4A’s Reveals Winners of the Inaugural Inspiration Awards at Annual Strategy Festival

Airbnb, Forensic Architecture and IDEO.org Recognized for Best Practices in Strategy and Account Planning

NEW YORK—Sept. 14, 2017—Today, the 4A’s, the leading trade association representing the advertising agency business, revealed the winners of its inaugural Inspiration Awards, which recognized the work by companies and non-profit organizations who have brought insights to life through the use of both data and qualitative research practices. The winners were announced in New York City at the 4A’s 20th annual Strategy Festival (Stratfest), designed to explore the new frontier in planning, where data and human insight come together to inspire.

The Inspiration Awards celebrated the best practices in the discipline of strategy and account-planning that exists outside of Madison Avenue, as determined by a jury of experienced strategists. The winners include:

  • Airbnb was selected for its diverse and talented team, which engages in a wide variety of activities—from data analytics to ethnography—to generate insights that inform product development. Judd Antin, director of research at Airbnb, attended the Strategy Festival and spoke to the audience about the company’s unique approach to planning and research development.
  • Forensic Architecture is an independent research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London that uses both data and testimony of witnesses to present evidence in political and legal forums, informing architects, scholars, artists, filmmakers, coders, investigative journalists, archaeologists, lawyers and scientists.
  • org, which was launched from the winning global design and innovation consultancy IDEO, designs products, services and experiences to improve the lives of people in poor and vulnerable communities. Tireless work has gone into developing solutions that have been backed by ongoing research and open-sourcing of those research methodologies.

“The Inspiration Awards are designed to inspire those working within the strategy discipline and the advertising community and to acknowledge the important role that strategists and account planners play in the world of business,” said Ed Cotton, chair of the 4A’s Strategy Committee. “We were excited to launch the awards at this year’s 4A’s Strategy Festival and feel honored to award such talented and hard-working teams.”

About the 4A’s
The 4A’s, founded in 1917, is the leading authority representing the marketing communications agency business. It provides leadership, advocacy and training that empower agencies to innovate, evolve and grow. It serves 740 member agencies across 1,400 offices that control more than 85 percent of total U.S. advertising spend. The 4A’s is committed to protecting the best interests of its members, their employees and the industry at large. Its Benefits division insures more than 164,000 agency professionals, and the D.C. office advocates for policies that best support a thriving advertising industry. With its best-in-class learning and career development programs, 4A’s and its Foundation fuel a robust diversity pipeline of talent for its members and the marketing and media industry, fostering the next generation of leaders. For more information, please visit www.aaaa.org.

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