Independently judged by an industry panel, the World Media Group offers representation from BBC News, The Economist, Forbes, National Geographic, The New York Times, Reuters and The Wall Street Journal. Cymru Wales won the ‘Travel and Tourism’ category against major international destinations: Abu Dhabi, London and Manitoba, Canada.
The success continued with the campaign winning the overall Grand Prix ‘Winner of Winners’ beating major international brands including: Adidas, Audi, Visa and Volkswagen. “While the standard of all our finalists was impressive, the jury agreed that ‘Wales To The World’ sums up what is at the core of the World Media Awards’ ethos. It truly demonstrates how a powerful content-driven campaign in the right media environment can bring a story to life without compromising on authenticity,” said Belinda Barker, Chief Executive, World Media Group. “The Welsh Government did an amazing job bringing together different cultures and values in an integrated campaign that showcases Wales as a progressive nation with so much to offer. We can’t wait to come and visit!”
The delivery of the campaign was a collaborative approach, with Welsh Government bringing together for the first time a ‘Tîm Cymru’ collective - consisting of key stakeholders, organisations, agency partners, third sector and grass roots community to promote Wales under the Cymru Wales Brand.
“We’re delighted to be awarded this year’s Grand Prix for ‘Wales To The World‘. An award not just for our team but for all the teams across our organisation and external partners across Wales. To be recognised at this level is yet another demonstration of the success of our strategic approach and just the beginning of our long-term strategy to raise the profile of Wales internationally. We look forward to sharing more stories from the heart of our nation in the next chapter.” said Heledd Owen, Director of Marketing, Cymru Wales.
The ‘Wales to the World’ campaign showcased brand Cymru Wales to the world, the international brand of Welsh Government and featured a suite of films showing the authentic voice of Wales; a team Wales partnership of 24 organisations; a Wales to Broadway event in New York which hosted Hollywood A-listers and Wrexham AFC owners Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney; a giant Bucket Hat in the middle of Doha; and global PR coverage featuring one of Wales’ ambassadors, Prof. Laura McAllister. The campaign has also been shortlisted in seven other global awards competitions.
Talking about the campaign, Noel Mooney, CEO, Football Association of Wales said: “This was pure partnership, and the catalyst for that was the Welsh Government campaign. We brought Cymru to the world stage… our values; our language; our music; our bucket hats…you name it. We won the World Cup off the pitch.”
Part of the campaign was a tactical approach to ambassadors to help share the values of Wales to the world in an authentic way. Prof. Laura McAllister and Colin Jackson were among ‘Lleisiau Cymru’- the voices who travelled to Qatar to bring to life the values of Wales on the world stage ahead of the major tournament. Prof. Laura McAllister UEFA Vice-President said: “Who would have known that a small nation of three million people would have had that kind of impact in our first World Cup in 64 years.”