High Time
Roll back the year
In 2021 AKQA has been honoured with many of the world’s most prestigious prizes for trailblazing work that’s achieved recognition at the highest levels by the industry’s leading awards including: Cannes Lions, D&AD, Fast Company, Gartner. 2021 also saw AKQA being certified as a Great Place to Work®.
AKQA wins 16 Cannes Lions awards.
After winning the prestigious Design Grand Prix with Universal Design Studio for the ground-breaking circular fashion work H&M Looop, three more Gold Lions were awarded across Mobile and Radio & Audio Lions. The innovative use of GPS tracking technology in Code of Conscience, the unique application of Harvard and Oxford University research in Beck’s Frequency and the utilising of mobile phone magnetometers in Stranger Antenna was recognised. A further eight Silver and four Bronze Lions were given in honour of the industry’s most ground-breaking work along with 21 shortlists.
H&M Looop wins Fast Company’s World Changing Ideas award.
Recognised as a finalist in the Best World Changing Idea EMEA category H&M Looop also received an honourable mention in the General Excellence category.
Joining forces to envision the digital experience and architectural design of H&M Looop, AKQA and Universal’s approach is to echo a creative atelier, celebrating the craft and process at the core of the new technology.
AKQA wins 12 D&AD awards.
International AKQA projects won two Yellow for Netflix One Story Away and The Blue Light Movement Blue Light, plus five Graphite and five Wood. Grey were also awarded one Graphite, four Wood and one Next pencil. These were won across the Digital, Physical, Art Direction, Entertainment and Impact categories. The D&AD awards celebrate the best of creative excellence in design and advertising and are one of the most respected awards in the industry.
AKQA wins three One Show Pencils for H&M Looop.
Awarding the most groundbreaking work, The One Show is the one of the world’s most prestigious awards in design and digital marketing. For over 40 years, the Gold Pencil has been regarded as one of the top prizes in the creative industry.
Receiving the Gold Pencil in the Spatial Design category plus a Silver Pencil for Customer Experience and a Bronze Pencil for Innovation and Transformation, the work was also recognised with a further two Merits in the Immersive Space.
AKQA wins 16 Clio Entertainment Awards for work in collaboration with clients Netflix, Sony and Amazon.
AKQA won the Grand Clio, five Gold, four Silver and six Bronze awards. The Clio Entertainment awards are the definitive celebration of creativity in the multiplatform universe. The Last Of Us: Part II received the highest honours of the Grand Clio award, two Gold awards and a Bronze award within the Games: Audio Visual category. Amazon Prime Video, The Boys: Baby Laser Tag received one Gold award for its work within the Television and Streaming: Digital Mobile medium. AKQA’s work for Netflix One Story Away and We Watched It All received Gold awards within the Television and Streaming categories. One Story Away also went on to be honoured with a further two Silver and Bronze awards. The Ghost Of Tsushima received four awards of two Silver and two Bronze within the Games category for Key Art Craft and Audio Visual work. Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales received two Bronze awards within the Games Brand Identity and Audio Visual categories.
AKQA leads Financial Review Most Innovative Companies list.
The list is now in its ninth year, highlighting the most inventive organisations in Australia and New Zealand, by industry and is the only national recognition of its kind.
Action Audio was also recognised as a world class example of innovation acknowledging the commitment to fostering a pioneering culture.
AKQA positioned highest in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Global Marketing Agencies 2021 for ability to execute and furthest for completeness of vision.
The 2021 report notes that AKQA creates transformative customer-centric experiences and helps clients define the future. Highlighting AKQA’s ability to design comprehensive experiences that align with fundamental human needs and behaviour, and references how clients select AKQA for strategic and creative services, receiving value in-line with their investment.
AKQA is Certified™ by Great Place to Work® for 2021.
Over 90% of AKQA employees are proud to tell others they work at AKQA, and over 81% of employees who took part said it’s a great place to work, compared to 59% of employees at other companies.
AKQA Chief People Officer Amy Oliver said: “Given what the world has been through this past year, to be recognised in this way is a credit to the people and the culture we’ve created at AKQA.”
