The SABRE Awards EMEA 2023 shortlist features over 400 standout campaigns, carefully selected from more than 2,000 entries submitted this year. The awards honor excellence in brand reputation, engagement, and strategic communications. The winners will be announced on March 23 at the Gesellschaftshaus Palmengarten in Frankfurt, Germany, as part of the EMEA Summit hosted by PRovoke Media, the organisation behind the awards.
“At Canela, we are committed to amplifying initiatives that aim to improve people’s lives. Our goal is to collaborate with companies and organisations that drive positive social change, focusing on sustainability, community well-being, and regenerative economies. These two nominations—one centered on mental health awareness and the other on women’s empowerment—motivate us to continue pushing boundaries in our work,” says Deborah Gray, Founder and Managing Director of Canela.
“No és culpa meva”: Giving Gen Z a voice in the mental health conversation
Every year, Obertament, the Catalan organization dedicated to ending the stigma around mental health, launches a new campaign targeting a specific audience. In 2022, under the slogan “No és culpa meva” (It’s Not My Fault), the campaign focused on Generation Z, encouraging young people to speak openly about mental health.
Canela developed a strategic communications plan to maximise the campaign’s visibility across top-tier media outlets, complementing its reach on social media and outdoor advertising. Since Obertament works closely with young mental health activists who have firsthand experience with these issues, Canela ensured that their voices were amplified. As a result, 12 young individuals shared their personal stories on radio and television platforms, spaces typically dominated by adults. To prepare them for public speaking, Canela provided comprehensive media training, allowing them to establish personal boundaries when discussing their experiences.
Comunicando Juntas: Inspiring the next generation of women in communications
One of the main challenges of the sector is to give visibility to women who have managed to succeed in communication and who are an example for all those who are building a career in communication. For this reason, on the occasion of International Women’s Day 2022, Canela wanted to contribute to making visible the women who occupy the immense variety of professions that exist in relation to communication: journalists, agency directors, editors, community managers, marketing specialists, account directors… and to inspire other women who are starting out in the sector or those who have been working in it for years, but who need strength to continue climbing and overcoming challenges and obstacles.
Canela gathered insights from 36 accomplished women in the industry and compiled their testimonials into a bilingual book (Spanish and English), available in both print and digital formats via the agency’s website.The book was printed and sent to the 36 participating women, as well as to the main communication and marketing media in Spain, along with all the information about the initiative. In addition, a social media campaign was designed to share some of the testimonies included in order to reach as many people as possible. This campaign obtained the support of many of the women who participated in the book, who shared the initiative on their social media profiles through the hashtags #ComunicandoJuntas and #Canela8M.
