INTERNATIONAL. The deadline for entries for The Moodies Awards has been extended at the request of a number of industry partners. The new deadline is 5pm GMT on Monday 2 March.
This is the seventh edition of the annual awards, which spotlight digital, social media and marketing excellence across the airport and travel sectors.
The Moodies this year have been expanded to embrace the entire travel journey from booking through to end destination, including: travel agents; online booking sites; airlines; airports (including but not confined to shopping and dining); airport advertising; rail stations; train operators; ferries and cruiselines; hotels; tourist destinations and bureaus; and other travel-related operations.
This year the awards feature several new categories, designed to showcase the best of the evolving digital, social and marketing landscape. These include:
- Best Digital Team
- Digital Innovator of the Year
- Best Integrated Campaign
- Best Use of Digital to an Internal Audience/Employee Engagement
The expanded category list of awards is as follows:
- Best Use of a Social Platform
- Best Use of Video
- Best Digital Agency
- Best Integrated Campaign
- Best Omnichannel Campaign
- Best Digital Competition
- Best Launch/Relaunch Campaign
- Best KOL-Driven Campaign
- Best CSR or Cause Advocacy Campaign
- Best Use of Real-Time/Geolocation
- Best Branding Advertising Campaign
- Best Tactical Advertising Campaign
- Best Native Advertising Campaign
- Best Use of Digital to an Internal Audience/Employee Engagement
- Best e/M Commerce
- Best Website/Microsite
- Best Use of Mobile/App
- Best Digital Team
- Digital Innovator of the Year
We invite entries for all of the categories above from all stakeholders in the travel journey.
Entry for the awards is via self-nomination and will be charged at €140 per submission, payable at point of entry (see below).
Award entries are being invited from today until the closing deadline of 2 March 2020.
Upon completing the online entry form, entrants will be provided access to a Google Drive folder, where they can upload supporting documents, information, images and video.
Last year the winners were drawn from almost 200 shortlisted finalists across 21 categories.
The Moodie Davitt Report Chief Technology Officer Matt Willey said: “Last year’s winners represented a masterclass of digital innovation and excellence. They also underlined some pivotal trends in the industry’s use of digital media.
“Digital is now fundamental to the performance, promotion and reputation of businesses across the entire travel sphere and The Moodies aim to represent the ultimate showcase for evolution and excellence in the sector. By including the entire travel journey, we recognise the inter-reliance of all sector stakeholders.”
Judging Criteria
The judges will be looking for clear objectives, creative and effective implementation and tangible and demonstrable results in the campaign award categories.
They will also consider the structure, presentation and clarity of each entry.
Entries should not exceed 1,000 words in total and should relate to work undertaken between January 2019 – January 2020.
Each entry must include information under the following headings:
• Total budget & objectives
• Target audience & strategy
• Implementation & creativity
• Results & evaluation
Additional criteria:
Quantifiable impact
Judges will use quantifiable yardsticks to measure the impact of each nomination. For instance, nominated Facebook pages will be rated by the number of ‘likes’ and ‘check ins’; YouTube presence will be rated by the number of ‘views’; and the number of ‘followers’ generated by a Twitter account will be noted. For airports, annual traffic will be taken into account when assessing the number of ‘likes’, ‘views’ or ‘followers’ their social media presence generates.
Customer engagement
Many companies are present in social media, but often they fail to update that presence or use it to create a meaningful relationship with their customers. Our judges will rate nominations according to how well companies engage their customers through digital and social media, the level of interaction they achieve, and the quality of the conversation they are able to generate.
Visual appeal
Visual quality and impact is critical across all categories, and especially for the crucial Best Concourse Advertising Campaign and Best Use of Digital Media In-store categories. Our judges will look for creativity, quality of imagery and excellence in execution.
Quality of content
The ways in which companies use digital and social media vary considerably. Our judges will focus on originality and breadth of content, and on the methods employed to win the traveller’s attention. Extra merit will be earned by companies which aim to do more than merely sell a product or service, but use new media to create excitement and interest in the location in which they operate.
Incentive to spend
How are airports and operators using digital and social media to win spend from travellers? And how are they ensuring that those travellers become loyal customers? Our judges will look in detail at the methods deployed to encourage spend and their effectiveness.
Impact on the traveller experience
Today most travellers use mobile devices when they travel. The Moodie Davitt Digital Awards will look at how airports and retailers have tapped into the SoLoMo – Social, Local and Mobile – trend to make their customers’ experience easier and more enjoyable, whether through practical information, gift incentives or other initiatives.
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