DMA reveals the commercial value of awards & what it takes to win
Melanie May | 6 July 2016 | News
A win is worth more than trophy with award winners performing better in commercial terms: 56% of winners are in the top half of their industry ROI performance, compared to 44% for non-winners, according to the Direct Marketing Association.
DMA research into the last four years of DMA Award entries, revealed at the launch of this year’s awards on 30th June, shows the benefits of winning awards, as well as what it takes to win them.
The research reveals that commercial performance also extends to the level of award won, with 67% of Gold winners in the top half of their industry ROI, followed by 61% for Silver and 52% for Bronze. Successful campaigns are also achieving success beyond their traditional metrics, including in traditionally above-the-line goals such as brand perception. According to the analysis, 65% of campaigns entered into the awards reported an increase in customer acquisition as a result of the marketing activity, 50% a rise in sales and 40% an increase in brand perception.
Nearly two-thirds (62%) of campaigns are now multi-channel, with traditionally offline marketing disciplines also increasingly becoming part of a multi-channel strategy. For example, the research found that 71% of direct mail is integrated with other channels, while six out of the top ten most used channels are digital. The top three are: social media (48%), online display/video (41%) and email (30%), while winners average more marketing channels as part of their campaigns (2.66) compared to non-winners (2.32).
Last year’s Gold winner in the DMA Awards charity category was ais London’s 2014 campaign for Harrison’s Fund (above). It raised £410,000 for the charity, more than double that raised in 2012, by playing on the fact that people are often keener to donate to save an animal than a child with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy by drawing people in with a picture of a dog and the line: ‘Would you give £5 to save Harrison from a slow, painful death?’
Mark Runacus, chair of the DMA Awards committee, said:
“The DMA Awards celebrate the three pillars of success in our industry: creativity, strategy and results. No matter the channel or sector, marketers should always consider these three pillars when developing a campaign worthy of winning awards.”
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.