The 2016 Accenture Digital Media Awards celebrated the best and brightest of Ireland's digital media on Friday 19th February at the DoubleTree by Hilton. The event was hosted by Oliver Callan, whose searing impersonations of Enda Kenny and Joan Burton in full electioneering mode got the evening off to a raucous start, while his razor-sharp observations kept the audience on their toes throughout the evening.
A sell-out event, the Accenture Digital Media Awards were attended by 800 of Ireland’s best from the digital industry. The theme of the awards this year – neon disco bling with UV – did not disappoint. The audience proved worthy of their creative tag with imaginative glowstick constructions, while Dublin Body Paint Jam were on hand to add a little neon glow to guests in the form of UV neon paint and body paint.
Accenture Digital were delighted to be the headline partner for the 2016 Digital Media Awards, as their Head of Digital Vicky Godolphin commented in her speech that evening, saying “The Accenture Digital Media Awards are a celebration and recognition of the creativity, passion and innovation within Ireland’s digital community, and Accenture is proud to be part of this.”
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Carat won both the Grand Prix Award (sponsored by Accenture Digital) and the award for Best Integrated Digital Campaign (sponsored by Ad2One) for their Guinness campaign. Despite Guinness being synonymous with Irish rugby for the Rugby World Cup, the challenge for Guinness as a non-sponsor was to connect with the global audience of rugby fans and maintain relevance throughout the tournament. The judges were impressed with this excellent media-first campaign, leveraging social media and the use of analysis and creativity to drive the campaign home.
ZOO. Digital took the Agency of the Year title (sponsored by BreakingNews.ie) along with the award for Best Innovation (sponsored by Accenture Digital) for their Intel and DCC submission. This showcased how Intel and Dublin City Council are deploying a new set of sensors to monitor and alert on current rainfall, river and canal levels, water flow rate, tides and weather, allowing their engineers to react to flood threats. "It was a super surprise on the night. We're lucky to work with great clients in Danone Aptamil, Intel and Irish Distillers who look for innovative digital creative that gets results. It's a client, agency team recognition that we're very proud of," said Colin Hetherington MD of ZOO. Digital
Best Use of Social Media (sponsored by Kantar Media) was won by The Rose of Tralee International Festival for their Access All Areas campaign that gave followers exclusive, behind-the-scenes access. The judges were impressed with how it connected with, and added value, to the event. The current Rose of Tralee, Elysha Brennan, collected the award.
Wolfgang Digital, who recently announced a major expansion, took with three awards on the night: Best Conversion Strategy, Best Search Marketing Campaign and Best Use of Creative Technology/Development for their work with clients Brown Thomas, McElhinneys and iClothing.
Legion Interactive scooped the Best App Award for their Lámh Time app, a new play and learning app for children who use Lámh signs to support their communication, and for families and professionals using Lámh signs with them.
AIB won the Best Use of Mobile (sponsored by 3 Media). Their Next Generation Mobile Banking App allows registered AIB Phone & Internet Banking customers to securely check their balance, pay bills and transfer funds from anywhere.
Best Use of Video (sponsored by The Irish Times) was won by ICAN for their #LittleCaddies video where the children in Temple Street gave their golfing heroes tips on how to be the best, follow their dreams and never give up during the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open 2015. "Lovely, simple, focused video… it goes to show how far you can go with a limited budget. Truly emotive, an absolute tear-jerker," was the impressive feedback from the judging panel.
For the second year running the Presentation College, Carlow won the award for Best Digital School. Their plan highlights the need for digital literacy in developing discrete and specific ICT to ensure students use digital technology in meaningful and effective self-directed enquiry.
Vizeum won the Best Retail Campaign for There's No Bed Like Home campaign for IKEA, with Continuum taking the award for Best Website/Microsite for Carphone Warehouse (sponsored by IEDR). The resulting website mirrored Carphone Warehouse’s excellent in-store experience, online.
PHD’s Unlocking the Vault of Joy campaign for Cadbury took the award for Best Integrated Media Campaign. Cadbury Dairy Milk is more than a square of chocolate wrapped in purple, it is a brand that prompts joy in unexpected ways. The judges thought this was a winning campaign with great localisation and was well planned and executed across a range of channels.
A Breath of Fresh Air for Dublin Tourism / Failte Ireland, a campaign to drive awareness amongst overseas visitors and local trade, which was created by In the Company of Huskies & PHD, took the accolade for Best in Travel & Tourism (sponsored by Hotel & Catering Review). The judges loved this clever, engaging campaign.
Commenting on the awards Ashville Media Group’s Event Director, Tracey Carney said: "2016 has been a phenomenal year for the DMAs. Not only did we see a 20 per cent increase in entries we had a 43 per cent increase in entries directly from companies. The feedback from our judging panel was that the quality of entries this year was outstanding. In several categories fractions of points separated the top 10 entries. With almost 800 in attendance at the awards it shows that digital is at the heart of the agenda for agencies, but also that the DMAs are the awards agencies want to win."
The 2016 Accenture Digital Media Awards Winners:
Best App (Mobile or Tablet) – Legion Interactive
Best Brand /Company Using Digital – Vision Independent Productions
Best Conversion Strategy – Wolfgang Digital
Best Design/Art Direction – Chemistry
Best Digital Strategy sponsored by maternity&infant.ie – eir
Best in Digital Learning – The Educational Company of Ireland
Best Innovation sponsored by Accenture Digital – ZOO. Digital
Best Integrated Digital Campaign sponsored by Ad2One – Carat
Best Integrated Media Campaign sponsored by Ashville Media Group – PHD
Best Public Life – Hawk's Well Theatre
Best Retail Campaign – Vizeum
Best Search Marketing Campaign – Wolfgang Digital
Best Start Up Using Digital sponsored by InBUSINESS – usheru
Best Travel & Tourism sponsored by Hotel & Catering Review – In the Company of Huskies & PHD
Best Use of Mobile sponsored by 3 Media – AIB
Best Use of Creative Technology/Development – Wolfgang Digital
Best Use of Video sponsored by The Irish Times – ICAN
Best Website/Microsite sponsored by IEDR – Continuum
Blog of the Year – Pippa.ie / iZest Marketing
Data & Analytics – Mediavest
Digital Marketing Technologist - Richard McNeill, Omnicom Media Group
Best Innovation in Financial Services sponsored by IG – Origin Digital
Best Use of Social Media sponsored by Kantar Media – Rose of Tralee International Festival
Best Agency sponsored by Breakingnews.ie – ZOO. Digital
Digital School of the Year -Presentation College, Carlow
Digital Student of the Year sponsored by Hibernia College - Steven Jeffers, Bandon Grammar School
Media Brand of the Year – Digital – Maximum Media
Grand Prix – Carat