# DMA reveals the commercial value of awards & what it takes to win

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/07/06/dma-reveals-commercial-value-awards-takes-win/
- Published: 2016-07-06T11:16:04+01:00
- Author: Melanie May

**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](http://dma.org.uk/).**

DMA research into the last four years of [DMA Award](http://dma.org.uk/awards) entries,
revealed at the launch of this year’s awards on 30^(th) 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.

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 [⌊Posthub advert. You create the campaign. We'll handle the postal journey. Get started at post-hub.co.uk.⌉](https://fundraising.co.uk/ads/posthub-20261007-300x250/)

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).

 [⌊Harrison's Fund⌉](https://wfay6x.infiniteuploads.cloud/2016/07/HARRISONS-FUND.jpg)

[Last year’s Gold winner](http://dma.org.uk/awards/winner/2015-gold-charity) in 
the DMA Awards charity category was ais London’s 2014 campaign for [Harrison’s Fund](http://www.harrisonsfund.com/)(
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.”

 * **[DMA’s whitepaper explains how organisations can better support vulnerable customers](https://fundraising.co.uk/2016/09/22/dmas-whitepaper-explains-organisations-can-better-support-vulnerable-customers/)**(
   22 September 2016)
 * **[Data Discoveries to host next best practice marketing forum for charities](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/01/19/data-discoveries-host-next-best-practice-marketing-forum-charities/)**(
   19 January 2011)
 * **[Large fines agreed for charity and business marketing breaches](https://fundraising.co.uk/2011/05/17/large-fines-agreed-charity-and-business-marketing-breaches/)**(
   17 May 2011)

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