PLAN2WIN

• About the Awards

• The Categories

• Case Study

• Six Steps to the Awards

• Key Dates and Prices

• Scoring Criteria

• ROI

CONTENTS

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WELCOME

The Digital Experience Awards (DXA) is for businesses providing an exceptional customer

experience through the use of digital technology.

Who should enter?

We welcome entries from all businesses, organisations and individuals who use digital

applications to deliver an improved experience to their customers in the UK; whether that is

your partners, suppliers or employees. The awards encompass both B2B and B2C categories,

with accolades for the use of apps as well as the development of new software, the use of

social media, and the adoption of emerging technologies.

SME or Multi-National?

The judges will recognise excellence and innovation regardless of the size of company, and we

have found that individuals, SMEs, and large corporations fair equally well in front of the

independent judges. The awards celebrate and support the inspiring ways digital technology

has been used, regardless of the budget or scale.

What kind of Initiatives?

The judges want to hear from those using applications to meet customer needs and deliver

business or organisational benefits. The widespread surge in the use of applications to

automate business processes and enhance user experience is an exciting area that should be

supported. The awards aim to celebrate diverse initiatives across different sectors by bringing

together in one place, and in one day, the leading examples of great use of technology. From

the use of mobile phones and desktops, AR and VR, to the internet of things and the use of

digital technology in B2B settings, we welcome examples of all initiatives in business and

industry.

The Categories

This year there are 23 categories aimed at celebrating the many ways digital technology can be

used to enhance the experience of your customers and colleagues. The categories are chosen

to ensure that every size of company and sector can be recognised across both B2B and B2C

areas.

How the awards are judged

The awards are judged by an independent panel of business professions through both a written

entry and a live presentation on the day of the finals; with many of the presentations being open

to spectators. The scoring criterion is endorsed by Cranfield School of Management, and every

finalist receives a feedback report after the awards finals. The UKDXA has been accredited

with the prestigious Gold Awards Trust Mark from the Independent Awards Standards Council.

ABOUT THE AWARDS

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THE CATEGORIES

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SECTOR SPECIFIC:

Digital Agency

Entries are welcomed from partnerships with or from

digital agencies delivering valuable strategies,

campaigns and experiences. Whether you build

incredible websites or drive SEO and engagement,

your results-driven digital strategies will have a

positive effect on the organisations and their

customers.

Utilities

This category is for utilities companies using digital

means to improve and support their customer

journey. Entries are welcomed from water,

electricity, and gas companies using digital

strategies for positive customer outcomes.

Entertainment and Telecoms

This category will suit entertainment, telecoms, and

media companies who are engaging their customers

through digital platforms and/or are embracing

digital advancements to attract, gain and retain

customers. Entries will show the innovative

applications used to create an enhanced digital

experience for customers and/or colleagues.

Transport, Leisure, and Tourism

Entries will include initiatives for home delivery,

transport, travel and tourism organisations using

digital technology to create a better experience.

From trackable packages to virtual tours, digital

experience will play a significant part in enhancing

customer and/or employee interactions for the

company.

Not for Profit & Charity (Inc. Public Services)

Entries will show how digital platforms have been

embraced to help the organisation make a

difference in people's lives. Whether that is by

improving a website, starting a social media

campaign, or embracing crowdfunding; digital will

have been used with measurable positive results.

Financial Services

This category is for any organisations managing

money, including insurance providers, and the

innovative ways digital has been used to support

and improve their interactions with customers, staff

and stakeholders. The area of fintech is growing

rapidly and entries are welcomed from companies

using digital technology to make financial services

more accessible.

Retail & Ecommerce

Digital technology has revolutionised the ways

customers can purchase products and services,

from online-only stores and subscription services, to

self-checkouts and click and collect. Entries are

welcomed from retail companies embracing digital

technology to radically enhance their customer

journey.

DISCIPLINE SPECIFIC:

Best Digital Change & Transformation

This category is for organisations, teams, and

individuals adopting digital technology to achieve

positive outcomes for the company, customers

and/or staff. Many companies are making huge

digital changes across their customer and internal

channels to transform their capability and skills.

Best Website

Having a website is essential for showcasing your

company online, but this is only one of the many

reasons why a website is vital in the digital age.

Entries are welcomed from organisations and

individuals who have commissioned or created

innovative websites that are not only fast and

functional, but that also have a great user

experience and an enhanced customer journey.

Best App

In a world of multi-device users, apps are essential

for businesses to attract, assist, and retain

customers. If your organisation ‘has an app for that’

which has made the customer journey more efficient

then this is the perfect category to enter and

celebrate and share your innovation.

Best Online User Experience B2B/B2C

Entries are welcomed from organisations that have

shown how to retain and influence website visitors

effectively through an engaging user experience.

You will understand user behaviour and needs, and

have used this insight to create a better customer

journey either in a B2B or B2C environment.

Best Use of Data Analytics & Insight

This category is for those organisations, teams, and

individuals who have used digital tools to investigate

performance and used it to make better business

decisions. Entries will show how utilising this insight

had positive outcomes for the company and its

customers.

THE CATEGORIES

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Best Use of Digital Devices & Software

Entries will be from those using or creating hardware and

software to meet a specific need, and will showcase the

positive outcome it has had for the business. From

Software as a Service (SaaS) to smart technology, this

category is for those providing a seamless and integrated

digital customer experience which incorporates multiple

touchpoints, devices and interactions.

Best Use of Customer Reviews & Feedback

Organisations who have used customer reviews to

generate increased business results will want to enter this

category. The number of customer review sites and

applications for rating websites has grown exponentially

and organisations are using this insight to their

advantage.

Best Mobile Strategy

It is estimated that 75% of adults active online access the

internet via their smartphone. Mobile is huge and

organisations entering this category will show the

opportunities mobile offers to engage customers and

boost their business.

Best SEO Strategy

Use of Search Engine Optimisation remains a key part of

the online strategy. If you have been able to optimise your

search engine presence in a highly competitive

environment, and have benefited from the results, then

this is the category for you.

Best Use of Customer Reviews & Feedback

Organisations who have used customer reviews to

generate increased business results will want to enter this

category. The number of customer review sites and

applications for rating websites has grown exponentially

and organisations are using this insight to their

advantage.

Best Mobile Strategy

It is estimated that 75% of adults active online

access the internet via their smartphone. Mobile is

huge and organisations entering this category will

show the opportunities mobile offers to engage

customers and boost their business.

Best SEO Strategy

Use of Search Engine Optimisation remains a key

part of the online strategy. If you have been able to

optimise your search engine presence in a highly

competitive environment, and have benefited from

the results, then this is the category for you.

Best Digital Marketing Campaign/Project

Whatever your budget, business, or audience, a

great digital marketing campaign can bring brand

awareness, lead generation, customer loyalty, and

profits. Entries will show how a well planned online

marketing strategy can transform an organisation

and propel it forward.

Best PPC Strategy

Now a key part of the business model, Pay Per Click

is an important element in digital advertising. Entries

will show how a well planned and effective PPC

campaign has had a positive impact on an

organisation.

Best Use of Social Media

This category is for companies harnessing their

online communities and creating engaging

campaigns across one or more social media

platforms. Entries will show how interaction and

engagement online with customers and colleagues

has greatly benefited the business.

Best Digital Team

Get recognition for great teamwork. Entries are

welcomed from outstanding digital teams, whether

that is within a company or a combination of

supplier and customer. Celebrate a digital job well

done and reward your hard-working digital heroes.

Best Omnichannel Approach

Entries will be from organisations adopting a

multichannel approach to meet the needs of

customers and colleagues. This category is for

companies and individuals working to reach their

audience at every touchpoint and across multiple

channels.

Best Use of Emerging Technology (AI, VR, AR,

Chatbots etc)

This category is for organisations embracing the

ever-changing digital landscape by using

emerging technology to improve their customer

experience. Entries could include technologies

such as augmented and virtual reality, and

artificial intelligence like machine learning. If your

company is exploring a new feature, technology or

platform that is benefiting customers then this is

the category for you.

Overall Winner

The overall winner is the entry with the highest

score and is decided at the awards finals when all

the scores are counted. The winner will be

presented with their trophy at the end of the

ceremony.

Sky is Europe's leading entertainment company, serving 23 million customers across seven countries. Their online billing section is a popular destination for

customers. However, Sky identified through analysis that a substantial number of customers were beginning their journey on Sky.com but then still needed

to call the contact centre to resolve their issue. Sky termed this as ‘Digital Leakage’.

BUSINESS STRATEGY

One of their first areas of focus was the billing journey where they undertook a clinical analysis of why customers were ‘leaking’ out.

Sky engaged in a transformational programme with the aim of reducing the need for customers to call their contact centres. They followed 3 paradigms of

‘Beautiful, Simple and Intelligent’:

•A ‘Beautiful’ execution of the bill presentation, driving substantially lower customer queries.

•The ‘Simple’ paradigm includes their focus on customer friendly language, straight-forward navigation and prominent links to core customer actions (e.g.

making a payment).

•The focus on ‘Intelligence’ includes contextual help which provides supporting information to customers based on the specific part of the journey they are in

and the introduction of pre-emptive notifications to highlight any key impacts to their bill.

GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

The specific goal of the initiative was to reduce the need for customers to have to contact Sky after viewing their bill online. They wanted to reduce the

volume of calls received in the contact centre by giving customers a better opportunity to self-serve. Whilst Sky was aware that a number of their customers

tried to resolve their problem online first and then felt the need to call, they had never been able to robustly measure and address this. Over 12 months they

created and embedded the brand-new metric they called ‘Digital Leakage’.

IMPACT AND BENEFITS

Prior to making any changes to the online bill, 15% of visits resulted in calls. Following initial completion of the initiative 10% of visits resulted in calls, and

with on-going optimisation now only 6% of visits result in calls.

Over a full year at the lower rate of ‘digital leakage’, this improvement in performance would translate to a substantial cost saving per year as a result of

reduced call demand. Furthermore, following a deep dive exercise into those customers that continue to call after viewing the online bill, they found that

10% were actually checking how much they pay ahead of calling our contact centre to upgrade their package.

SKY UK CASE STUDY

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LESSON BREAKDOWNThese calls are revenue positive and reinforce the criticality of the online bill view in customers deciding to spend more money with Sky. This

was a major unanticipated benefit of their deep work into the online bill. Sky reduced the volume of calls into the contact centre meaning

customers resolved their query more quickly without the need to cross to a different channel. They managed to reduce the number of calls

originating from customers who entered their online billing journeys by 60%. Sky UK won the Data Analytics & Insight category in 2018.

Choose the relevant category(ies) for your initiative, make your payment and receive the entry form. We will host

a webinar about “How to Write a world-class Award entry” to assist you in your entry writing process. Keep an eye

on the website for details or sign up for awards updates.

SIX STEPS TO THE AWARDS FINALS

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STEP 1CHOOSE THE RELEVANT CATEGORY,

COMPLETE YOUR ENTRY FORM AND

ATTEND OUR WEBINAR

STEP 2SUBMIT YOUR ENTRY

New entry format in place this year - once you've secured your nomination you will be provided with a user name

and a password to access our online nomination portal. From here you can edit and save your written entry.

The entry deadline is 5th April 2019.

STEP 3WAIT TO HEAR IF YOUR ENTRY

HAS BEEN SHORTLISTED

Once entries have closed, your submission will be assessed to see if it has got what it takes to make it through to

the Awards Finals. The shortlist of Finalists will be announced on the 12th April 2019. The Finalists will be invited

to present at the Awards Finals and Presentations on 12th July 2019.

STEP 4BOOK YOUR PLACE, PREPARE YOURSELF

FOR THE AWARDS FINALS AND ATTEND

OUR WEBINAR

It’s now time to decide who is going to present! Once you have decided on your dream team, it’s over to them to

transform your entry into a presentation. We will host a webinar about “How to create a world-class presentation”

to guide you through this creative process.

STEP 5AWARDS FINALS AND PRESENTATIONS

After the awards finals, your scores and feedback will be collated from your Judging panel to produce your

Feedback Report. This will reveal your scores and some comments from both your written entry and live

presentations.

STEP 6RECEIVE YOUR FEEDBACK REPORT

Come along, present your initiative during the day, enjoy the presentations, network with the cream of the crop

in DX and gain best practice from the leaders in your industry. Then it’s time to discover, who has won this

year’s coveted UK Digital Experience Awards 2019 at our event.

ENTRY DEADLINE

5th April 2019KEY DATES

KEY DATES & PRICES

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FINALISTS ANNOUNCEMENT

12th April 2019

THE AWARDS FINALS

AND PRESENTATIONS

12th July 2019

ENTRY PRICES Early Bird: £199 available until midnight 22nd Feb / each additional entry @£99

Standard price: @£299 +VAT and additional entry @£139 +VAT thereafter.

SCORING CRITERIA SCORE AVAILABLE FOR

EACH QUESTION – 100pts

THE CASE FOR RECOGNITION

BUSINESS STRATEGYWhat was the background to the initiative? Why was it needed and how did it

meet the strategic needs of the business and its customers?

SUMMARY

Provide an overview of the entire initiative, capturing the most important

information from beginning to end. NB. Will be used for shortlisting and the

scoring of the written entries but is not relevant to Finalist Presentations.200 words

PLANNING & PREPARATIONWhat role did planning and preparation play in success? How was the

initiative planned, and was the plan changed along the way?100

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGMENT

What was the leadership model and who were the relevant stakeholders?

How were their needs identified and understood, and how were they

engaged in the process?

IMPLEMENTATION

How was the initiative implemented? Who was involved and how was

communication maintained? What measures did you take to ensure the

success of the initiative?

What has been the resulting impact on the business? What other benefits

have been achieved in relation to the goals and objectives, and were there

any additional unforeseen benefits?

What was especially creative and innovative about the initiative? Was there

anything unique or which proved an interesting twist and contributed to the

overall success?

Please describe from the perspective relevant to the category entered i.e. organisation, team or individual.

GOALS & OBJECTIVES What were the specific goals and objectives of the initiative? What business

benefits did the initiative set out to achieve?

IMPACTS & BENEFITS

What went well? What didn’t go so well? Explain how the lessons learned

during this initiative will assist with future business development.

INNOVATION & CREATIVITY

LESSONS LEARNED

200 words

300 words

200 words

200 words

200 words

200 words

200 words

200 words

THE JUDGING CRITERIA

- SCORING OF ENTRIES

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WHY ENTER?

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Winning awards is hard work, so why do so many organisations enter the UK DX Awards each year?

WINNING AWARDS

BUILDS SOCIAL

PROOF

EXTERNAL

RECOGNITION

BUILDS CREDIBILITY

CREDIBILITY

BUILDS TRUST

TRUST

BUILDS BRAND

LOYALTY

BRAND LOYALTY

BUILDS BUSINESS

To achieve your ultimate goal and win UK DX Award, it is important that you understand the following:

HOW TO

IDENTIFY YOUR AWARD WINNING USP

CHOOSE A WINNING CATEGORY

WRITE AN OUTSTANDING STORY

PRESENT YOUR EVIDENCE

IMPRESS THE JUDGES

MAXIMISE ROI

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Three key ways awards can improve your bottom line with minimal effort and maximum ROI:

INCREASE SALES BY OVER A THIRD

Studies show that obtaining an award influences buyers’ decisions and can

improve sales performance by up to 77% (Source: British Quality Foundation /

Hendricks and Singhal)

SATISFY YOUR WORKERS’ PRIME NEEDS

Research indicates that workers have three prime needs: interesting work,

recognition for doing a job well and being let in on things that are going on in the

company (Zig Ziglar). Awards tick all these boxes and boost employee productivity.

GAIN PR ATTENTION

Considered three times more powerful than advertising, raising the profile of your

brand through award recognition can attract brand new customers.

Why the awards attracts entries from some of the biggest brands in the UK:

NETWORK with hundreds of business leaders and professionals

AID your team’s personal and professional development

BENCHMARK your company through impartial feedback

BOOST team morale and support recruitment drives

MAXIMISE on pr and marketing opportunities

“This was the fourth year of the UK Digital Experience Awards,

and has been the most significant to date. We are in the middle of

an era of significant developments with digital technology, and it

is inspiring to see how organisations such as the finalists here

today are using these advances to improve services to

customers. These DX pioneers are more than deserving of the

credit they have received, and on behalf of Awards International I

would like to offer a wholehearted congratulations to all finalists

and winners, who have proved themselves true digital leaders.”

Neil Skehel, CEO, Awards International

PLAN2WINIf you have any questions about our awards and events, please call Damien Braniff on 020 7193 2394 or email

damien.braniff@awardsinternational.eu