Corporate digital communications should be exciting. It should be innovative. It should be strategic. And most of all, it should achieve an impact for the organisation in question. The winners at the 2018 Digital Impact Awards lived up to this, and then some.

Setting the benchmark in strategic digital communications, the winners of this year’s awards offered a fresh approach to digital in a corporate setting.

The ‘Campaign of the year’ winner was a prime example as Cory Riverside Energy sought to engage with a specific, targeted group of stakeholders. Without the ability to have people visit the company’s recycling and energy from waste plants in person, Cory worked with Vismedia to craft an immersive experience that brought the business to them. This made a big impact and ultimately played a key part in setting the tone for Cory’s subsequent, successful acquisition by investors.

The winner of the ‘Agency of the year’ award, TMW Unlimited unveiled a series of excellent work in corporate digital communications, perhaps the most impactful of which was Shell UK’s health and safety film series. The films used real-life stories from Shell employees, told in a documentary style but with real emotion behind them. The films made a difference to health and safety in the UK and the format has since been expanded to other markets.

Finally, the winner of ‘In-house team of the year,’ the Church of England has been recognised for its efforts over the past few years in building a digital function where once there was none. The church is now digitally savvy and explores new technologies – like Amazon’s Alexa voice assistant – with ease.

Brittany Golob, editor of Communicate magazine, says, “This year’s Digital Impact Awards did not disappoint in terms of creativity. Each of the winners exhibited a willingness to go beyond simply employing digital strategies with efficacy. Instead, they approached digital communications with a sense of inventiveness and imaginativeness. They pushed the boundaries of what has been achieved in corporate digital communications thus far.”

The full list of those celebrated for their excellence in digital corporate communications is below.

Deliverables

Best corporate website  
Gold – Diageo and Superunion
Gold – The Church of England
Silver – Clinigen and Emperor
Bronze – Glencore and Conran Design Group
Bronze – Linklaters and LEWIS Global Communications
Highly commended – Currie & Brown and SampsonMay

Best corporate app  
Gold – The Church of England
Silver – Debenhams and Publicis.Sapient
Bronze – Nationwide Building Society and Sequel Group
Bronze – Numis and LEWIS Global Communications

Best use of SEO for corporate communications  
Gold – PartyCasino and Verve Search

Best use of mobile and portable devices  
Gold – Lynx, Unilever and TMW Unlimited
Silver – Numis and LEWIS Global Communications

Best use of digital to aid a CSR campaign  
Gold – Turkcell and the Gang Agency

Best digital rebrand  
Gold – Kasowitz Benson Torres and Living Group
Silver – Greensill and Omobono
Bronze – Little Tikes and the Bigger Boat
Bronze – PegasusLife and Freestyle

Best use of online video  
Gold – Kasowitz Benson Torres and Living Group
Silver – Captain Morgan and 1000heads
Silver – Kinder Bueno, Ferrero and TMW Unlimited
Bronze – Octapharma AG and Luminous
Highly commended – NATS and Emperor

Best corporate viral campaign  
Gold – Shell Retail UK and TMW Unlimited
Silver – Turkcell and the Gang Agency
Bronze – NOW TV and Fever PR

Best digital communication as part of an integrated campaign   
Gold – Marie Curie and Hope&Glory
Silver – Zoflora (Crufts) and Mosquito Digital
Bronze – SEGRO plc
Bronze – Zoflora (RHS Flower Show) and Mosquito Digital
Highly commended – Direct Line and drp
Highly commended – Resilience Direct and CDS

Social media

Best use of existing social media platforms: small budget – <£20k
Gold – The Church of England
Silver – Tour de Yorkshire and Welcome to Yorkshire
Silver – Zoflora and Mosquito Digital
Bronze – Argos and Hope&Glory
Bronze – Warner Bros. UK and Wilderness Agency

Best use of existing social media platforms: medium budget – £20k-£75k
Gold – Iceland Foods and Tangerine Communications
Silver – Dock & Bay and Born Social
Bronze – Marie Curie and Hope&Glory
Bronze – Marriott International and ignis

Best use of existing social media platforms: large budget – £75K+
Gold – Chilly's Bottles and Born Social

Best community development  
Gold – Gumtree and 1000heads
Silver – Unforgettable and Born Social
Bronze – Zoflora and Mosquito Digital

Best use of digital to an internal audience

Best intranet  
Gold – Espria and One Shoe
Silver – Unilever

Best digital employee communication  
Gold – Shell Retail UK and TMW Unlimited
Gold – Worcester Bosch and drp
Silver – Legal and General and VideoSmart
Bronze – HSBC
Highly commended – AstraZeneca and Ruder Finn

Best use of digital to an investment audience

Best online annual report  
Gold – Octapharma AG and Luminous
Silver – UK Power Networks and Instinctif Partners
Bronze – Henry Boot plc and Jones and Palmer
Highly commended – BT Group plc and Emperor
Highly commended – N Brown Group plc and SampsonMay

Best use of digital to aid media relations

Best online newsroom  
Gold – Bacardi Global Brands and TVC Group
Silver – Amnesty International and 93digital

Evaluation

Best evaluation strategy  
Gold – The Clean Space and Digital Clarity
Silver – Smart Energy GB and Hall & Partners, Google Brand Lab and Annalect

Best use of digital by sector

Best use of digital by a charity, NGO or NFP
Gold – Encephalitis Society and the Distance | App Developers
Gold – The Church of England
Silver – Wellcome Collection
Bronze – British Heart Foundation
Bronze – Harrison's Fund and Orbital Media and DoubleMe
Highly commended – Breast Cancer Now and Crunch Simply Digital

Best use of digital from the education sector
Gold – Cognita Schools and Converted
Silver – High Speed 2 and Bray Leino
Bronze – The Royal Hospital School and Briscoe French PR | Media | Digital
Bronze – Wellcome Trust
Highly commended – Clayesmore School and Rooster Marketing

Best use of digital from the energy and utilities sector
Gold – Smart Energy GB and AMV, PHD and PD3
Silver – UK Power Networks and Instinctif Partners
Bronze – npower and 1000heads
Highly commended – IBERDROLA

Best use of digital from the engineering and manufacturing sector
Gold – Cory Riverside Energy and Vismedia
Silver – RS Components
Bronze – Worcester Bosch and drp
Highly commended – WinGD and Oakwood

Best use of digital from the financial services sector
Gold – Lloyds Banking Group plc and Sequel Group
Silver – Direct Line and drp
Bronze – Chill Insurance and Click Consult
Bronze – Royal London and Wardour
Highly commended – Numis and LEWIS Global Communications
Highly commended – The Investment Association and Cicero Group

Best use of digital from the food and beverage sector
Gold – Captain Morgan and 1000heads
Gold – Thomas Ridley Foodservice and NetXtra
Silver – Greggs and Taylor Herring
Bronze – Appletiser and Brands2Life

Best use of digital from the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector
Gold – Covonia and Bray Leino
Silver – AXA PPP healthcare and Bottle
Highly commended – NHG and One Shoe

Best use of digital from the mining and extractives sector
Gold – Fugro and Bray Leino
Silver – Cairn Energy plc and Emperor

Best use of digital from the professional services sector
Gold – Kasowitz Benson Torres and Living Group
Silver – Accenture and Omobono
Bronze – Linklaters and LEWIS Global Communications

Best use of digital from the property sector
Gold – Willmott Dixon mi|digital and Tribus Digital and MadeByPi
Silver – Countrywide and Three Whiskey
Silver – SEGRO plc
Bronze – Ashcourt Student Accommodation and Sonin App Development

Best use of digital from the public services sector
Gold – Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and Rocktime

Best use of digital from the retail sector
Gold – Carphone Warehouse and 1000heads
Silver – Bose Corporation and MediaCom Worldwide
Silver – Greggs and Taylor Herring
Bronze – Lenstore and Verve Search

Best use of digital from the technology, media and telecommunications sector
Gold – Sky and Digitas
Silver – Gemalto and Wardour
Silver – Turkcell (61Cell) and the Gang Agency
Bronze – Tatlin and Sonin App Development
Highly commended – Turkcell (Tango) and the Gang Agency

Best use of digital from the transport and logistics sector
Gold – DHL Parcel and One Shoe
 
Best use of digital from the travel, leisure and tourism sector
Gold – Virgin Trains
Silver – lastminute.com and Builtvisible
Bronze – PartyCasino and Verve Search
Bronze – Small Luxury Hotels of the World and Emperor
Highly commended – Kwik Fit and Click Consult

Digital campaign of the year
Winner – Cory Riverside Energy and Vismedia

Digital agency of the year
Winner – TMW Unlimited

Digital in-house team of the year
Winner – The Church of England