DSA Taking Entries For Content Awards; Big & Small Budget Work Judged Separately

August 22, 2012 by Dave Haynes

The Digital Screenmedia Association has started accepting entries for its DSA Crown Awards, “recognizing the impact of excellent content in out-of-home environments through the use of digital signage, self-service kiosks, and/or mobile technology.”

New this time around, which I like, is parsing the entries by two categories, by budget – less or greater than $10K. So this mean’s Dave’s Bait Shop can enter the Point of Sale category with its $63 creative and have a shot, given Cabela’s spot would be entered in the $10K plus section. It is more than just possible to do creative on a shoestring budget, but it makes a bunch of sense to differentiate things in this way.

Companies may enter work in one or more of the following categories:

• Point of Sale (shoppers – such as retail, restaurant menu boards, etc.)
• Point of Transit (people on the go – such as airports, digital billboards, etc.)
• Point of Wait (dwell time – such waiting for a table, waiting in line, waiting room, etc.)

Cost to enter is $195 per entry for DSA members and $225 for non-members. All entries will require the submission of a photo of the screen in its environment and a video of the content. The content must have been aired between September 1, 2011 and August 31, 2012 to be eligible.

Entrants will be asked to describe the venue, objectives, targeted demographics and results. Judges will use the following criteria and weighting:

• Did the content meet the objectives? (50%)
• Was the content engaging? (30%)
• Did the content fit the environment? (10%)
• Did the content fit the audience? (10%)

“Content often makes or breaks a digital out-of-home project,” says David Drain, DSA executive director. “The DSA Crown Awards spotlight what effective content looks like.”

I’d say it’s more than just “often” and closer to always, but you get the drift.

Winners will be announced during a DSA event Nov. 7 in New York City, coinciding with the Customer Engagement Technology World trade show.