We are thrilled to announce that iProspect UK has been shortlisted nine times at this year’s Campaign Media Awards 2026 – recognising the agency’s innovative media thinking, creative partnerships and culture-shaping campaigns across content, entertainment and retail.
The shortlists highlight iProspect’s immersive storytelling capabilities and our ability to use innovative media thinking and cultural insight to deliver measurable business impact.
Recognition at the Campaign Media Awards 2026
Celebrating the boldest media campaigns, from visionary strategies to boundary-pushing creative innovation, these shortlists represent the pinnacle of the media industry.
With hundreds of entries from leading brands and agencies, being shortlisted recognises our outstanding work that’s delivering real results for our clients. It’s a testament to the talent, innovation and strategic thinking of the iProspect UK team, and we’re proud to have had our work celebrated alongside the very best in media.
WSQK The Squawk: The UK’s First Branded Radio Station
Stranger Things Season 5 faced huge expectations and abundant excitement with it being the last season of a generation-defining series. Competing for attention alongside huge box office releases Wicked & Avatar, we needed to create a campaign that would spark conversation, fuel theories and build momentum for the fans.
We embarked on creating a universe for the Stranger Things fans to live in whilst they waited for the new episodes to drop. The radio station, WSQK – the Squawk, played a huge role in the new series and became the perfect way to bring the series to life.
Enter, the UK’s first branded radio station. With 24/7 broadcast available with over 1000+ hours of original content, we were able to create realistic, in-world content that teased the fans with cryptic clues and demonstrated the power of creative storytelling in a way that was able to cut through. We succeeded in creating an immersive, shifting world that became the perfect send off for fans.
Stranger Things was the most watched programme on BVOD and SVOD over the Christmas period, with episodes topping 4 million views. The Squawk station delivered over 6.3 million Global Player listening sessions, and 88% of the recall group said the campaign made them feel more connected to the Stranger Things’ universe.
The strength of the campaign’s success is reflected in the 4 shortlists gained at the Campaign Media awards 2026:
· Media Partnerships – Budget Over £250K
· Branded Content – Podcast & Radio
· Media & Entertainment
· Creative Idea – Budget Over £250K
Black Mirror: Blurring the Lines Between Fiction & Reality
Our aim for this campaign was simple; make Black Mirror the most talked-about show at the time of the release of their seventh season. The Black Mirror audience is deeply cynical and tech savvy, meaning that traditional advertising wouldn’t cut it. We were engaging a fanbase enthralled by conspiracy theories, easter eggs and media they could decode and discuss.
We brought the show’s tension between tech and humanity to life by launching a fake consumer tech product: The Nubbin. This sleek, wearable device was first glimpsed in earlier seasons and reappearing in the new season 7.
Rather than promote the show, we launched a product and created a multi-channel media strategy to blur the lines between fiction and reality, leaving the audience questioning the world around them. We even managed to fool Samsung into believing that another tech brand had been allowed a spot on the Piccadilly Lights.
Sparking national conversation, it’s no wonder that this ingenious campaign received two shortlists at this year’s Campaign Media awards:
· Media & Entertainment
· Creative Idea – Budget Over £250K
IKEA Oxford Street: Launching an Icon
As Britain’s high streets faced continued decline, IKEA chose Oxford Street to signal a new era for both the brand and city-centre retail. This was not simply a store opening, but campaign that touched every consumer touchpoint in its quest to reshape perceptions of IKEA’s format and of Oxford Street. Our ambition was to reach the vast majority of the capital, spark cultural conversation, and drive meaningful footfall to an unfamiliar urban store experience.
Our insight revealed that Londoners felt disconnected from Oxford Street, seeing it as a tourist destination rather than somewhere for them. We created a “Meeting of Icons” – a fully integrated idea that transformed the city through IKEA’s most recognisable symbol, the FRAKTA bag. From buses, black cabs and Tube tunnels to social feeds, PR stunts, influencer partnerships and CRM activation, every touchpoint worked in orchestration. Media led by precision commute mapping, geo-behavioural targeting and real-time amplification ensured scale and relevance at every moment. The result was a campaign that made IKEA feel at home in the heart of London, drove significant commercial and brand impact, outperformed competitors, and contributed to renewed energy and footfall across Oxford Street itself.
The campaign also received two shortlists at this year’s Campaign Media awards:
· Retail – Online & Offline
· Total Communications Campaign
Thursday Murder Club: Small Budget, Big Impact
To celebrate the release of The Thursday Murder Club on Netflix, The Telegraph’s Puzzles team flipped the script to create a bespoke series of blood-soaked brainteasers for readers – a first in their 100-year puzzling history. With puzzles and clues inspired by the film and cast, this campaign encouraged budding sleuths to earn their place in the club.
This wonderfully clever and culturally tuned-in campaign proves that impactful media doesn’t always need a big budget. This is reflected in our shortlist:
· Creative Idea – Budget Under £250K
Celebrations all round
Reinforcing iProspect’s position as a leader in the UK media landscape, we are continuing to set the bar for what effective, culture-shaping media can achieve.
We’d like to extend a huge thank you to all the teams, clients, and partners who made these campaigns possible. From our brilliant iProspect strategists and creatives to our amazing client collaborators at Netflix and IKEA - your dedication, innovation, and teamwork are what turn bold ideas into award-worthy campaigns.
We’re excited to hear the results at the Campaign Media Awards 2026 in April. And a huge thank you to Campaign for nine wonderful shortlists. Congratulations all!
