In a strong moment for the Irish media industry, Spark Foundry has landed top honours in Global’s Digital Outdoor Planning Competition, earning a €50,000 campaign for the NF Association of Ireland. The win is also a notable media campaign ireland story, highlighting how emerging planning talent is shaping the future of digital out-of-home advertising through strategy, creativity and data-led thinking.
The successful team from Spark Foundry, part of Core, included Ilaria Ferretti, Anna Guiu Picó, Rayane Noberto and Ellen Roche. Their winning proposal secured a campaign that will run across Global’s digital outdoor network from January 2027, giving the charity a valuable platform to raise awareness with audiences in high-impact public spaces.
Spark Foundry takes first place in a standout media campaign ireland competition
Global’s competition was designed to spotlight new and emerging media planners, challenging them to show how location-based media, audience insight and creativity can work together in a modern digital outdoor strategy. In an increasingly competitive media campaign ireland landscape, that combination is becoming essential for brands and charities alike.
According to the judges, Spark Foundry’s entry stood apart because of its ambitious planning approach and its clear understanding of how digital outdoor advertising can create meaningful audience connections. Rather than treating out-of-home as a simple awareness channel, the team demonstrated how digital screens, smart planning and contextual thinking can deliver stronger campaign outcomes.
The result is a significant win not only for Spark Foundry, but also for the NF Association of Ireland, which will now benefit from a substantial campaign package valued at €50,000.
Who else placed in the competition?
The contest also showcased the depth of planning talent across the industry:
- First place: Spark Foundry
- Second place: WPP Media team of Glory Joseph and Jayantika Suri
- Third place: Emma Mather of Havas Media
That shortlist underlines the high standard of work being produced by rising professionals in agencies across Ireland and beyond, making this a noteworthy media campaign ireland development for the sector.
Why this win matters for digital outdoor advertising
Digital outdoor advertising continues to evolve from a broad-reach medium into a far more agile and responsive channel. For any brand planning a media campaign ireland, digital out-of-home now offers a compelling mix of scale, context and flexibility.
Competitions like this matter because they reflect how the discipline itself is changing. Today’s best planners are expected to balance multiple elements, including:
- Audience behaviour and movement patterns
- Data-informed location planning
- Creative relevance in public environments
- Real-world context and timing
- Clear commercial or awareness objectives
Spark Foundry’s success suggests that its team understood those requirements at a sophisticated level. In practical terms, that means not just selecting screens, but identifying where messages will matter most, when they should appear and how the creative can align with the audience mindset in that moment.
For charities especially, this kind of strategic planning can be transformative. A well-executed digital out-of-home campaign can boost public recognition, drive conversation and support fundraising or advocacy goals. That is why this media campaign ireland outcome carries value beyond agency bragging rights.
The NF Association of Ireland gains a €50,000 campaign platform
The biggest immediate beneficiary of the competition is the NF Association of Ireland. With the campaign set to run from January 2027 on Global’s digital outdoor network, the charity will gain access to premium visibility in busy locations where messages can reach people at scale.
For non-profit organisations, media access of this calibre can be difficult to secure through conventional budgets. Winning a campaign package of this size can help a charity:
- Increase public awareness of its mission
- Reach new audiences outside traditional channels
- Build recognition through repeated, high-impact exposure
- Support future fundraising, events or advocacy initiatives
That makes this more than an industry award story. It is also a useful example of how a media campaign ireland can create tangible public benefit when agency expertise and media partnerships align around a social cause.
Judges praise strategic thinking and fresh perspectives
The judging panel brought together senior figures from media, marketing and brand leadership. It included Antoinette O’Callaghan, head of marketing at Global; Eoin Corrigan, head of marketing at Domino’s Pizza Ireland; media practitioner Manuel Yoacham; and Maxine Hands, head of global media and digital at Tourism Ireland.
Feedback from the panel pointed to the overall quality of entries and the strength of thinking from emerging talent. Maxine Hands noted the impressive standard of submissions and highlighted the strategic thinking, creativity and fresh perspectives shown by participants.
That endorsement matters in the current media campaign ireland environment, where agencies are under growing pressure to prove both innovation and effectiveness. The competition also reinforces the value of initiatives that nurture early-career planners, helping to build a stronger talent pipeline for the wider advertising and media ecosystem.
What the industry can take away
There are several broader lessons in this result:
- Digital outdoor remains a high-value channel for awareness and engagement
- Emerging media planners are bringing strong strategic capability to the market
- Charity campaigns can benefit enormously from smart media planning
- Data and creativity are most powerful when used together
As agencies compete to deliver more effective campaigns across channels, the ability to connect audience insight with real-world media placements will only become more important.
A positive signal for Ireland’s planning talent
Spark Foundry’s win is an encouraging signal for the next generation of media professionals. It shows that bold thinking, commercial awareness and a strong grasp of digital out-of-home can stand out in a highly competitive field. Just as importantly, it positions the agency as a serious force in conversations around planning innovation and campaign effectiveness.
For anyone tracking the future of media campaign ireland work, this competition offers a clear message: strategic media planning is evolving quickly, and Ireland’s rising talent is more than ready to meet that challenge. Spark Foundry’s success, combined with a meaningful outcome for the NF Association of Ireland, makes this a win that resonates well beyond the awards circuit.
In short, this media campaign ireland story is about far more than first place. It is about how data, creativity and purpose can come together to produce smarter campaigns, stronger public impact and a promising future for digital outdoor planning.
