Following an intensive couple of weeks for the judging panel, the shortlist for the Media Awards 2023 has been published.
A full list of the entrants to make the shortlist is available HERE
Out of 299 entries, 117 made the shortlist this year, making it one of the most competitive years since the awards were established in 2011.
The second round of live judging will now take place on Thursday April 20 and Friday April 21 with the winners set to be announced at the gala black-tie event on April 27 in the RDS, Dublin.
All the major agency groups fared well on this year’s shortlist with Starcom, Mindshare, dentsu and PHD, in particular, well represented well on the shortlist. They were closely followed by Spark Foundry, OMD, Havas, EssenceMediacom, Zenith, Wavemaker and Javelin. North of the border, Ardmore and Mammoth continue their tradition of a strong showing with two shortlisted entries each.
Media owners are also once again well represented on the shortlist with RTE, SKY Media and Virgin Media present for TV and Media Central, Audio XI, urban Media, Bauer Media NIÂ and IRS+ making the list for Radio.
In print dmg Media, Mediahuis, News Ireland, The Business Post Group, Reach and the Farmers Journal all made it to the shortlist while LADbible, JOE.ie and Greencastle are also well represented.
Out of Home, meanwhile, remains as competitive as ever with PML and Talon showing strongly along with Clear Channel, Global and Dublin Airport.
New shortlistings for 2023 include Rapport in the OOH category and BWG Foods in the Media Campaign Launch Category and Really Bright Media in the Content / Creative category.
In the hotly contested Media Agency of the Year there are seven contenders including Ardmore Group, Havas Media, Mindshare, OMD, PHD Media, Spark Foundry and Starcom.
One of the most coveted categories in the Media Awards -Sales Team of the Year – has seven finalists – Business Post Group, dmg media, Global, Media Central, PML Group, Sky Media and urbanmedia.
This year the Media Brand of the Year category will be keenly contested by Bauer Media Audio Northern Ireland, PML Group, RTÉ – The Late Late Toy Show, SKY Media, Talon in Ireland and The Irish Farmers Journal.
Elsewhere, the Rising Star award sees Core’s Alice O’Leary, Mindshare’s Ciara O’Connor, News Ireland’s Sarah McGovern, Reach’s Grainne McDonald, Wavemaker’s Johnluke Hayes and Zenith’s Ryan Reid all make it to the shortlist.
Meanwhile the organisers of Media Awards 2023 have announced that three new sponsors are partnering with the awards this year. They are OOH company Talon in Ireland which is sponsoring the Best Use of Data category, Mediahuis Ireland, which is sponsoring the Rising Star category and recruitment agency Prosperity which is sponsoring the Best Sustainability Initiative.
Tickets for the event have gone on sale and will be available on a first come, first serve basis. Tickets can be booked online at www.mediaawards.ie/table-booking/ or by contacting the organisers directly at info@mediaawards.ie