After a spectacular 2023 that saw the agency bag an illustrious award that has eluded West Africa for over seven decades among other awards and recognitions, X3M Ideas has hit 2024 running with yet another feat – becoming the only African agency to make theprestigious list of top 25 agencies in the world by the ACT Good Report.
The ACT Good Report, published annually by the international non-profit organization Act Responsible in collaboration with marketing insights leader WARC, is a unique and highly coveted ranking that spotlights the world’s most impactful creative works promoting sustainability and social responsibility.
This year’s report assessed over 1,250 campaigns from 804 agencies spanning 76 markets globally. X3M Ideas, led by visionary CEO Steve Babaeko, secured the 12th spot among the top 25 agencies, firmly establishing the Nigerian firm as a creative powerhouse on the world stage.
Adding to this, X3M Ideas’ campaign “Motherhood Sentence” was also ranked 38th out of the 40 best campaigns featured in the report. The campaign was praised for its ability to capture the essence of the ACT Good Report’s mission and align with critical social realities.
The ranking is calculated by combining the performance of campaigns across various initiatives of ACT Responsible Programme , with the results of the recently published WARC Creative 100, the global benchmark for creative excellence. There are no complicated criteria or categories, just great work for Good.
Reacting to the feat via his LinkedIn handle, Babaeko wrote, “Building X3M Ideas from scratch to competing with the best agencies in the world is an exhilarating feeling. We owe this success to #TeamX3M for always punching above our weight category.
“We couldn’t have done it without our amazing clients, who consistently challenge and support us to produce our best work. We are proud to represent Africa on the ACT Responsible list of the best global agencies once again. Thank you for being a part of our journey. #X3Mideas #Africa #advertising.”
As quoted on Thisday newspaper in Nigeria, he added, “We have done this consistently for about 12 years and we do not intend to rest on our laurels. This is just the beginning, and we are excited to continue raising the bar and representing Africa on the world’s biggest creative platforms.”
Act Responsible co-founder Isa Kurata praised the power of advertising to drive positive social change, stating, “We truly believe that advertising has the power to educate, inform, and enact positive change. It must consistently serve as a catalyst for good and constructive influence.”
With the tagline, Best campaigns, agencies, and advertisers promoting Good, the organisers stated in their mission statement that they believe that, “Advertising has a major responsibility in educating and raising awareness, and we are proud to celebrate the campaigns that best fulfill this role. These campaigns allow important messages and values to reach larger sections of the public, and therefore deserve to be celebrated, which is why we created The Good Report.”
In the words of ACT Responsible Co-founder, Isa Kurata, with the Good Report, ACT Responsible pursues its mission to promote, inspire and unite the advertising industry around social responsibility and sustainability.
He said: “We truly believe that advertising has the power to educate, inform, and enact positive change. It must consistently serve as a catalyst for good and constructive influence. Collaborating with WARC to produce the ACT Good Report is an honour, and we see it as a valuable resource for agencies to enhance their dedication to social and environmental efforts.”
Corroborating the position of Kurata, the Head of Content, WARC Creative and ACT’ive Partner, Amy Rogers, added, “Creativity as a force for positive change has never been more important. WARC is delighted to collaborate with Act Responsible to continue shining a light on the agencies, brands and NGOs that are creating breakthrough ideas that not only matter to society but can change behaviour.”