2012 Award Categories
Campaign
Brand Response Campaign
Campaign that demonstrates the most innovative and effective use of the digital and interactive channel where the primary goal was brand awareness, message association, purchase intent or moving the needle on specific brand attributes. Entry should include details of the program goals, objectives, target audiences, tactics, and results. Effectiveness will be measured by comparing results to initial goals or industry standards along with program impact on the brand.
Use of Communications Planning and Insight
Demonstration of the most thorough understanding of the communications strategy and how the digital/interactive campaign supported that strategy. Includes an understanding of target audience and overall goals and objectives of the organization’s communications strategy.
Video and Rich Media Experiences
Sites, applications, projects or campaigns that allow a more powerful and high-performance visual/media or interactive experience. This includes online video (pre-roll, in-banner, long form, viral, etc.), rich media beyond static HTML (floating, expandable, peelbacks, overlays, widgets, mash-ups) and animation.
Mobile
Project that uses mobile in a powerful way to boost awareness or engagement. This project may also provide a useful/valuable tool to the user that allows them to connect with a brand. This includes mobile sites, applications, games, maps, etc.
Email Marketing
Best use of email marketing to promote or sell products/services, inform and educate customers and build relationships with customers.
Social Media
Best application of social media to drive brand awareness, dialogue, conversions or any other measurable action. This campaign could include but is not limited to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, blogs, etc.
Traffic Generation/SEO/Display Advertising
Best online advertising campaign including affiliate, paid and/or natural placement resulting in increased traffic and conversions. Entry should include details of the program goals, objectives, tactics, and results. Effectiveness will be measured by comparing results to previous efforts, industry standards or initial goals along with customer acquisition costs (directional/percentage results accepted).
Best Integrated Campaign
Best holistic campaign displaying consistency of message and the complementary use of media including online and offline marketing channels (e.g. websites, microsites, mobile, social media, video, digital advertising, print ads, brochures, PR, etc.).
Sectors/Industry
Consumer Goods
Sites, applications, projects or campaigns created to market directly to consumers. This applies both to retail products and the retailers who drive brand awareness, indirectly sell to consumers and/or drive consumers to retail outlets. This category may also include the presentation of large price point products, including real estate and automobiles.
Educational Institution
Sites, applications, projects or campaigns created to market an educational institution or programs within a school. This includes primary and secondary schools as well as higher education institutions.
eLearning
Sites, applications, projects or campaigns created with the primary goal of educating, training or providing e-learning to specified audiences, e.g., customers, clients, employees, or others on behalf of a company, product or service.
Healthcare and Wellness
Sites, applications, projects or campaigns created to market, sell or provide health and wellness or fitness products or services; and/or address issues or disseminate information concerning healthcare and wellness; and/or promote health or fitness facilities.
Retail/E-commerce/Online Marketplace
Best ecommerce experience (cross-selling, selling up, personalization, conversions, great buying experience and more). Entries may be a new ecommerce site or a redesign of an existing site.
Cost per Lead/Registration and/or Cost per Sale
Campaign that best demonstrates the most innovative and effective use of the interactive channel where the primary goal was defined by the cost per lead or cost per sale. Entry should include details of the program goals, objectives, tactics, and results. Effectiveness will be measured by comparing results to previous efforts, industry standards or initial goals along with customer acquisition costs (directional/percentage results accepted).
Charity/Not For Profit
Sites, applications, projects or campaigns created to promote a charity/not for profit organization to inform, elicit donations, secure volunteers and/or activate supporter participation.
Thought Leadership
Interactive Professional of the Year
Awarded to an individual who continuously demonstrates thought leadership in the digital and interactive space backed up with demonstrated success and measurable results. This person should be a passionate mentor of others and an advocate of continuous innovation.
This is your chance to nominate your peers to be singled out for excellence.
Interactive Agency of the Year
This category is not open for entry submission. Agencies will be nominated by judges upon entering in one or more of the many 2012 categories.
The honoree will be recognized after the judges review entries from other categories and nominate an agency. This award is determined from the body of work submitted by an agency. Individual agencies cannot apply for this award directly but may be selected by any judge impressed with the work they have judged in any given category.
Interactive Brand of the Year
Awarded to the brand that continuously sets the gold standard in innovation in the digital and interactive space. The honoree will be the brand that best represents bold, forward, game changing thinking driven by courageous leadership and fueled by bold pushes into new technologies and processes.
Intern of the Year
The honoree will be in an intern position. This person will have provided significant contributions to their team while demonstrating high initiative, high learning and high adaptability. They are hard working, have great potential and will go far in their careers. Given the opportunity, this is a person that you would ask to return for another internship or if they are graduating, this is someone you would want to become a permanent member of the team.
Innovation Game Changer
Recognizes the Ohio-based company that has brought the most innovative game changing technology, process or products. This might be a tool that helps create actionable value for their users as a result of insightfully spotting trends or patterns, or a technology that transforms the ecommerce buying experience. It may be technologies that support sales and marketing professionals to engage their customers in ways that weren’t previously possible. It may even involve gaming applications which improve user engagement and application effectiveness or something so game changing there’s no way to capture it in this description.