As we look ahead to the next edition of the awards, the four jury chairs sharetheir expectations. Which categories interest them the most? What are they hoping to find in the entries submitted? What will they be paying particular attention to during their evaluation? This time, we hear from Kathleen Buyst, Global Brand Director at Lotus Bakeries and Chair of the DigitalCampaign jury.
“Although large companies with significant budgets undoubtedly have a place at the IAB MIXX Awards, I am particularly curious about this year’s challengers: those who dared to forge their own path and whose impact far exceeded expectations. “Kathleen’s enthusiasm is certainly clear. “In our industry, we have so much to learn from one another, and the MIXX Awards are precisely the ideal opportunity to do so.”
Digital Campaign Awards
Best Branding Campaign
Awards digital campaigns primarily aimed at building brand awareness, brand preference, or long-term brand equity.
Best Performance Campaign
Awards data-driven digital campaigns focused on measurable conversion objectives such as lead generation, registrations or other defined actions.
Best Commerce Campaign
Awards digital campaigns with direct impact on sales, e-commerce performance, or revenue growth.
Branding vs. performance
“While ‘Best Performance Campaign’ and ‘Best Commerce Campaign’ focus on direct, measurable action, branding is about building a long-term impression in consumers’ minds,” Kathleen explains.
However, this more intangible dimension does not mean that it should go unproven. ‘You need to be able to demonstrate that the campaign has genuinely strengthened brand awareness, enriched brand associations and ensured the brand stays at the forefront of consumers’ minds when they have a need or are making a purchase decision.’ Reach is therefore only a starting point.
“A good branding campaign does more than simply get seen. It needs to leave a lasting impression and come back to mind at the right moment.”
In terms of timeframe, a campaign entered in the ‘Best Branding Campaign’ category can take different forms.
“It can be a long-term campaign, or a more specific initiative that fits within a broader brand platform and contributes to strengthening brand equity.” The key is demonstrating the connection with the overall strategy.
“What matters to me is not only what the campaign brings to the brand today, but also how it will help the brand grow in the future. Is the idea memorable? Does it stand out? Can it grow and live beyond this campaign?”
The challenge is different for categories that focus more on the short term, but the level of expectation remains the same.
“Launching a campaign and then waiting to see what happens is not enough. You need to monitor it, analyse the data, and make adjustments along the way. That is how you improve results.” This is something that Kathleen and the other jury members — Germain Deflandre (MentionBox), Caroline Delbruyère (Cassius Data Consult), Wies Dickens (AKQA Brussels) and Stéphanie Gross (Reynaers Aluminium) — will be paying particular attention to during the evaluation process.
What about AI?
“Innovation itself does not earn you points. Every tool you use must genuinely strengthen the idea or contribute to the KPIs defined at the outset.” The results must therefore be convincing and correspond to the defined objectives.
“AI is a means, not an end,” she continues, addressing a topic that cannot be ignored. ‘Gaining efficiency is not enough. The real question is whether AI enhances the brand experience, making communication more relevant, creative and impactful for consumers.”
The same considerations apply to influencer marketing
If you want to win an award at the MIXX Awards, you need to set the bar high. Influencer marketing is no exception.
“Having a large audience or a well-known name is not enough to make a campaign successful. The real question is: why is this influencer essential to the campaign?”
Successful collaborations should not give the impression that the brand has simply bought visibility. Instead, it should be based on a genuine fit between the creator, the brand, the message, and the target audience.
“The influencer must contribute something that the brand could not have achieved alone, or would have found more difficult or less credible: cultural relevance, expertise, personality, or access to a community.” The creative execution remains crucial.
“If you could produce the same content with twenty other influencers, then the idea probably isn’t strong enough yet. A good campaign, by contrast, demonstrates that the creator is integral to the concept.”
And once again, the results need to follow.
“We don’t just want to know how many people saw the content. We want to understand the actual changes in terms of attention, brand perception, behaviour and, ultimately, sales that the collaboration brought about. The strongest entries are those where you can demonstrate that the creator enhanced the concept rather than merely increasing its audience.”