BRUSSELS: Ford, Telefónica and Pernod Ricard were among the big winners at the IMC European Awards 2012, which sought to recognise leading examples of integrated marketing communications.

Some 64 campaigns from 11 countries were entered into the competition, with 11 Gold awards ultimately handed out, alongside 18 Silvers and 17 Bronzes. Warc subscribers can browse the winning papers here.

The brand owners picking up Golds included Ford, the automaker, for an initiative promoting its Focus model in the Czech Republic, created with agencies Wunderman, Ogilvy & Mather and Mindshare.

Elsewhere, Telefónica, the mobile telecoms giant, carried off a similar prize for a "Halloween event" held in its flagship store in Madrid. GMR Marketing was the agency concerned.

Pernod Ricard's Havana Club rum also grabbed a Gold having successfully engaged young, influential consumers in the UK thanks to a tie-up with agency The Lounge Group.

Prophets took the highest number of awards for a single agency, claiming one Gold, three Silvers and a Bronze for "A Phygital Tour of the MAS", taking virtual visitors on a trip round a museum in Antwerp.

At the national level, agencies from Ireland accrued the highest number of prizes, on 11, ahead of their counterparts from Belgium on nine and the Netherlands on eight.

Elsewhere, shops based in the Czech Republic scooped five prizes, while their Spanish and British peers took four each. Agencies from Germany, France and Mexico yielded two prizes apiece.

Alvaro Ales, chairman of the IMCC, suggested that the 2012 contest saw a stronger performance from agencies in some countries which had not previously proved as competitive.

"Agencies from European countries that haven't been performing well in the past years, like Spain or the Czech Republic ... are presenting campaigns that can seriously challenge for gold, resulting in a short-list with cases from many different countries," he said.

The introduction of the best integrated marketing campaign from a non-European country award also broadened the field outside the ten nations making up the Integrated Marketing Communications Council of Europe.

The IMC European Awards are managed by the EACA, with the assistance of the IMCC and with the support of WARC and Adforum.

Data sourced from Integrated Marketing Communications Council of Europe; additional content by Warc staff