That is true of this year’s shortlisted entrants to the Digital Impact Awards. The awards, which benchmarks excellence in strategic digital communications, has seen quality projects from both B2B and B2C organisations. The work impressed the panel of in-house judges and resulted in a comprehensive shortlist for this year’s awards.

One category, ‘Best corporate website,’ saw heated debate due to the high standard across all the entries. It proves that corporate websites are no longer boring placeholders but essentially the face of the brand. Additionally, digital communications in the charity sector has evolved to include complex, exciting campaigns that see huge return for charities on minimal budgets. For consumer-facing brands, digital can be a way of promoting brand awareness and loyalty while establishing a strong positioning in the market. For B2B companies, digital continues to be a crucial aspect of communications from PR to marketing.

“This year’s Digital Impact Awards shortlist represents the best in digital corporate communications,” Brittany Golob, publishing editor of Communicate magazine says. “The wide-ranging shortlist represents the plethora of opportunities available through digital and the creative solutions companies have developed for engaging with audiences through digital communications. We’re pleased to see an increase in entries as well as the continued ability for the Digital Impact Awards to set the benchmark for excellence in digital communications.”

Winners of the 2018 Digital Impact Awards will be announced on 16 October at the Hilton Park Lane in London. Book your table now.

The full shortlist is as follows:

Best corporate website 

Clinigen and Emperor

Currie & Brown and SampsonMay

Diageo and Superunion

Glencore plc and Conran Design Group

Linklaters and LEWIS Global Communications

The Church of England

 

Best corporate app 

Debenhams and Publicis.Sapient

Nationwide Building Society and Sequel Group

Numis and LEWIS Global Communications

The Church of England

 

Best use of SEO for corporate communications 

PartyCasino and Verve Search

 

Best use of mobile and portable devices 

Lynx, Unilever and TMW Unlimited

Numis and LEWIS Global Communications

 

Best use of digital to aid a CSR campaign 

Turkcell

 

Best digital rebrand 

Greensill and Omobono

Kasowitz Benson Torres and Living Group

Little Tikes and The Bigger Boat

PegasusLife and Freestyle

 

Best use of online video 

Captain Morgan and 1000heads

Kasowitz Benson Torres and Living Group

Kinder Bueno, Ferrero and TMW Unlimited

NATS and Emperor

Octapharma AG and Luminous

 

Best corporate viral campaign 

NOW TV and Fever PR

Shell Retail UK and TMW Unlimited

Turkcell

 

Best digital communication as part of an integrated campaign  

Direct Line and drp

Marie Curie and Hope&Glory

Resilience Direct and CDS

Segro

Zoflora (Crufts) and Mosquito Digital

Zoflora (RHS Flower Show) and Mosquito Digital

 

Best use of existing social media platforms: small budget - <£20k

Argos and Hope&Glory

The Church of England

Warner Brothers UK and Wilderness Agency

Tour de Yorkshire and Welcome to Yorkshire

Zoflora and Mosquito Digital

 

Best use of existing social media platforms:  medium budget - £20k-£75k

Dock & Bay and Born Social

Iceland Foods and Tangerine

Marie Curie and Hope&Glory

Marriott International and Ignis

 

Best use of existing social media platforms:  large budget - £75K+

Chilly's Bottles and Born Social

 

Best community development 

Gumtree and 1000heads

Unforgettable and Born Social

Zoflora and Mosquito Digital

 

Best intranet 

Espria and One Shoe

Unilever

 

Best digital employee communication 

AstraZeneca and Ruder Finn

HSBC and POSSIBLE

Legal and General and VideoSmart

Shell Retail UK and TMW Unlimited

Worcester Bosch and drp

 

Best online annual report 

BT Group plc and Emperor

Henry Boot plc and Jones and Palmer

N Brown plc and SampsonMay

Octapharma AG and Luminous

UK Power Networks and Instinctif Partners

 

Best online newsroom 

Amnesty International and 93digital

Bacardi and TVC Group

 

Best evaluation strategy 

Smart Energy GB and Hall & Partners, Google Brand Lab and Annalect

The Clean Space and Digital Clarity

Best use of digital by a charity, NGO or NFP

Breast Cancer Now and Crunch Simply Digital

British Heart Foundation

Encephalitis Society and The Distance | App Developers

Harrison's Fund and Orbital Media and Advertising

The Church of England

Wellcome Collection

 

Best use of digital from the education sector

Clayesmore School and Rooster Marketing

Cognita Schools and Converted

High Speed 2 and Bray Leino

The Royal Hospital School and Briscoe French PR | Media | Digital

Wellcome Trust

 

Best use of digital from the energy and utilities sector

Iberdrola S.A.

npower and 1000heads

Smart Energy GB and AMV, PHD and PD3

UK Power Networks and Instinctif Partners

 

Best use of digital from the engineering and manufacturing sector

Cory Riverside Energy and Vismedia

RS Components

WinGD and Oakwood

Worcester Bosch and drp

 

Best use of digital from the mining and extractives sector

Cairn Energy plc and Emperor

Fugro and Bray Leino

 

Best use of digital from the financial services sector

Chill Insurance and Click Consult

Direct Line and drp

Lloyds Banking Group plc and Sequel Group

Numis and LEWIS Global Communications

Royal London and Wardour

The Investment Association and Cicero Group

 

Best use of digital from the food and beverage sector

Appletiser and Brands2Life

Captain Morgan and 1000heads

Greggs and Taylor Herring

Thomas Ridley Foodservice and NetXtra

 

Best use of digital from the healthcare and pharmaceuticals sector

AXA PPP Healthcare and Bottle

NHG and One Shoe

Thornton & Ross and Bray Leino

 

Best use of digital from the professional services sector

Accenture and Omobono

Kasowitz Benson Torres and Living Group

Linklaters and LEWIS Global Communications

 

Best use of digital from the property sector

Countrywide and Three Whiskey

Segro

Ashcourt Student Accommodation and Sonin App Development

Willmott Dixon mi|digital and Tribus Digital and MadeByPi

 

Best use of digital from the public services sector

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and Rocktime

 

Best use of digital from the retail sector

Bose Corporation and MediaCom Worldwide

Carphone Warehouse and 1000heads

Greggs and Taylor Herring

Lenstore and Verve Search

 

Best use of digital from the technology, media and telecommunications sector

Gemalto and Wardour

Sky and Digitas

Tatlin and Sonin App Development

Turkcell (61Cell)

Turkcell (Tango)

 

Best use of digital from the transport and logistics sector

DHL Parcel and One Shoe

 

Best use of digital from the travel, leisure and tourism sector

Kwik Fit and Click Consult

lastminute.com and Builtvisible

PartyCasino and Verve Search

Small Luxury Hotels of the World and Emperor

Virgin Trains

 

‘Digital campaign of the year,’ ‘Digital agency of the year’ and ‘Digital in-house team of the year’ cannot be entered and will be announced on the night