Two Jay Chiat Award-winning case studies presented at StratFest 2026 illustrate how an observation becomes an award-winning insight and an idea people want to engage with.
A sparkling-water launch became a gift from Italy. A missed food delivery turned into an opportunity for Grubhub to tap into a familiar aspect of college life.
At StratFest 2026, the teams behind With Love, Italy and Grubhub Snooze Insurance shared the thinking that made those connections possible.
As the companion event to the Jay Chiat Awards, StratFest gives strategists a chance to hear directly from the people behind the work. The value is in understanding the choices behind the work. Together, the cases bring “Bright Spots: Track the Signals. Own the Shifts.” into practice.
Jay Chiat Award Winner, 2026: With Love Italy
Presented by
Hannah Lewman, Group Strategy Director, Ogilvy
Francesca Ferracini, Group Creative Director, Ogilvy
Sanpellegrino needed its new flavored sparkling water to gain attention quickly in a competitive category.
The team looked at what Italian heritage could contribute to that task. Its research identified warmth and openness among the qualities Americans admired about Italy. Against a more guarded social climate in the U.S., those associations offered the brand a meaningful role.
Sanpellegrino Ciao! would arrive as a gift from Italy to America.
That premise gave the launch a human action people could understand and a story they might want to follow. Two unlikely messengers set out to deliver the gift, bringing humor and suspense to a series of social episodes.
“So we made a mob show and not another campaign,” Ferracini said.
The gift also guided the wider launch, from its arrival to its delivery and sharing. The team could create different ways for people to encounter the work while maintaining a clear reason for the product to be there.
Ogilvy reported earned attention and social sharing, alongside results above the team’s household penetration and retail sales goals.
Lewman’s observation captured the judgment behind that choice:
“Doing the conventional thing carries a lot of risk in and of itself.”
A familiar plan still needs to be assessed against the business problem. The team examined what would make this launch welcome and built its approach around the answer.
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Jay Chiat Award Winner, 2026: Grubhub Snooze Insurance
Presented by
AJ Livsey, EVP, Strategy, Golin Ketchum
Whitney Riker, VP, Creative, Golin Ketchum.
Grubhub already had benefits for college students. The challenge was getting more students to notice and use them.
The brief asked the team to prove that Grubhub understood its audience. That led the strategists and creatives into the details of college life, where late nights and food delivery offered a relevant occasion.
Then came a particularly recognizable problem: students were falling asleep before their food arrived.
The team investigated the behavior through social listening, a commissioned survey and conversations with students. Those accounts gave the idea a basis in something the audience had experienced.
Snooze Insurance offered a do-over meal when it happened.
The response demonstrated the understanding the brief called for. Students could see a familiar mistake and immediately grasp how Grubhub could help.
Creators and campus placements brought the idea into their day. A simple text response made it easier to participate. The audience understanding continued to guide the work through how people encountered and used the offer.
Golin Ketchum reported gains in brand favorability and in students seeing Grubhub as a brand for people like them, alongside participation from new diners.
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Follow the thinking through to the experience
The two cases required different decisions. Sanpellegrino needed broad interest in a launch. Grubhub needed an existing offer to connect with a specific audience.
Both teams found something concrete enough to guide the work. The opportunity shaped the brand’s role and continued into how people encountered the idea and took part.
Hearing those choices from the strategists and creative partners makes the finished work useful to another team. It gives them something to discuss against their own assignment.
One attendee described the value of that concentrated exchange: “I gained more in the one day than many of the recent multi-day conferences I’ve attended.”
Six takeaways for your next assignment
- Assess the familiar plan. Ask whether it can deliver the attention and response the business needs.
- Find a moment the audience recognizes. Use research to understand when the offer could become relevant.
- Give the brand something useful to do. Make its action express the relationship you want to build.
- Carry the insight into delivery. Let it guide where the idea appears and how people participate.
- Make the next step easy to understand. Review the experience from first encounter to response.
- Connect results to the original task. Explain what attention, participation and business measures each tell the team.
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