The Brand Film Awards Report 2022 - who won?

There's an impressive crop of work at the top of the six most prestigious awards schemes in brand video and corporate film, and DRPG's The Boxer leads the rankings.

Top Films

The Boxer delivered a knockout blow for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, scoring the most points of the 223 films we analysed.

This classy production earned four golds, two silvers and one bronze. Featuring athlete Delicious Orie, it turns the then-upcoming Games into a personal journey, complete with dawn starts and plenty of other sacrifices. The genius of the film is to thread together the training visuals with compelling audio and a thee-act structure.

Film-makers and brands were starting to bounce back from the pandemic era in 2022's competitions, resulting in some very different results from 2021. Air travel was resuming and urgent business priorities like recruitment were driving the film agenda more than health and wellbeing. The Boxer project was the perfect example of film creatively supporting the return of audiences to in-person events.

Top Brands

Unilever were the top brand in the Brand Film Awards Report 2021. They fell away in 2022, replaced by Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Aircraft manufacturer Embraer's 'Profit Hunter' campaign saw lift-off in the Lens Awards, catapulting them to second place overall this year's Report.

The new Embraer aircraft, part of the E2 series, apparently reduces operating costs and emissions while delivering on fuel efficiency. Clodoaldo Quintana's spectacular paintwork across the front of the aircraft catches passenger and market attention as the aircraft emerges by stealth from the ocean-like cloud base.

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Rail operators capitalised on generating content from ongoing improvement works, alongside career development and team inclusivity to sweep 3 places in the top 10. LNER feature regularly in yearly awards rankings, and with some outstanding video on PRIDE or celebrating smaller communities up and down the east coast, they didn't disappoint this year.

Top Producers

Winners DRPG produced a strong body of pieces, submitted to all six of the awards initiatives we tracked. From financial security explainers to flagship promotional videos, versatility of skillset was key. Rankings regulars Media Zoo were hot on DRPG's heels.

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Working with a variety of brands across a range of issues was the spice of life this time around with an average of five brands per producer. But casting a wide net in submissions to awards and brands wasn't the only highlight. Newcomers Edelman and CTL Comms Ltd achieved top 10 placings with a narrower field of brand work, thanks to some powerful and emotionally driven video.

Top Business Purpose

Why do brands invest in video? Business Purpose is a good barometer for what brands want to highlight as most important to them. Brand Values and Public Awareness lead the way.

Not For Profit saw a significant reduction in its share of the pie from the 2021 edition, but even with fewer winning videos Gold's still made up the lion's share of successes. Brands repositioned messages away from the pandemic towards more contemporary issues such as the cost of living crisis, inclusive workplaces and a drive in recruitment and retention. As a result, working conditions, social issues and sustainability all featured strongly.

Methodology

The Moving Image Awards Report reveals the best work and developing trends. It helps brands and producers decide which projects to enter next year, and what the gold standard is.

We use a consistent methodology to get these results.

The criteria for selecting competitions are a focus on film and video, entries from UK producers and brands, and results announced in 2022. This leads us to:

- Brand Film Awards

- Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards

- EVCOM Clarion Awards

- EVCOM London Film Awards

- Lens Awards by Communicate Magazine.

- New York Festivals Film & TV Awards

We include internal communications work as well as external and marketing comms.

Hundreds of schemes have a category for best video. Our methodology omits them , and we ignore irrelevant categories such as events in the Clarions and broadcast in Cannes and New York. 

We record all gold, silver and bronze (or equivalent) winners among UK producers. Points are awarded for each trophy. Gold - 3 points, silver - 2 and bronze - 1 point.

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