Carat and iProspect have secured a combined 21 shortlists at the 2026 Media Week Awards, recognising work created for clients including Carling, Center Parcs, Co-op, eBay, IKEA, Netflix, VisitScotland and Vodafone.
iProspect has received 14 nominations, including Media Agency of the Year, while Carat has secured seven shortlists across four campaigns.
This recognition comes as the Media Week Awards celebrate their 40th anniversary. For four decades, the awards have championed the strategies, partnerships, ideas and people shaping UK commercial media.
dentsu's nominations span content, audio, audience data, inclusive media, creative partnerships and responsive activation, demonstrating how distinctive media thinking can address very different client challenges.
Carat and Co-op: From Play to Purpose
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 transformed a major business crisis into an education initiative addressing the growing issue of cyber-gang grooming.
Created with The Guardian, The Hacking Games and Co-op's school network, From Play to Purpose encouraged young people to see an interest in hacking as a potential route into an ethical cybersecurity career. The initiative combined educational activity in schools with content and resources for parents.
The campaign has received three shortlists, recognising Co-op's decision to respond to the attack by tackling its underlying social causes.
Carat and Carling: Could It Be Magic?
Shortlisted for: Best Use of Content: £250K to £750K, Best Use of Audio.
Could It Be Magic? reconnected Carling with its football heritage through the brand's first podcast series.
Created with The FA and Platform and hosted by Joe and Ashley Cole, the series combined interviews, nostalgic stories and branded quiz segments centred on the Emirates FA Cup.
What began as a test-and-learn project became Carling's flagship campaign around the competition, delivering twice the return on investment of television.
Carat and VisitScotland: Good for the Soul
Shortlisted for: Media Owners and Media Platforms | Media Idea: Under £250K
Good for the Soul was created to turn interest in Scotland into bookings, encourage travel outside the peak season and introduce potential visitors to less familiar destinations.
Working with Mail Metro Media, Carat developed an interactive map based around three travel motivations: Feed the Soul, Energise the Soul and Soothe the Soul. Visitors could explore destinations according to their mood and create personalised itineraries.
A custom AI content pipeline populated the experience using approved VisitScotland information. Editorial content and media across Metro, YOU Magazine and the Daily Mail then drove people to the map.
The campaign achieved the highest authenticity score recorded across Mail Metro Media's travel effectiveness studies.
Carat and Vodafone: Vodafone Down-Detector
Shortlisted for: Media Creativity: £250K to £1M
Outspent five to one by larger broadband competitors, Vodafone needed to identify the moments when customers would be more open to switching providers.
Vodafone Down-Detector combined live competitor outage information with responsive media activation. Advertising for Vodafone broadband appeared in affected areas when customers were experiencing disruption and frustration with their existing service.
The campaign helped Vodafone grow its broadband customer base by 16%.
iProspect and Netflix: WSQK, The Squawk
Shortlisted for: Agency | Media Idea: £250K to £1M, Media Owners and Media Platforms | Media Idea: £250K to £1M, Mid-Sized Collaboration: £250K to £750K, Best Advertiser-Funded Programming or Entertainment, Best Use of Content: £250K to £750K, Media Innovation, Media Creativity: £250K to £1M, Best Use of Audio.
Created to mark the final season of Stranger Things, WSQK: The Squawk was a fictional radio station broadcasting continuously across DAB, smart speakers and Global Player.
Developed with Global, the station featured more than 1,000 hours of original content from the world of Hawkins, including news reports, fictional advertising, in-character presenters and interruptions from the Upside Down.
Vintage technology and remastered recordings recreated the sound of 1980s radio, while the broadcasts changed as the final story unfolded.
With eight nominations spanning media ideas, collaboration, content, innovation, creativity and audio, WSQK: The Squawk is the most-shortlisted campaign across the entire Media Week Awards 2026 shortlist.
iProspect and IKEA: Iftar at Ours
Shortlisted for: Best Creative and Media Agency Partnership, Inclusive Media Strategy.
Working with Mother, iProspect created IKEA's first Ramadan campaign to support Muslims who would be travelling home when it was time to break their fast.
Iftar at Ours created temporary homes away from home through pop-up events in London and Manchester, giving Muslim communities a welcoming place to share Iftar.
Muslim publisher and agency AMALIAH supported the work as both a cultural consultant and media partner. The campaign generated hundreds of pieces of content and delivered double-digit improvements in key brand measures among Muslim audiences.
iProspect and eBay: eBay Live from London
Shortlisted for: Media Owners and Media Platforms | Media Idea: Launch, Large Collaboration: Over £750K
To connect with a younger, more affluent audience, eBay needed to change perceptions of eBay Live from a shopping feature into entertainment people would actively choose to watch.
Created with Sky Media, UTAS and After Party Studios, eBay Live from London used the debut of Saturday Night Live UK to reframe live shopping through the energy of live entertainment.
As title sponsor, eBay became part of Sky's most integrated brand partnership to date, spanning broadcast, video on demand, social, editorial content, talent, wardrobe and exclusive live-commerce experiences.
Rather than simply advertising around the programme, eBay became part of its world, helping challenge outdated perceptions of live shopping and introduce the format to a new generation.
iProspect and Center Parcs: The Data Center of Your World
Shortlisted for: Best Use of Data for Audience Buying
With occupancy already high, Center Parcs needed to identify the next generation of guests who could sustain its future growth.
The Data Center of Your World analysed first-party booking and CRM data to identify future high-value audiences, then activated that intelligence across media.
The campaign delivered significant additional booking revenue without increasing the media budget, demonstrating how first-party data can help a business identify and build its future customer base.
iProspect shortlisted for Media Agency of the Year
iProspect's campaign recognition is joined by a nomination for Media Agency of the Year.
The nomination follows a year in which the agency retained and grew significant client relationships, won competitive pitches and produced work that combined creative ambition with commercial accountability.
It also recognises iProspect's continued investment in its people and culture, creating an environment where experimentation is encouraged and every idea is expected to contribute to meaningful growth.
Across Carat and iProspect, these 21 shortlists reflect the talent of our teams and the strength of their relationships with clients and partners.
The Media Week Awards ceremony takes place in London on 15 October 2026. View the full Media Week Awards 2026 shortlist.
