Carat UK has secured seven shortlists across four campaigns at the Media Week Awards 2026, with work for Co-op, Carling, Vodafone and VisitScotland recognised.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the Media Week Awards. For four decades, the awards have celebrated the ideas, partnerships and people shaping UK commercial media, recognising campaigns that combine creativity and innovation with meaningful results.
Carat's nominations span content, audio, responsive media and technology-led audience experiences, showing how fresh media thinking can help brands address business challenges and unlock growth.
From Play to Purpose
Client: Co-op Shortlisted for: Agency | Media Idea: Launch, Best Use of Content: £250K to £750K, Media Creativity: £250K to £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.
Could It Be Magic?
Client: Carling Shortlisted for: Best Use of Content: £250K to £750K, Best Use of Audio.
Could It Be Magic? was created to reignite Carling's football heritage and rebuild its relevance among millennial fans.
Working with The FA and Platform, Carat helped turn an initial test-and-learn brief into Carling's flagship Emirates FA Cup campaign. Hosted by Joe and Ashley Cole, the brand's first podcast series combined nostalgic interviews, quiz segments and stories celebrating the enduring magic of the competition.
The content-first approach gave Carling a credible voice within football culture while delivering twice the return on investment of television.
The Down-Detector
Client: Vodafone Shortlisted for: Media Creativity: £250K to £1M.
Vodafone was being outspent five to one by its biggest broadband competitors in a category where customer inertia makes switching difficult. Rather than trying to outspend them, Carat identified the moments when people would be most open to considering another provider.
Vodafone's Down-Detector combined real-time information about competitor service outages with responsive media activation. When disruption occurred, Vodafone broadband advertising appeared in affected locations, reaching customers when frustration with their existing service was at its highest.
The campaign helped Vodafone grow its broadband customer base by 16%, showing how live data and responsive media can turn a competitor's moment of weakness into a growth opportunity.
Good for the Soul
Client: VisitScotland Shortlisted for: Media Owners and Media Platforms | Media Idea: Under £250K.
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.
Further recognition across dentsu
Sister agency iProspect has also been recognised at this year's awards, with shortlisted work for Netflix, IKEA, eBay and Center Parcs, alongside a nomination for Media Agency of the Year.
Congratulations to all our teams, clients and partners whose expertise and collaboration made this work possible.
The winners will be announced at the Media Week Awards ceremony in London on 15 October 2026. View the full Media Week Awards 2026 shortlist.
