Two UM clients were inducted into the Adweek Brand Genius Class of 2014. Trudy Hardy, VP Marketing, BMW of North America, LLC was honored along with Matt Jauchius, EVP, CMO Nationwide Insurance at a gala reception in New York City on September 30.

BMW’s Hardy was the driving force behind the BMW/UM Studios partnership that created and produced the 2014 Olympic documentary Driving on Ice. The documentary chronicles the U.S. bobsled team’s quest for Olympic gold at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games. The games were a personal and professional triumph for Hardy. She had championed the bobsled initiative during her three years leading BMW of North America’s marketing communications and events operations. It was a risky endeavor, but one that paid off in spades.

“It took bravery from Trudy and BMW to tell the bobsled story,” says Scott Donaton, Chief Content Officer UM and Head of UN Studios. “This was an amazing story about the journey, not just about the outcome.”

When Nationwide needed a strong concept to go up against the Geico gecko and the Aflac duck, they turned to Mr. Jauchius to lead the way.

Jauchius turned the Nationwide message into a “conversation that matters.” His approach has transformed the company’s message, creating a tone and manner that drives business results. Under his leadership, Nationwide’s advertising effectiveness has grown by 50 percent.

Both Trudy Hardy and Matt Jauchius demonstrate the sort of curious, forward-thinking approach that permeates the UM culture. We take great pride in congratulating two such accomplished media partners.

You can read more about Trudy and Matt at Adweek.com/brand-genius.