in a different way, and addressed it in a tone of voice that meets the audience in a place they inhabit.
LUXURY & LIFESTYLE
WINNER: Life on a Train
Brand: Belmond
Entered by: New York Times Advertising
Judges’ Comments: A very memorable hook with ‘Train Mode’, which anchored a set of engaging stories encompassing a variety of perspectives (travellers, workers, people with children), all built around the idea of the journey itself. Judges praised how beautifully the campaign was filmed. Positive impact was shown through the full marketing funnel and results, making this a real standout winner.
TRAVEL & TOURISM AND GRAND PRIX
WINNER: Starring GREAT Britain
Brand: Visit Britain
Entered by: OMD Germany
Judges’ Comments: A confident, simple campaign that recognised people’s existing emotional connection to Britain through film and TV, and turned that connection into real travel destinations, shifting the conversation from winning tourists to winning fans. An ambitious collaboration between studios, rights holders and tourism partners, delivered through a clear, memorable and insightful idea, and exceptionally well written. Judges singled this out as a staggeringly simple but effective campaign, with a clear strategy and genuine commercial impact.
Specialist Categories:
BRAND MEDIA OWNER PARTNERSHIP UNDER €1M
WINNER: Where Innovation Thrives
Brand: Brand Scotland
Entered by: BBC Storyworks
Credits: Carat UK
Judges’ Comments: A beautifully shot campaign telling stories of innovation and business success from Scotland, spanning a wide range of businesses and tackling misconceptions head-on. It neatly avoided the whisky-and-shortbread clichés, while still capturing much of what people love about Scotland. A human, well-shot creative, delivered through partnerships, and a campaign that produced strong results on a comparatively small budget.
Highly Commended: People Power: Humanising the Energy Transition
Brand: Equinor
Entered by: Financial Times
Credits: UM Worldwide
Judges’ Comments: The judges described this as a strong partnership, and enjoyed the FT’s push back on the original brief to redirect the content. The campaign demonstrated well-executed assets that were aligned to the campaign objectives, with a human approach to the storytelling, all reflected in strong results.
BRAND MEDIA OWNER PARTNERSHIP OVER €1M
WINNER: Meeting the Moment
Brand: L’Oréal Groupe
Entered by: New York Times Advertising
Credits: Beauty Co-Lab
Judges’ Comments: The glossy, striking visual creative felt like a natural fit between brand and publisher. The partnership leveraged multiple touchpoints across the publisher’s ecosystem, from podcasts to screenings, and spoke about beauty in a fresh, innovative way.
SMALL BUDGET GREAT IMPACT
WINNER: How to Ski Italian Style with Alberto Tomba
Brand: Ferragamo
Entered by: CNBC
Judges’ Comments: An elegantly efficient content activation. The judges praised the choice to film on 16mm as simultaneously the right aesthetic call and an efficient one. Three editorial chapters gave the campaign genuine narrative architecture, with products woven naturally into the scenes rather than simply placed within them. Content created under considerable constraints became opportunities, ultimately leveraged as print advertising for a luxury house with a century of heritage, which was the ultimate stamp of approval for the judges.
Highly Commended: Making HIV History: Reaching an HIV-free Generation
Brand: ViiV Healthcare
Entered by: CNN
Credits: CNN Create Brand Studio, Publicis Media (Platform GSK)
Judges’ Comments: The campaign successfully demonstrated how living with HIV has changed with different treatment options available based on authentic storytelling in everyday locations. The campaign delivered key messages while allowing contributors to speak in their own worlds, which ensured high levels of engagement despite commercial messaging at the core.
SOCIAL GOOD
WINNER: The Resilient Food Systems Index
Brand: Cargill
Entered by: Economist Enterprise
Judges’ Comments: In a category where it is often easiest to reward the campaign that moves audiences emotionally through picture-heavy storytelling, judges instead recognised the entry that had done the hard work of pairing deep, expert-led information with a powerful media partner. A well-developed, long-term approach, rooted in research and data, executed with a partner who brought credibility and trust.
BRANDED EVENT
WINNER: LEGO SMART Play – OOH That Plays Back
Brand: LEGO
Entered by: Starcom Worldwide
Credits: Sphere, Our LEGO Agency
Judges’ Comments: The judges described this as a masterclass in marketing activation, one that should be taught in every business school. It was built on a clear understanding of the brand’s audience and mission. An event that lived well beyond its initial execution, with media environment, message and creative working together perfectly.
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