The second edition of Festival of Media (FOM) MENA was held in Dubai on Wednesday.

The day-long conference brought together top regional and international members of the media industry to discuss and debate challenges facing the industry, future opportunities and case studies, all of which provided valuable insights to attendees.

However, the most anticipated part of the event took place later in the evening, with the FOM awards ceremony celebrating the best media work in the region.

Scooping up two of the night’s top awards was MEC MENA, which ranked Agency of the Year and also won Campaign of the Year for its “MAGGI Diaries – A Journey of Women, Food & Change”.

OMD was named Agency Network of the Year.

Festival of Media MENA is organised by Mediaquest, the parent company of AMEinfo, and C Squared, and is sponsored by Choueiri Group, Dubai Media City and OMD, among others.

Awards were given across 18 categories, including Best Communication Strategy, Best Engagement Strategy, Best Entertainment Platform, Best Experiential Campaign, Best Targeted Campaign, Best Use of Digital Media and Best Use of Mobile, Best Use of Video, among others.

In addition, two new categories were introduced this year: Twitter Live Marketing Award and Best Use of YouTube Award.

“The Festival of Media has a well-deserved reputation as one of the foremost marketing and media events in the world and one that celebrates the very best in industry thinking,” Alexanrdre Hawari, Co-Chief Executive Officer at Mediaquest, said.

“The Festival comprises a number of components that sets it apart as a global leader, continuing to set the gold standard in digital media and innovation,” he added.

The judging panel for the awards comprised senior agency heads and regional brand marketers.

“After the great success that the Festival enjoyed during its premiere season last year, Festival of Media has continued to grow from strength to strength and has served to recognise some of the industry’s brightest minds in media,” said Charlie Crowe, Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of C Squared.

Festival of Media Global was created in 2007 to highlight successful achievements and developments in the media sphere, including consumer trends, branded content, advertising and social media.

Currently, Festival of Media Global is annually held in Italy, but has expanded to three additional editions: Festival of Media Asia Pacific, held in Singapore; Festival of Media LATAM, held in Miami; and Festival of Media MENA, held in Dubai.

Below is a list of top winners from each category:

Category: Best Communication Strategy

Gold Winner: Mindshare MENA

Campaign: Infiniti – From Darkness to Light

Category: Best Content Creation Award

Gold Winner: MEC

Campaign: Maggi Diaries – A Journey of Women, Food & Change

Category: Best Engagement Strategy

Gold Winner: UM MENA

Campaign: Fanta Gaming Masters

Category: Best Entertainment Platform

Gold Winner: Mindshare MENA

Campaign: The Academy (Nissan Middle East)

Category: Best Experiential Campaign

Gold Winner: OMD Egypt

Campaign: Chipsy Smiles

Category: Best Launch Campaign

Gold Winner: OMD

Campaign: Flames of the World (Cheetos)

Category: Best Social Media Strategy

Gold Winner: ZenithOptimedia

Campaign: #LiveFearless (Nana)

Category: Best Targeted Campaign

Silver Winner: UM MENA

Campaign: Dettol Hajj

Category: Best Use of Content

Gold Winner: Havas Media Middle East

Campaign: Be There With Emirates

Category: Best Use of Digital Media

Gold Winner: MEC MENA

Campaign: Mother to a Generation (NIDO Fortigrow)

Category: Best Use of Mobile

Bronze Winner: OMG Egypt

Campaign: Cash to Card (Visa Cards)

Category: Best Use of Video

Gold Winner: Initiative Egypt

Campaign: The Green Genie (Etisalat)

Category: The Creative Use of Media Award

Gold Winner: Starcom Mediavest Group

Campaign: Radio Spa (Channel 5)

Category: The Effectiveness Award

Gold Winner: OMD Cairo

Campaign: Sting Launch

Category: The Smart Use of Data Award

Gold Winner: Starcom Mediavest Group

Campaign: Digital Campaign Optimization (Samsung)

Category: The Utility/Public Service Award

Silver Winner: Mindshare MENA

Campaign: Al Tawasol (Touch)

Category: Twitter Live Marketing Award

Gold Winner: MediaCom

Campaign: #BacktoLife with Panadol Cold + Flu

Category: Best Use of YouTube Award

Gold Winner: MEC

Campaign: Celebrate the Breakers’ Breaks (Kit Kat)