Awards 2015 categories
This year the DMA awards categories will be split into three groups:
Please enter your campaigns into as many categories as you like, and remember:
- Remove references to the agency in your entry (including file names), to ensure there is no possible bias.
- Our judges sign non-disclosure agreements. The For Judges’ Eyes Only section is secure and confidential.
- Integrated campaigns involving more than one agency are welcome. Collaborating agencies can submit a joint entry form.
- In the majority of cases we will need to see examples of the work with your entry, but check each award listing in case we need any additional information. You’ll find this noted per category.
- Check each listing to see how we weight the judging between creative, strategy and results.
For a five-step guide on writing a winning entry, please click here.
You can also download this categories and criteria information here
Whether it’s single or multi-channel, we want to see how your campaign compares to the rest of your sector. We’ll be looking for break-through, original ideas, inspired strategy and outstanding results.
Show us why you deserve an award.
Our unique judging system gives equal weight to you campaign’s creativity,strategy and results. So be detailed.
And you’ll need more than a good idea.
We want to know who you were targeting and why. Explain your insights, your creative choices and branding decisions, and how you built your campaign strategy.
Show us how your campaign surpassed its targets, or how its success compared to
normal trading conditions.
1. Automotive
This category is for business and consumer campaigns designed to drive automotive
products or services including:
- Car sales,
- Motorbike sales,
- Retention programmes,
- Motoring services,
- Accessories,
- After-sales.
Please note: insurance and financial automotive campaigns should be entered into
the financial services category.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
2. Travel, Leisure and Entertainment
For business and consumer campaigns to promote travel services, leisure and
entertainment brands. This is for all relevant brands, including:
- Individual hotels,
- Hotel chains,
- Airlines,
- Railways,
- Cruise lines,
- Travel booking companies,
- Gyms,
- Cinemas,
- Broadcasters,
- Content providers,
- Games publishers.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
3. IT/Telecommunications
For business and consumer campaigns to promote telecommunications and IT
brands.
Telecoms campaigns should promote the relevant products and services, including:
- Mobiles,
- Fixed lines,
- Internet services.
Do not submit entries that use telecommunications as a delivery channel. For example, streaming TV services should be included in Travel, Leisure and Entertainment.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
4. Retail
For business and consumer campaigns to promote retail brands and utilities selling both goods and services.
Campaigns can be either online, offline or integrated.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
5. Financial services
For business and consumer campaigns to promote either consumer or B2B financial services, including:
- Banking,
- Savings,
- Loans,
- Pensions,
- Insurance.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
6. Healthcare
For business and consumer campaigns to promote:
- OTC healthcare products,
- Pharmaceutical products targeted at healthcare professionals.
- Campaigns that drive behavioural change to encourage a healthier lifestyle can also be entered into this category.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
7. Public Sector
For consumer and business campaigns to drive support for, and raising awareness of
public sector products and services.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
8. Charity
For business and consumer campaigns designed to raise funds and support charities.
If committed giving (regular donations, usually by standing order or direct debit) is included in your evaluation of responses or lifetime value, please make this clear and indicate the basis on which you are calculating the whole-life value of such donations.
Campaigns that drive awareness instead of donations are eligible for entry here. Objectives should be made very clear, so judges can evaluate the success of the campaign.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
9. FMCG
For business and consumer campaigns funded by manufacturers to promote FMCG categories such as:
- Foodstuffs,
- Wine,
- Spirits,
- Pet foods,
- Confectionery.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
10. The Best Business to Business (B2B) campaign
You may enter a B2B campaign into this category in addition to another industry sector category.
The campaign must target trade customers and other businesses. It must be an individual campaign, not an ongoing loyalty or CRM programme. The campaign should be multi-channel.
Judges will look for a strategy based on sound insight that uses data in an innovative way. Show us how the campaign gathered data, and your understanding of the customer journey.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
11. The Best Business to Consumer (B2C) campaign
You may enter a B2C campaign into this category as well as another industry sector category.
The campaign must target end consumers, and it must be an individual campaign not an ongoing loyalty or CRM programme. It should be multi-channel.
Creativity will be judged by quality of writing and art direction, the use of data and insight to inform the creative approach and how the campaign helps build the brand.
The winning campaign will have outstanding ROI results, so be as open as possible with information like:
- cost per sale,
- cost per response,
- Any other relevant metrics.
Your results’ confidentiality will be respected by our judges.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity strategy, and results.
We don’t just want to see a fantastic creative execution, we want to understand how you got to it. And we want to see how your audience responded.
Tell us how you came to an insight, and the innovative way you used a channel. Was it an original response to the brief, or an inspired targeting decision?
Creativity, strategy and results will all be judged equally, so be detailed.
Include specific information about how your target audience responded. Make your objectives clear: Were you trying to achieve sales? Responses? Brand awareness? Tell us how you measured conversion, and the stats you got.
Tell us your ROI figures.
Our judges sign non-disclosure agreements so anything entered into the ‘For Judges’ eyes only’ section is completely confidential.
Include details of any follow-up activity and conversion where appropriate.
12. Best use of e-mail marketing
For the best email or email programme generating response or engagement.
Judges will look for a high ROI compared to other email campaigns and channels, or a campaign that had significant impact in achieving a particular business objective.
The campaign could be a single email, a series of related emails, bulk campaigns or trigger emails.
This category does not include email used in conjunction with another channel as part of the same campaign.
This is for email-specific campaigns.
Where possible, provide any of the following insight for judges to better assess the
campaign:
- The goal, and metrics used to evaluate performance
- Metrics such as conversion, click, open, deliverability, unsubscribe and spam complaint rates
- What data were used, the source of data and segmentation strategy
- Creative and copy strategy
- Why the message was right for the audience
- Dynamic content and content variations (when applicable)
- Any optimisation and split testing used in the campaign
- The test and Q&A process, such as email render tests
- Remove ALL references to the agency
Please upload live examples and ensure subject lines and legal compliance content are included in submissions.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
13. Best digital destination
For the best use of a digital destination in a direct marketing campaign.
These will be specially designed destinations, such as campaign micro-sites hosted as part of the main brand/corporate website. Any other campaign destination and/or other third party platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Pinterest pages etc.can be entered.
This category excludes main brand sites, corporate websites and landing pages devised independently of a marketing campaign.
Judges will examine how and why you developed:
- The destination,
- The strategy,
- Information architecture and user journeys (if applicable),
- Creative approach,
- Main functionalities,
- Data capture,
- Technologies used, and
- Any integration with other online or offline channels.
Include detailed results for the website performance, e.g. number of visitors (unique and total), engagement, dwell times, what kinds of functionalities the site had, data capture, conversion to action (subscriptions, leads, orders, etc), commercial impact and overall project ROIs.
Please submit a link to the website (preferred) or if it’s no longer live, screen samples of key pages and functionalities.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
14. Best use of mobile
For the best use of mobile technology to deliver a campaign or solution for products or services.
It could be:
- A mobile app or service,
- Location or proximity-based solution,
- SMS/MMS-based idea,
- Mobile video,
- Branded content or mobile TV ad execution, or
- A campaign on any mobile platform or device.
Judges will be looking at how you developed the campaign strategy, data strategy and any targeting and profiling/segmentation work plus your approach to customer journeys, channel choice, creative, testing variations, technologies and any integration with other channels.
Please supply detailed results and statistics of the campaign’s deliverability and reach, response rates, engagement metrics, commercial impact and ROIs.
Please supply URLs, app-store links, screen grabs or site run-throughs as appropriate.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
15. Best use of search, natural and paid for
For the best use of search optimization or search marketing for direct response.
Please specify whether your entry is based on SEO, SEM or both. Judges will be looking at how you developed the search part of the campaign.
Please explain your strategy, data strategy, any targeting and profiling/segmentation work approach to:
- customer journeys,
- channel choice,
- creative,
- testing variations,
- technologies used and
- any integration with other channels.
Please also include detailed results for the campaign (deliverability statistics, response rates, engagement metrics, commercial impact and ROI figures).
For organic search, this could consist of:
- Optimising the layout and build,
- Integrating campaign elements with keywords/phrases used for search,
- Any insights into consumers’ search behaviour and or other insights.
For PPC, this could consist of:
- Creativity in managing bids for generic and more specific keywords/phrases,
- Evidence of separating search effects from other channels (especially affiliates),
- Creativity in the way PPC worked with the organic optimisation efforts.
Please submit live examples whenever possible. If it’s not possible, please submit screen grabs or samples instead.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
16. Best use of social media
For activity driven via social media channels only – not offline or by word of mouth. This category is open to all products and services.
Please include as much detail as possible, and where appropriate, describe how you developed:
- the campaign’s creative strategy,
- planning strategy,
- measurement strategy,
- tactical executions,
- approach to audience profiling,
- channel choice,
- creative assets,
- technology/platforms/apps used and
- any integration with other channels (online and offline).
The judges will be looking for:
- Sound strategic pre-planning tied closely to generating brand awareness and/or acquiring new customers, both online and offline.
- Innovative exploitation of social media, including the effective use on new platforms, apps and/or tools.
- Strategic and creative integration of social media with the organisation/brand's wider marketing and communication mix.
- Campaign measurement objectives (pre-campaign).
- Campaign results/KPIs which demonstrate brand building via social (postcampaign) and acquisition via social including ROI statements where possible.
Please submit live examples
.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
17. Best digital performance
For business and consumer campaigns demonstrating the best creative and strategic use of digital technologies.
The judges will be looking for:
- Innovative use of non- traditional technology. This could include augmented reality, mobile platforms and proximity marketing.
- Innovative use of landing pages, online display (programmatic entries should be entered into category 25) and content.
- Strategic and creative integration of digital technology with the brand's broader communication/advertising strategy
- Evidence of campaign measurement, and how it enhanced performance of the overall campaign. This could include retargeting, buys harmonised with other online and offline media etc.)
Please submit live examples wherever possible. Alternatively please submit screen grabs or other samples of the live work.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
18. Best Loyalty or CRM Programme
For ongoing data-driven direct marketing programmes designed to retain customers, increase customer value and drive loyalty.
The programme may also be aimed at prospective and previous customers to increase purchase propensity over time. The activity should be ongoing, rather than a one-off campaign.
Entries can be single or multi-channel, and could include:
- email,
- direct mail,
- mobile,
- social,
- online,
- in-store,
- face to face,
- or other channels.
Entries may also include, but are not limited to, points, rewards, and engagement programmes, and could be aimed either at consumer or business audiences.
Entries may include programmes that have been running for a number of years, and as a result the normal date-based entry criteria do not apply to this category.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
19. Best use of press and inserts
For consumer or business campaigns selling:
- off-the-page or generating enquiries via print ads,
- loose or bound-in inserts,
- wrap-arounds on publications, or
- inserts in mailings.
You can submit a single press ad/insert or a campaign.
Judges will be looking for details of the media strategy and plans, the target market and the results achieved.
Make sure you state the carrier medium (in the case of an insert) and submit fulfilment material if appropriate.
Judges want to see how you developed the campaign from strategy to creative, media/data strategy and testing variations. They will also look at detailed results for the activity: response rates and conversion and, if applicable, income and ROI.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
20. Best use of Door Drops
For the best unaddressed direct marketing campaign delivered to residential households.
Please include the method of distribution and who you targeted.
Judges want to see how you developed the campaign, from strategy through to creative, media/data strategy and testing variations. They will also look at detailed results for the activity: response rates, conversion and, if applicable, income and ROI.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
21 Best use of direct mail
For campaigns of any volume in a single mailing or campaign. Show whether you targeted existing customers, cold prospects or third party prospects.
Judges will want to see how you developed the campaign, from strategy through to creative, media strategy, data strategy and testing variations.
They will also want to see detailed results for the activity: response rates, conversion and, if applicable, income and ROI.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
22. Best use of experiential
For the best use of experiential in a B2B or B2C direct marketing campaign at the point of sale or in the field, and could include:
- Road-shows,
- Sampling campaigns,
- Installations,
- Guerrilla marketing,
- An event or,
- A pr stunt.
Campaigns should demonstrate interaction with consumers that generate a response, builds a relationship and gathers valuable data.
Judges will look for a sound insight that inspired the experience, whether it is a stand-alone execution or part of an integrated campaign.
Show the social amplification where possible.
Judges will be looking for:
- A clear understanding of objectives and how these objectives were achieved in campaign targeting, creativity and results.
- The strategic input from the agency.
- The creative concept, design, impact, execution and management of the activity including a programme plan.
- The results achieved against the core objectives, clarified with ROI where appropriate.
- A demonstration of data capture and/or use of consumer data.
Please include the number of consumers contacted, appropriate visual support, e.g. photographs, film, posters etc.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
23. Best integrated campaign
For business or consumer campaigns that use more than one responsive medium in any combination.
Judges will be looking for:
- A clear set of objectives and rationale for the media strategy,
- Insight around the target audience,
- Strategic and creative synergy across all the activity,
- How the campaign helped build the audience’s relationship with the brand,
- Response data for specific media OR for the whole campaign.
Please supply live examples including screen grabs of all online creative materials, and a description of the consumer interactive process as well as examples of any printed creative executions.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
24. Best launch campaign
For business or consumer direct marketing campaigns designed to launch a new brand or product.
The judges will be looking at:
- How the approach was developed,
- How your direct marketing activity is a core part of the overall strategy,
- Results information that clearly demonstrates that the new product or brand has been firmly established as a viable and ongoing concern.
Please provide live examples.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
25. Best use of Programmatic
For campaigns that use digital programmatic trading, whether search, display, social or other channels including TV.
Online search only campaigns should be entered into category 15.
Judges will be looking for:
- Innovative use of technology, offering something new and different with greater efficiencies for users.
- Imaginative use of data and how this has driven success.
- Evidence that creative execution has been enhanced through programmatic trading.
- Proof that the campaign has tailored specific messages to particular individuals, at specific moments in time, in a specific context that has engaged the target audience.
- Clear demonstration of improved results and ROI due to programmatic trading.
Please upload examples of the work.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
Please enter work into the craft categories that have also been entered into other categories outside this section.
Entries can be business or consumer campaigns, or both. You may enter work that was published/broadcast in any combination of media.
Not all craft categories are judged equally on creativity, strategy and results.
Best use of copy and Best use of design and art direction categories are judged primarily on creativity and strategy, while the data categories are judged primarily on strategy and results.
Show if any of the original thinking or the creative direction was developed by another agency or source, and reference the other agency's (or agencies’) contribution where this is the case.
Our judges sign non-disclosure agreements, so any information entered into the ‘For Judges’ eyes only’ section is confidential.
Please include details of any follow-up activity and conversion where appropriate.
26. Best use of film and/or audio
For consumer or business films or audio content (TV, radio and digital) designed to generate response.
Supporting material for TV:
- A description of the ad, campaign title, clock number and the date the commercial first went on air.
- Remove ALL references to the agency from the film.
- Films must not exceed five minutes.
Supporting material for radio:
- Submit a script along with the audio file.
- Audio must not exceed five minutes.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
27. Best writing
For writing in a single execution or campaign in any medium.
The aim is to celebrate the power of words by rewarding excellence in writing for responsive brand communications.
We want diverse submissions, which could be from, but are not limited to:
- digital ads,
- social campaigns,
- direct mail packs,
- TV ads,
- online videos,
- websites,
- games,
- apps, or
- other media where the writing was important or crucial to the campaign.
This category is judged primarily on creativity and judges will be looking for:
- A description of the strategy, target audience and media strategy.
- Results to reassure the judges that the work was effective. Without results the entry will be invalid.
- You may submit a single item or a campaign.
This category will be scored 60% on creativity, 20% on strategy and 20% on results.
28. Best design or art direction
For art direction in a single execution or a campaign. This category is judged primarily on creativity.
Judges will be looking at the strategy and target audience in a way that assesses the relevance of the art director’s approach.
Please provide results to reassure the judges that the work was effective. Without results, the entry will be invalid.
This category will be scored 60% on creativity, 20% on strategy and 20% on results.
29. Best Data Strategy
For insights from data or the smart application of data that has driven or contributed significantly to campaign strategy and execution.
Judges will be looking for attributes such as:
- How data insights influenced campaign strategy and execution.
- Evidence of data used in an intelligent and creative way – this could be accessing a new data set or combining data from a number of sources to create a more holistic view, or gaining new insights into customer or prospect behaviour.
- Evidence of data driving differentiated/personalised messages or customer journeys at each push and pull touchpoint.
- Use of real time analytics or data-driven triggers.
- How data and targeting specifically had an impact on the results.
The campaign can be for acquisition or retention campaigns, and can be for any client in any sector.
However, the campaign must be for direct marketing, and requires a direct response and/or targeting in a one-to-one manner.
This category will be scored 40% on strategy, 40% on results and 20% on creativity.
30. Best brand building campaign
For the best use of direct marketing to develop brand awareness, perceptions and attitudes amongst prospects and/or customers over the long term.
Entries must consist of a programme of activities and include clear and measurable evidence that the campaign or campaigns have shifted awareness and attitudes to the brand.
Judges will look at how direct marketing has contributed to the advertiser’s overall marketing objectives over the last two years.
This is in contrast to most other categories, where the work must have run between *1st August 2014 and 31st July 2015. This category has more emphasis on long-term brand shifts rather than one-off response rates.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
31. Best customer acquisition campaign
For B2B and B2C customer acquisition direct marketing campaigns.
Entries must consist of a programme of activities that demonstrate purchase behaviour and processes, plus a strategy that uses that understanding to best advantage.
Judges will be looking for clear acquisition objectives and specific results information as well as a demonstration of the steps taken to obtain an enquiry or sale and how the objectives have been achieved.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
32. Best use of technology
For the innovative use of technology to promote any brand or service.
The award is open to all types of technology for B2B and B2C direct marketing, offline and online. Judges will be looking for:
- Innovative application
- Brand relevance
- Good creative
- Campaign development (strategy, data strategy and any targeting and profiling/segmentation work, approach to customer journeys, channel choice, creative, testing variations, technologies used and any integration with other channels)
- Outstanding results (deliverability statistics, response rates, engagement metrics, commercial impact and ROIs)
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results.
33. Best creative solution or innovation
For creative thinking used to solve a particular direct marketing challenge.
This category is judged primarily on creativity – the strength of the idea, its originality and appropriateness for the brand as well as marketing objectives and the marriage of compelling copy with stunning art direction.
Judges will be looking for:
- A description of the strategy, target audience and media strategy in a way that will help assess the relevance of the creative approach.
- Results that demonstrate the work was effective (without results the entry will be invalid).
This category will be scored 60% on creativity, 20% on strategy and 20% on results.
34. Best Customer Journey
This category celebrates the very best insight-driven multi-channel direct marketing customer journeys.
Judges will be looking for:
- Powerful insights that led to you selecting your channels and the specific touchpoints within those channels.
- Where are the Moments Of Truth in the journeys, and how did you identify them? How have you exploited them?
- Similarly the judges will want to see how you tailored your creative executions and the messaging within them to the various steps in the journey(s).
- Were you able to apply marketing automation techniques? How?
- Were you able to gather valuable additional data along the journey(s)? And how did that data inform future steps of the journey(s)?
- Provide the judges with evidence that the journey(s) you developed had a positive impact on consumer brand perceptions and on the commercial results.
It will help the judges if you provide diagrammatic illustrations of the journey(s) and find a means of presenting the creative work which means that judges can see its impact from the consumers’ point of view.
This category will be judged equally by its creativity, strategy and results