Inside the DMA Judging Process - Does Mobile Marketing Finally 'Get it'?

I recently had the privilege of being amongst those judging the DMA’s Best Use of Mobile awards. it’s been 2 years since I last judged this (a motorbike smash and consequent busted arm intervened last year), and it was interesting to see what had moved on in that time; what had changed, and what had not.

Without naming names (obviously) there were still a few entries at the pre-qualification stage which were simply an extension of offline or tele-based marketing initiatives, and it showed – these are logical, but not innovative.

In mobile, we’re in an age where if you build it, this really doesn’t guarantee they will come, irrespective of how strong your brand or poster woman/boy is right now.

But there were also some campaigns, in fact the majority, which were genuinely thoughtful and insightful, concerned with solving a problem from a customer-centric perspective, and positively blurring the barrier between ‘techies’ and ‘creatives’.

What also struck me was how rigorous the judging day was for the participants, led by Lazar Dzamic of Google Zoo; far from handing out rosettes for the ‘loveliest’ campaign, there was serious debate, and dissension, between the judges.

The other thing which resonated was how mobile/wearable, the most intimate of channels, has received a much-needed injection of context – the UX of an App may be killer, but just because you can do it now, is it the right look with regard to future repercussions, either Regulatory or societal.

The shortlist of campaigns http://www.dma.org.uk/awards/shortlist-2015 represents, in my opinion, the brands and organisations who ‘get it’ with regard to the customer perception – it will be a hard choice for those who will pick the final winners…