It was a wonderful night for Carat UK last night, as the teams celebrated across both London and Manchester, at the Campaign Media Week Awards and Manchester Publicity Association Inspiration Awards 2026.
The teams bought home a gold and silver at Media Week for Co-op, and a win for Visit Scotland at the MPA awards.
MediaWeek Awards: London
From Play to Purpose
Client: Co-op
GOLD - Agency | Media Idea: Launch
SILVER – Innovation & Creative Excellence | Media Creativity £250k - £1M
Following a £206 million cyberattack perpetrated by teenagers, Co-op chose to turn a major business crisis into an opportunity to tackle the growing issue of cyber-gang grooming.
Created with The Guardian, The Hacking Games and Co-op's school network, From Play to Purpose reframed an interest in hacking as a potential route into an ethical cybersecurity career. The initiative combined educational activity in schools with practical content and resources for parents.
By responding to the attack with action, Co-op created a year-long programme designed to help young people recognise the risks of online grooming and redirect their abilities towards a positive future.
Taking home two wins at the Media Week Awards, this purpose-driven campaign demonstrates the power of media and innovation in turning a major business crisis into a catalyst for meaningful social change – using creativity and collaboration to help shape a safer, more positive future for young people.
You can discover the rest of the Media Week Awards winners here: https://www.mediaweekawards.co.uk/Contents/ContentItems/4a1tyscv8pyw8rt6925tpjnt4x.
MPA Awards: Manchester
Good for the Soul
Client: VisitScotland
Best Sales Team Campaign: Winner
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VisitScotland needed to move people beyond thinking they would like to visit Scotland someday and towards making a booking. The campaign also needed to encourage travel during autumn and winter and build interest in less familiar parts of the country.
Working with Mail Metro Media, Carat built Good for the Soul around three travel motivations: Feed the Soul, Energise the Soul and Soothe the Soul. At its centre was an interactive map that allowed users to filter destinations by mood, discover new locations and create personalised, shareable itineraries.
A custom AI content pipeline used approved VisitScotland sources to populate the experience with information about hundreds of destinations. Editorial content, rich media and an immersive Daily Mail app takeover then encouraged audiences to explore the map.
The campaign ranked first for authenticity across Mail Metro Media's travel effectiveness studies, while people who recalled it were considerably more likely to search for a Scottish holiday.
You can discover the rest of the MPA Inspiration Awards winners here: https://www.mpa.org.uk/awards/winners-2026/.
Further recognition across dentsu
Sister agency iProspect also celebrated success at this year’s awards, taking home six wins, which you can read about here.
A huge congratulations to our clients and partners, and of course to our teams across the UK. These awards reflect your talent, dedication and willingness to do things differently.
Here’s to continuing to craft work we are proud of – that drives results for our clients and makes a genuine difference.
From Manchester to London and everywhere in between – this is what we do. Get in touch if you’d like to discuss award-winning strategies.
