Categories
All entries must be Canadian - which means work that was conceived and created by Canadian agencies or brands, or the Canadian divisions of global agencies or brands. In the case of inter-office collaboration, work is eligible if the lead creative came from Canada, and the majority of the creative credits are Canadian team members (spanning roles including CCO, CSO, CD, art & copy).
All entries must have been in-market between October 12th, 2023 and November 5th, 2024.
Categories span all aspects of the evolving media and marketing universe in Canada - advertising, media innovation, tech breakthroughs and entertainment content - so anyone can enter.
Ideas & collaboration are key to AToMiC recognition, and for more detail on what elements judges will be assessing in each category, please click here.
If you are entering a program for a non-profit, please choose Public Service from the dropdown menu when entering each category
Advertising & Branding
AToMiC Audio
Since it's harder to catch people's eye, compelling and memorable audio plays an important role within content to capture attention. Who has created an innovative audio aspect to engage their audience?
AToMiC Design
Whether it's a brand identity, retail design, promotional items, product packaging or a logo, this category recognizes design thinking that goes beyond beauty to elevate the brand and user experience. This category includes both new projects and redesigns, and also recognizes inclusive, accessible, sustainable design ideas.
AToMiC ROI
Creative ways to achieve critical mass and desired results. This category recognizes the clever resource-effective programs that blew past objectives. All entries in this category must show investment and return-on-investment stats.
AToMiC Social
Socially-driven campaigns that break through to deliver tangible impact. This category celebrates the best use of social media to reach and influence a demographic (or psychographic).
AToMiC Video
This category is for innovative film ideas that truly stood out by achieving impressive reach and impact.
Best Print/Out-of-home
This category recognizes the efforts that elevate the medium by taking creative risks and pushing boundaries. From posters, billboards and magazines, to executions that extend the experience via digital innovation.
Niche Targeting
This category recognizes innovation in demo targeting, including effective multicultural programs, behavioural and psychographic audience engagement, and savvy addressability solutions.
Content
AToMiC IP
This category recognizes innovative IP (intellectual property) launches. They're breakthrough brand ideas that come to life as an entertainment franchise, products, games, apps and content.
Brand Content
More and more brands are creating their own content to attract, entertain and inform audiences. This category recognizes the new brand-created content programs that break through the flood of media options to command attention, engage, and ultimately influence.
Brand Integration
When entertainment (like TV shows, games, sports or music) and brands come together, sometimes the whole is less than the sum of the parts, but occasionally it’s greater. This category recognizes the integration programs that go beyond what’s been done before, and add up to a more rewarding viewing experience and brand impact.
(Note to case writer: For this category, please explain how your brand collaborated with existing IP to create an engaging experience)
(Note to case writer: For this category, please explain how your brand collaborated with existing IP to create an engaging experience)
Transmedia
Beyond the world of omnichannel, integrated campaigns (where the same creative reaches out across multiple platforms), lies the realm of transmedia.
From web series to games and beyond, transmedia programs intrigue viewers across many story realms with content that uses each channel to its utmost potential.
Who best capitalized on the opportunity to reach and build audiences with entertainment that spans multiple storytelling and experience touchpoints, with unique yet complementary iterations that spur interaction?
Demonstrate how your transmedia content strategy involved your audience across platforms.
From web series to games and beyond, transmedia programs intrigue viewers across many story realms with content that uses each channel to its utmost potential.
Who best capitalized on the opportunity to reach and build audiences with entertainment that spans multiple storytelling and experience touchpoints, with unique yet complementary iterations that spur interaction?
Demonstrate how your transmedia content strategy involved your audience across platforms.
Engagement
Connected Commerce **NEW**
Best use of an integrated approach to retail and consumer transactions that seamlessly combines digital and physical shopping experiences. This category recognizes approaches that optimize engagement across all channels, ensuring that consumer needs are met at every stage of their purchasing journey.
AToMiC Engagement
Best use of multiple platforms and media channels to achieve deeper engagement by utilizing novel approaches to amp up attention. This category celebrates the integrated campaigns that command interest and involve audiences in innovative ways. Entries must span two or more channels.
(Note to case writer: We're looking for integrated campaigns that span more than one of the following platforms: broadcast, digital, OOH, social.)
(Note to case writer: We're looking for integrated campaigns that span more than one of the following platforms: broadcast, digital, OOH, social.)
AToMiC PR
This category celebrates PR-driven campaigns that found inventive ways to break through and deliver tangible impact. Tell us how your PR program created buzz, focused attention, raised awareness (or problem solved) by creatively earning consumer and media attention.
Best Broadcast Engagement
This category recognizes the producers, brands and networks that are making the broadcast experience more engaging by breaking out of the box with new formats, models and made-you-look innovation.
Best Digital Engagement
This category celebrates the programs that make the most of the mobile, social, digital space with engaging content and sticky concepts that encourage interaction and participation.
Best Experiential Engagement
Promotions and brand activations that cleverly use environments to engage consumers. Tell us how your ambient media, stunts and pop-ups, command attention.
Shift Disturber
AToMiC Collaboration
This category recognizes the brands and partnering companies that bravely moved out of their comfort zones, to forge ahead into uncharted territories, requiring AToMiC levels of trust and collaboration.
AToMiC Diversity
Brave steps and meaningful programs that made strides in championing inclusivity and addressing inequality by creating opportunities and a platform for reflecting diversity.
(Note to case writer: Also address how the communications speak to deeper organizational goals and outline any broader external program investments the brand is making to support diversity.)
(Note to case writer: Also address how the communications speak to deeper organizational goals and outline any broader external program investments the brand is making to support diversity.)
AToMiC Idea
When you go beyond conventional thinking – projects and concepts that defy categorization – this is the award that recognizes fresh takes, from brilliant insight to execution.
AToMiC Shift
It takes courage to admit when change is needed, and grit to act on that. AToMiC Shift is not just fine-tuning; it’s a shift in thinking about how to approach market challenges by making changes to the marketing strategy or brand positioning to fundamentally boost success.
This category celebrates the companies that went in a new direction that repositioned themselves in front of old (or new) consumers and walked away with positive results.
(Note to case writer: AToMiC Shifts should be a longer-term change of direction than a one-off stunt.)
This category celebrates the companies that went in a new direction that repositioned themselves in front of old (or new) consumers and walked away with positive results.
(Note to case writer: AToMiC Shifts should be a longer-term change of direction than a one-off stunt.)
AToMiC Sustainability
As the impact of people on the planet grows more severe, so too does the need and desire to rethink our consumption habits. This category celebrates the brave programs and meaningful measures brands are taking to conserve and sustainably use resources, and contribute to reducing environmental impact by offering consumers better choices.
AToMiC Sustainability evaluates both the programs and the efforts behind the work to advance sustainability throughout the process, such as partnering or changing internal practices.
AToMiC Sustainability evaluates both the programs and the efforts behind the work to advance sustainability throughout the process, such as partnering or changing internal practices.
Cause & Action **Public Service brands are not eligible**
Moving the industry forward entails doing a better job as corporate citizens. This category celebrates the most impactful engagement plans for brands' corporate social responsibility and cause-related programs. Non-profit entries should be entered into Public Service categories.
Tech & UX
AI
Who has best deployed AI to engage consumers, improve experiences and achieve goals?
AToMiC Tech
The creative application of technology (or innovative reactivation of existing tech) to help brands effectively reach & engage audiences (may span metrics, UX, etc.). You do not need to invent new tech, but you do need to tell us how you cleverly applied existing technology in a compelling way.
Digital Brand Experience
Tell us how you made a big change to a brand's ecomm and/or digital presence to re-engage consumers and bring a new dimension to the user experience, and how tech was creatively applied to help deliver on brand goals.
Immersive Reality
This category gives kudos to the programs that creatively apply and stretch the capabilities of tech like Mixed Reality, Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and 360 Video to build engaging immersive experiences.