Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, May 09, 2012 @ 02:57 PM
16 May is the entry deadline for The 2012 International Business Awards, the world's premier business awards competition. If you haven't yet done so, you can request your entry kit here and you will receive it right away.
To help make the most out of your marketing awards entries, we suggest the following tips:
1. Review the business awards categories.
There are several marketing award categories being celebrated at the 2012 IBAs including:
- Marketing Department of the Year
- Marketing Team of the Year
- Marketing Executive of the Year
- Marketing Campaign of the Year - Industry Categories
- Marketing Campaign of the Year - Specialty Categories
There are a number of other IBA categories that should be of interest to marketing professionals, including many of the annual report awards and other literature categories, website awards categories, app awards categories, video awards categories, and live event awards categories.
2. Review the entry submission criteria.
Information to be submitted online for entries in these categories include:
- An essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee's accomplishments since 1 January 2011
- A biography of the nominee or the leader of the nominated company, department, or team of up to 100 words, and
- Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files, work samples, and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges.
3. Contact us.
If you have any questions about the 2012 IBAs, email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.
Entries submitted after 16 May, through the final entry deadline of 27 June, will be assessed a late fee in addition to any entry fee. Finalists will be announced in late July and 2012 honorees will be celebrated at the 9th annual awards banquet on Monday, 15 October in Seoul, South Korea.
Leave us a comment and let us know how our corporate awards categories will help you to highlight your organization's successes.
Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Apr 25, 2012 @ 05:10 PM
Today is the final entry deadline for The 2012 (10th Annual) American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. All ABA entries are submitted directly online through your account and the web site will be open all night to accept your entries. You can begin by registering here.
We thought it would be helpful for marketing professionals if we highlighted the top four reasons to submit entries to the 2012 ABA marketing awards categories.
- Impress potential clients.
Your work will not only be reviewed and honored by peers and competitors, but also by potential clients. Show off your organization's achievements in the 2012 ABAs.
- Global recognition and free publicity.
Gold Stevie® Award winners will have the opportunity to make a 30-second acceptance speech before an audience of 600+ executives from across the country during a nationally-broadcast awards ceremony that will also be streamed worldwide over the Internet.
- Earn industry status.
Submitting ABA entries is a great way to benchmark your achievements against competitors in your industry.
- Low entry fees.
The publicity that comes with winning a Stevie Award is well worth the low entry fees.
Marketing award entries should include the following information:
- An essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee's achievements since January 1 2011
- A biography of the nominee or the leader of the nominated company, department or team of up to 100 words
- Optional (but highly recommended), a collection of supporting files and web addresses that you may upload to our server to support your entry and provide more background information to the judges
If you have questions regarding the submission process, we have several resources including a step-by-step video on how to submit entries, past winners' entries for your review, and 7 tips on submitting winning entries to help you make the most out of your entries. Don't hesitate to contact us with your questions about how to participate in The 2012 American Business Awards, email us at help@stevieawards.com or call us at + 1 703-547-8389.
2012 ABA Finalists will be announced mid-May and the 10th Annual award winners will be announced at our traditional banquet on June 18th at the Marriott Marquis in New York City. Click here to see the ABA calendar.
Looking for more communication awards? Our corporate literature awards, annual report awards, website awards, video awards, and live event awards categories have several opportunities that would be of interest to communications professionals.
Posted by Liz Dean on Mon, Apr 16, 2012 @ 09:55 AM
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, Durham, NC, USA won a Stevie® Award for Marketing Campaign of the Year in the marketing awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. (The final entry deadline for the 2012 ABAs is April 25, you can request an entry kit here and you will receive it right away.) Here we look at how Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC) used emerging technology to help the lives of their customers.
Seeking innovative ways to reach their constituency, the marketing award winner developed HealthNAV, an application for the iPhone to help customers save time and money. Easily accessible, the app has several features, including:
An Urgent Care Finder that locates the closest in-network urgent care center anywhere you are in North Carolina and then maps the way there, and- A Find-A-Drug feature that gives average pricing for formulary drugs, including cheaper generic options, to help users save money on medications.
BCBSNC used best marketing practices to run their HealthNAV campaign which encouraged customers to download the free app. Running between October 1 and December 31, 2010, the campaign focused on advertising that would connect with people on the go. The insurance company:
- Placed ads in North Carolina’s three major airports,
- Placed posters in a popular sports and entertainment arena,
- Aired a radio spot during local broadcasts, and
- Used online banner ads.
BCBSNC's use of innovative technology paid off; during the campaign period, the app was:
- Downloaded 5,504 times,
- Opened 8,186 times,
- The Urgent Care function was accessed 6,483 times, and
- Find-a-Drug was accessed 4,449 times.
Through the development of their HealthNAV app, BCBSNC successfully showed customers that the company is both tech-savvy and looks for ways to make health care less expensive and more convenient for customers.
About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina
Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina delivers innovative health care products, services and information to more than 3.7 million members. For 76 years, the company has served its customers by offering health insurance at a competitive price and has served the people of North Carolina through support of community organizations, programs and events that promote good health. To learn more, visit www.bcbsnc.com.
Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Apr 05, 2012 @ 10:02 AM
We have added 43 new marketing awards categories to The 2012 International Business Awards to help marketing professionals highlight their successes. (The 2012 IBAs, the world's premiere business awards program, is now open for entries. Showcase your organization's best marketing practices and submit entries by the 11 April early-bird deadline for discounted entry fees. Don't worry if you can't make the 11 April early-bird deadline, the entry deadline is 16 May and we will continue to accept late entries through 27 June; request your entry kit here.)
Our marketing award categories for Marketing Campaign of the Year - Industry include:
- Accounting
- Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
- Aerospace & Defense
- Automotive & Transport Equipment
- Banking
- Business Services
- Chemicals
- Computer Hardware
- Computer Software
- Computer Services
- Conglomerates
- Consumer Products - Durables
- Consumer Products - Non-Durables
- Diversified Services
- Electronics
- Energy
- Financial Services
- Food & Beverage
- Health Products & Services
- Hospitality & Leisure
- Internet/New Media
- Insurance
- Legal
- Manufacturing
- Materials & Construction
- Media & Entertainment
- Metals & Mining
- Non-Profit Organizations
- Real Estate
- Retail
- Pharmaceuticals
- Telecommunications
- Transportation
- Utilities
Our Marketing Campaign of the Year - Specialty Categories include:
- Business-to-Business Advertising Campaign of the Year
- Business-to-Business Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Consumer Advertising Campaign of the Year
- Consumer Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Mobile Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Online Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Retail/Merchandising Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Small-Budget Marketing Campaign of the Year (<$3 million / €5 million)
- Viral Marketing Campaign of the Year
Our communication award categories include:
- Marketing Department of the Year
- Marketing Team of the Year
- Marketing Executive of the Year
Want more communications awards? There are a number of other IBA categories that should be of interest to marketing professionals, including many of the annual report awards and other literature categories, website awards categories, app awards categories, video awards categories, and live event awards categories.
Posted by Liz Dean on Thu, Apr 05, 2012 @ 09:13 AM
Kirby Wadsworth, Vice President of Global Marketing for F5 Networks, is Chair of the final judging committee for the marketing awards categories of The 2012 American Business Awards. (The final entry deadline for 10th Annual ABAs, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., is April 25; request your entry kit now.) Here Kirby shares best marketing tips for business-to-business marketing.
What are your top 3 tips on how to make your mark in business-to-business 
marketing?
- Align marketing and sales efforts into one holistic effort.
Marketing must start a conversation that sales is ready and willing to carry to conclusion. Success here requires alignment of targets, content, training, process, and compensation systems. Research proves that companies that focus on sales and marketing alignment outperform those that allow the two functions to operate orthogonally.
- Measurement is the basis for alignment.
Marketing operations should be your first investment. Fill this group with experts in data analysis who are fully up to speed on modern marketing automation systems. Don’t be afraid of what you find initially. Measurement allows you to find and fix leaks in the system, and you will find many ugly ones when you first start measuring.
- Make sure you have broad cross-functional agreement on key performance indicators (KPIs).
Make sure everyone understands and agrees with the areas you are measuring and reporting, then stick to it and report transparently on a regular basis. It's important to keep educating internal audiences, especially in finance, sales, and executive offices, on the value marketing is bringing to the business, and to do it without “taking credit.” Uniquely, marketing is both a service organization and a leadership organization, but is rarely appreciated for its contributions to pipeline.
What item of news recently caught your eye and why?
The evolution in appreciation for Big Data and Business Intelligence—these areas are quickly becoming the hottest topics in a decade. I'm particularly fascinated by the potential for virtually every enterprise to leverage the power of Big Data to improve customer experience, create customized offers, and differentiate themselves. In a lot of ways, Big Data feels like the Internet did back in the late 1990s: Lots of hype, but also massive underlying substance.
What is your favorite sport or hobby?
I use my time in airplanes and hotels to write. I'm 100,000 words into a paranormal novel that takes place in 1850s Nantucket. It’s a lot of fun.
If you could choose another profession, what would it be?
Bestselling author…
What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?
Honesty and a sense of humor.
As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
I get my motivation helping others learn and grow in our profession. Teaching and coaching others forces me to really know my stuff—or at least stay one step ahead of my employees and students. They push pretty hard, and keep me on my toes. My best day is the day I can help someone overcome a problem, learn something new, or take on a new responsibility.
About Kirby Wadsworth:
Kirby Wadsworth is Vice President of Global Marketing for F5 Networks and leads all marketing-demand generation and branding functions worldwide. Kirby has played a key role in many projects including the installation F5's global marketing function which delivers outbound communication, branding, PR/AR, marketing services, web experience, and global demand campaigns, introducing F5’s first marketing automation system, and creating a global revenue campaign model to align marketing with sales objectives. Prior to F5, Kirby served as Senior Vice President of Marketing and Business Development for several startups including Acopia Networks, Revivio, and Storability. Kirby has been named a Stevie® Award Finalist twice, and F5 received the Stevie Award for Best Marketing Campaign in The 2011 American Business Awards.
About F5 Networks:
F5 Networks, Inc., a global leader in Application Delivery Networking (ADN), helps some of the world’s largest enterprises and service providers to realize the full value of virtualization, cloud computing, and on-demand IT. F5® solutions help integrate disparate technologies to provide greater control of the infrastructure, improve application delivery and data management, and give users seamless, secure, and accelerated access to applications from their corporate desktops and smart devices. F5 products give customers the agility they need to align IT with changing business conditions, deploy scalable solutions on demand, and manage mobile access to data and services. Enterprises, service and cloud providers, and leading online companies worldwide rely on F5 to optimize their IT investments and drive business forward. For more information, go to www.f5.com.
Posted by Liz Dean on Mon, Mar 26, 2012 @ 03:50 PM
The entry deadline for The 2012 American Business Awards is this Wednesday, March 28 and we thought it would be helpful for communications professionals if we highlighted the many marketing awards categories available. (Don't fret if you can't make the entry deadline, entries for The 2012 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A., can still be submitted through the final entry deadline of April 25 with a late fee of $35.00; download your entry kit here.)
Our marketing award categories for Marketing Campaign of the Year - Industry include:
- Accounting
- Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations
- Aerospace & Defense
- Automotive & Transport Equipment
- Banking
- Business Services
- Chemicals
- Computer Hardware
- Computer Software
- Computer Services
- Conglomerates
- Consumer Products - Durables
- Consumer Products - Non-Durables
- Diversified Services
- Electronics
- Energy
- Financial Services
- Food & Beverage
- Health Products & Services
- Hospitality & Leisure
- Internet/New Media
- Insurance
- Legal
- Manufacturing
- Materials & Construction
- Media
- Metals & Mining
- Non-Profit Organizations
- Real Estate
- Retail
- Pharmaceuticals
- Telecommunications
- Transportation
- Utilities
Our Marketing Campaign of the Year - Specialty Categories include:
- Business-to-Business Advertising Campaign of the Year
- Business-to-Business Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Consumer Advertising Campaign of the Year
- Consumer Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Mobile Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Online Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Retail/Merchandising Marketing Campaign of the Year
- Small-Budget Marketing Campaign of the Year (<$3 million)
- Viral Marketing Campaign of the Year
Our communication award categories for professionals include:
- Marketing or Advertising Agency of the Year
- Marketing Department of the Year
- Marketing Team of the Year
- Marketing Executive of the Year
- Marketing Professional of the Year (for non-executive marketing professionals)
Looking for more communication awards? Our corporate literature awards, annual report awards, website awards, video awards, and live event awards categories have several opportunities that would be of interest to communications professionals.
Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Mar 21, 2012 @ 02:54 PM
BDS Marketing, Inc. of Irvine, California, USA won the Stevie® Award for Best Marketing Team in the marketing awards categories of the very first American Business Awards, back in 2003. As part of the 10th anniversary celebration of the start of the Stevie Awards movement, we've been talking with past Stevie winners to learn about how their win has positively impacted their businesses. Here we interview BDS Marketing's CEO Mark Dean. He explains how winning a Stevie Award has helped BDS, and shares some sales tips he's learned along the way. (The 2012 ABA entry deadline is March 28. Get your entry kit here and begin submitting entries today.)
BDSmktg considers itself a specialist in marketing other companies’ brands, so how has being the first company to win a Stevie Award for Best Marketing Team in The 2003 American Business Awards helped BDS to enhance its own brand?
Since winning the first Stevie Award for Best Marketing Team in 2003, we have found that current and prospective clients are excited to work with us as an award-winning company. There’s a stronger confidence, enthusiasm, and pride in our brand, and we make sure to feature our Stevie Award wins in our marketing materials.
As an industry-recognized honor, the Stevie Awards give greater credibility to our marketing campaigns. Winning the award in 2003 set the standard high for us. Since then, we continually strive to deliver award-worthy programs to each of our clients. Over the past nine years we’ve submitted our most outstanding programs for Stevie Awards, and we’re proud to have won four Stevie Awards and been Finalists in five categories. Right now, we are working on our 2012 submissions and are hoping for another win!
What events have had the most impact on your business over the past ten years?
As with most businesses, the recession definitely affected BDS. We’ve seen our Fortune 500 clients holding on to their budgets tighter, and waiting longer to make decisions to spend money on marketing services. We’ve also seen big changes in speed-to-market and the speed of connectivity, both of which have greatly impacted our business. Information is more accessible to consumers than ever before, making consumers more educated than ever before. This has caused us to evolve how we train our representatives as well as how they train sales associates. It has made us more nimble, resourceful, and creative with our training solutions.
What are your top tips for increasing sales impact?
- Don’t buy any lists. For BDS, it’s always been about the personal relationship we have with our clients.
- Our partnerships with our clients are built on trust, honesty, and integrity. BDS is built on long-term relationships: We have client partnerships that go back as far as 15 years. We’ve found that the most successful kind of business relationships come from the recommendations of our clients. We never want to be just a vendor to our clients, but their trusted partner.
What are your company’s plans for the future?
We are looking to become a larger player in the marketing industry over the next few years and are working to achieve that goal by diversifying the industries that we represent. We are also expanding our service offerings by building out our proprietary platforms in business intelligence and training, and developing innovative out-of-store concepts as we see a shift in retail formats.
What quality or qualities do you most value in your business associates?
I value the long-term team of people here at BDS. Each year our group of 5-year and 10-year employees continues to grow. We have a great culture of people here. I appreciate employees who have a passion for our clients’ business and who demonstrate their integrity and honesty on a daily basis. Our people are the heart of BDS, and without dedicated employees, the business wouldn’t have lasted 27 years
As someone at the top of your profession, what keeps you inspired or makes you hit the ground running in the morning?
- The people I work with—we have a great family here at BDS.
- Great clients—we get to work with amazing products from our top brand clients.
- The combination of our people, our clients, and representing great products, makes me excited to come to the office each day.
About Mark Dean:
As founder and CEO of BDSmktg, Mark Dean is the heart and soul of BDS. Drawing on more than 30 years of marketing and business management experience, he channels this knowledge into an organization that prizes innovation and teamwork to achieve its clients' marketing goals. Noted as an inspirational leader, Mark has an innate talent for bringing out the best in people and accepts nothing less. Mark is responsible for ensuring that BDS is a well-managed, profitable agency that is an "employer of choice" in Orange County. His responsibilities also include providing senior-level strategy and consultation services to the agency's vast client base. Mark studied public relations, journalism, and business at the University of Illinois and Northern Illinois University. He resides in Aliso Viejo, California with his wife and sons.
About BDS Marketing, Inc.:
BDSmktg is a marketing agency that delivers sales by offering customized solutions that work for its clients and are personalized to each client’s brand. The company is driven by the power of its people. Its high-performance teams generate sell-through and its client service specialists offer expertise to enhance marketing strategy. With retail as its specialty, BDS is an innovator in the areas of marketing analytics, training and learning incentives, market development, performance selling, brand advocacy, and merchandising. Clients include Canon, Dell, FedEx, Jawbone, Motorola, Sam’s Club, Toshiba, and Walmart. BDS is based in Irvine, California, and has been operating with excellence since 1984. For more information, visit www.BDSmktg.com.
Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Mar 14, 2012 @ 04:05 PM
Marketing 24/7, Inc., of Birmingham, Alabama, USA, received the Stevie® Award for Small Budget Marketing Campaign of the Year in the marketing awards categories of The 2011 American Business Awards, the premier business awards program in the U.S.A. (The 2012 ABAs are now accepting entries. Download your entry kit here and submit entries by the March 28 deadline.) Here we look at how Marketing 24/7's outreach catapulted their campaign.
About the Campaign
The Business Makeover Birmingham® (BMB®) project is an annual joint program that was started in 2008 with seven Project Partners including a bank, a sales coach, an accounting firm, an insurance company, a law firm, and the business school of a university. In 2009 and 2010, these businesses and professional service providers contributed services worth more than $30,000 each year. As part of their services, one company (nominated by Birmingham, Alabama-based companies) received a strategic business makeover.
Promoting the BMB® Contest
The communications awards winner was charged with developing and implementing a marketing campaign for both the 2009 and 2010 BMB® contests. Marketing 24/7's campaign components consisted of announcing the makeover and its services, encouraging the business community to apply, announcing the five finalists and the ultimate winner, branding the Project Partners, and providing updates regarding the winners’ makeover progress.
Shoestring Budget
The overall budget for promoting BMB® was very much “on a shoestring.” Only one-third of the initial investment by the Project Partners was devoted to advertising in the first year. In the second, the advertising component was increased to two-thirds of the total marketing budget.
Marketing 24/7 secured a free website template and hosting while leveraging social media to promote the business makeover contest.
Despite the small budget, media coverage was beyond expectation with coverage in newspapers, magazines, TV, and the Internet. The BMB® winners received extensive publicity obtained by Marketing 24/7.
Campaign Outreach
The Stevie Award winner was responsible for a number of events and activities, some of which included:
- Planning a winner’s event hosted by BMB® Project Partners where 100 businesspeople heard the lessons learned from the winner’s strategic business makeover
- Working with a city-wide business newspaper to publish frequent update articles in print and online regarding the competition’s progress and winners
- Statewide coverage of the inaugural BMB® winner in a business magazine
- The designing and placing of print ads soliciting BMB® entries and announcing the finalists and winner
- Providing media training for all Project Partners and winners in order to generate more awareness and coverage of the contest
- Creating an online feature placement blog through a major lifestyle magazine
- Providing bi-weekly updates to the BMB® website and to social media sites such as LinkedIn and Twitter
- Distributing monthly e-newsletters and “best practices” articles
- Creating numerous promotional fliers
- Developing an internal e-newsletter for the second annual BMB® winner
- Writing and distributing news releases to announce the finalists and winners for publication in major publications, online, and in the BMB® e-newsletter
- Planning a press reception for BMB® finalists
- Pitching articles for the contest winners’ business and charitable activities
- Securing numerous feature articles in two different, glossy lifestyle magazines in Birmingham, Alabama
- Landing a feature article in the Sunday Business section of Alabama’s largest newspaper for the 2010 BMB® winner
Overall Results
With more than 25 articles published over two years, this business award winning campaign has attained exceptional results for BMB® with positive media coverage for all participants. Other benefits have included:
- increased awareness from the business community;
- an up-tick in clients for Project Partners;
- substantial savings and/or increased revenues for the winners; and
- a strong following by the general public.
The winners of the contest have been delighted by the results, and many other businesses and individuals are interested in being nominated for future BMB® contests.
Marketing 24/7's Success
On being presented with a marketing award, Ruwena Healy, President of Marketing 24/7, said: “I’m honored to be a Project Partner of Business Makeover Birmingham® and to have had the opportunity to work with top leaders in the business community. This award was made possible by the efforts of a great team of marketing professionals including several from the Project Partners’ companies.”
The communications award winner added: "Winning in The American Business Awards has definitely catapulted my business into a whole different sphere. My company is now working with much bigger clients while providing the same attention to detail that allowed Marketing 24/7 to win this award.”
About Ruwena Healy:
Ruwena Healy founded Marketing 24/7 in 2005 after 18 years of experience working in banking and marketing professional services firms. Healy’s business awards for the two-year campaign of Business Makeover Birmingham include the 2010 PR News PR Platinum Award, a Clarion Award from The Association of Women in Communications, a Platinum Award from Hermes Creative Awards, and she has been a three-time Finalist in The Stevie Awards for Women In Business. Healy holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida and a master’s degree from Florida State University. She is a member of numerous professional organizations.
About Marketing 24/7:
In 2012, Marketing 24/7, Inc. celebrates its 7th anniversary of providing professionals with marketing and business development solutions. Chief Executive Officer Ruwena Healy founded the firm with the mission of providing high-level marketing and business development consulting, marketing plan development and execution, and strategic planning services to companies, entrepreneurs, and professionals. Marketing 24/7 offers expertise in personal branding and company branding, and in improving marketing and business development effectiveness for the purpose of increasing revenues and profits. For more information, visit www.marketing247.net.
Posted by Liz Dean on Tue, Feb 07, 2012 @ 09:38 AM
Emirates NBD, a United Arab Emirates bank, won the Stevie® Award for Marketing Department of the Year in the marketing awards categories of The 2011 International Business Awards. (The 2012 IBAs are now accepting entries. Get your entry kit here and submit your entries by the 11 April early-bird deadline for discounted fees.) Here we outline their innovative 360-degree marketing approach to building the leading banking brand in the UAE.
Launched in November 2009, Emirates NBD had two objectives:
- become the leading banking brand in the UAE by 2010 and,
- become a top 100 global banking brand by 2013.
With the world in the middle of a financial crisis, however, the timing was a little challenging.
Overcoming Challenges
In order to accomplish the bank’s objective of becoming a leading UAE banking brand, the Emirates NBD Group Marketing department had to build a new and powerful brand value proposition.
Based on market research of over 1,200 respondents across the Emirates, Group Marketing developed the “Enriched Banking Experience” as the reference frame for all its marketing activities. This value proposition is all about providing customers with the best possible banking experience, while at the same time engaging them in experiences beyond banking through a stronger emotional appeal.
360-Degree Marketing Approach
Led by Vikram Krishna, Head of Group Marketing at Emirates NBD, the marketing division was responsible for developing an innovative 360-degree marketing approach to implement the bank’s value proposition across all customer touch-points.
The 360-degree marketing activities included:
1. Customer Insights
Emirates NBD transitioned into an organization driven by its customers’ insights with:
• New internal publications to inform management about business/brand news, competition insights, innovations;
• Regular market research to support all major business decisions;
• A comprehensive online brand value management system.
2. Product innovations
Emirates NBD launched a number of product innovations and linked them to experiences. For example, its DNATA and Skywards credit cards made the travel experience for their users much more rewarding, and its Gold Certificates were linked to a concert by a famous Indian singer.
3. Digital Marketing
Emirates NBD gave its website a new look and feel, with new tools and content and improved search engine optimization (SEO). There were tangible results from these improvements:
- The bank became the second fastest-rising search term in the UAE on Google;
- The number of visitors increased from 0.4 to 1.5 million per month within 18 months;
- The newly designed website generated five times more leads.
4. Events & Sponsorships
Group Marketing carefully selected a number of events, based on the experience they provided, for Emirates NBD to sponsor. The 360-degree approach was applied by analyzing all potential customer touch points from A to Z. Branding and interactions with the customers in different formats were based on this research.
5. Brand Activation
The ideal brand activation is where the brand becomes part of the customer experience. This was the case with Emirates NBD’s innovative branding of the Dubai Aquarium, a core attraction in Dubai Mall.
6. Internal Branding
A brand has to come to life from the inside out. A number of initiatives were started to transform all the banks 7,000 employees into brand ambassadors. One of them was an internal campaign called “I am Emirates NBD.” Six employees who best represented the bank’s core values were featured in the campaign.
7. External Communications
Group Marketing launched a major advertising campaign called “Truth and Reality.” The campaign implemented the bank’s value proposition: Truth is a fact linked to a banking experience, whereas reality is what people make of it—and their personal experience beyond banking.
The results of this campaign were that:
- 90% of people in the bankable UAE population saw the ad
- 44% responded to the ad
- 6% became new Emirates NBD customers
Achieving Aspirations
Using the 360-degree marketing approach to implement its new brand value proposition, Emirates NBD has successfully reached its objective of becoming the No. 1 banking brand in the UAE. In the YouGov BrandIndex (a widely used tracking tool in the UAE) Emirates NBD improved its score from 17 to 26, while its competitors stayed at around 16.
According to The Banker magazine, Emirates NBD increased its brand value by US $295 million. It is now ranked in 130th position globally, and in first position in the UAE.
“We in Group Marketing are immensely proud that our efforts at building the leading banking brand in the region have succeeded in positioning Emirates NBD on a par with brands of international distinction,” said Krishna. "The past year has been a particularly successful one for Emirates NBD with many national, regional, and international awards, among which the coveted Stevie Award stands out. This award is a recognition of the effectiveness of our brand strategy and an important step forward into the international arena.”
About Vikram Krishna:
Vikram Krishna is Head of Group Marketing at Emirates NBD. He is a senior banking professional with in-depth knowledge of Retail Banking, Retail Assets, and Mortgages. Krishna has a rich and varied sales and marketing experience across financial products and brands. Before joining Emirates NBD, Krishna was Senior Vice President Marketing-Retail Assets at HSBC India. Prior to that, Krishna held the post of Vice President, Head of Mortgages for North India at CitiFinancial. Communicate Magazine (in association with Advertising Age) recently named Krishna one of the 50 most powerful media, advertising, and marketing executives in the Middle East.Krishna has a bachelor’s degree in Mathematical Studies from Delhi University and an MBA in marketing from Bharatidasan University, Tiruchirappalli, India.
About Emirates NBD:
Emirates NBD is a leading banking Group in the region with over 133 branches and over 750 ATMs and SDMs in the UAE. Emirates NBD employs more than 7.000 employees with over 50 nationalities. The Group has operations in the UAE, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Jersey (Channel Islands), and representative offices in India and Iran. For more information go to www.emiratesnbd.com/en/.
Posted by Liz Dean on Wed, Jan 11, 2012 @ 01:54 PM
We have added two new sales achievement categories to The 2012 Stevie® Awards for Sales & Customer Service to honor marketing individuals for their sales excellence. Showcase your organization's best marketing practices and submit your entries today. (Be sure to submit your entries before the January 18th deadline; request your entry kit here.)
Our new marketing awards categories are:
- Outbound Marketing Program of the Year
Recognizing marketing programs that use advertising, promotions, public relations and sales.
- Inbound Marketing Program of the Year
Recognizing marketing programs that rely on content generation, lead development, and prospect cultivation.
The following information should be included in your marketing award submissions:
- An essay of up to 500 words describing the nominee’s accomplishments since July 1, 2010 in the area covered by the category;
- A brief biography (up to 100 words) of the leader of the nominated team or department; and
- Links to online news stories, videos, photographs, press releases, etc. that support your nomination (optional).
All Finalists will be announced on January 25. Finalist benefits include:
- Free Networking Opportunities
Those who attend the 6th annual sales and customer service awards banquet will have several opportunities to meet other business leaders as well as celebrate business success.
- Opportunities to Gain New Clients
Gold Stevie Award winners will have the opportunity to make a 30-second acceptance speech before an audience of hundreds of executives from across the globe during an awards dinner that will be broadcast and streamed worldwide over the Internet - a great opportunity to gain new clients.
- Free Publicity
The publicity that comes with winning a Stevie Award is well-worth the low entry fees.
Starting in 2012, in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the start of the Stevie Awards movement, all Finalists will be recognized as Gold, Silver or Bronze Stevie Award winners. Winners will be announced at the 6th annual sales and customer service awards banquet on February 27th at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas.
Which of your organization's marketing programs will win a Stevie?