By Teija Laakso
I was serving as a judge in one of the world’s largest content marketing competitions, the International Content Marketing Awards, together with my colleague, Genero’s Head of Creative Jessica Leino. What a deep and inspiring dive into the latest global trends in content marketing it was!
The winners were announced on January 22. The diversity within each category was striking! Companies approached strategy, transformation, and internal engagement in so many various ways: ranging from live events and concepts to digital platforms, influencer collaborations, research launches, social media campaigns or traditional print. You can view the winners and the jury’s public comments here: 2025 ICMA Results — The CMA
Among the participants were globally recognised brands such as Woolworths, Boots, Standard Bank, PwC, Toyota, Singtel, Bentley and Škoda… The big players had big budgets, but larger resources did not automatically mean better results. Cultural differences were visible too: a campaign from Singapore or South Africa naturally differs in tone, rhythm and storytelling from one made for the Finnish market. Still, great ideas stood out regardless of geography.
When entries within the same category are so different, judging becomes challenging. What turned out to be surprisingly decisive was the quality of the case presentation itself: clearly articulated objectives, challenges and measurable results. Without a strong case description, it is impossible for a jury to understand what success really means, how creatively obstacles were overcome, or what impact was achieved. Investing time in showing the case properly truly pays off.
What Makes a Winner?
Here are some key observations Jessica and I took away from the winning and shortlisted entries:
Simple, brilliant insights.
Ideas that make you think: why hasn’t anyone come up with this before? A single, sharp insight, a colour, a phrase, a concept that is consistently brought to life across the entire strategy or campaign is usually the one that strikes out.
Small tweaks, big impact.
Some of the most impressive cases showed how small improvements across multiple touchpoints can dramatically improve results: refining channels, journeys, first impressions, tone of voice and even reward mechanisms. Never underestimate the power of fine-tuning!
New applications for familiar formats.
Reality TV for B2B audiences. A lifestyle magazine created by employees for employees. Creativity is often about taking something well-known and applying it in an unexpected context, for a new audience, in a new way.
Beyond experiences: real utility.
Can you offer your audience something genuinely useful, relevant and unique? A continuously updated index or barometer, for example, can become a winning concept by delivering both value and insight.
Judging as a Professional Reward
Coming from a small market and language area, it was encouraging to see how well Finnish content marketing stands up on the global stage. Among the shortlisted entries were many that we at Genero could easily see ourselves creating – and indeed, we have previously been among the winners with for example Alko’s Etiketti magazine.
Judging in an international competition was also a confidence boost. I evaluated content strategy categories, while Jessica focused on people engagement. Bound by confidentiality, we will keep our personal favourites to ourselves.
Organised by the Content Marketing Association (formerly APA), the International Content Marketing Awards is one of the world’s most prestigious competitions in the field. This year, it featured entries from 33 countries across 32 categories – a true global showcase of what great content marketing looks like today.