DSE2020 APEX Awards
SUBMISSION DEADLINE – DECEMBER 18, 2019
Entry Fee $195 per project.
The DSE APEX Awards, presented by the Digital Signage Federation, recognize and honor achievement in the creation and installation of compelling viewer content and interactive technology. Since inception, the APEX Awards have honored hundreds of companies for innovative projects that have met and/or exceeded project goals while providing meaningful ROI and ROO for clients, thereby advancing the digital signage industry.
HOW TO NOMINATE FOR AN AWARD
1. Review the entire SUBMISSION INFORMATION in the section below or download the pdf, which includes a text version of the online submission form for reference.
2. Complete the online SUBMISSION FORM
WHY YOU SHOULD ENTER YOUR PROJECT
- Gain recognition in the industry as a cutting-edge technology leader
- Compete against your peers and share industry best practices for installation, content creation and deployment
- Create word-of-mouth buzz for your nominated project during DSE at our popular Networking Reception (Wednesday 4/1)
- Showcase your project during DSE on the show floor in our APEX Awards Gallery Wednesday (4/1) and Thursday (4/2)
- Receive a project profile on the Digitial Signage Federation website
- Publish your case study on Digital Signage Connection after the show
APEX AWARDS SUBMISSION INFORMATION
NOMINATION SUBMISSION PROCEDURES
For your convenience, the entry form is in digital format. Upon submission, you will receive a confirmation email as proof of your entry.
IMPORTANT: To help expedite your entry process, review the entire NOMINATION SUBMISSION QUESTIONS found on page 7 of the Submission Information pdf. The downloadble pdf also includes a text version of the digital submission form for reference.
HOW TO QUALIFY
Nominees must have a new or current digital signage or interactive technology program installed between November 1, 2018 and October 31, 2019. Updated content for existing digital signage installations that began running during the same time period will also qualify.
Projects that are under NDAs (confidentiality agreements) do not qualify for entry.
WHO MAY NOMINATE AN AWARD
The nominating companies can be:
- the venues where the installation/content is/was housed (recommended)
- the architects and/or design firms who conceived the project
- the technology providers that provided the installation hardware and/or software
- the system integrators who did the installation
A single company is permitted to submit multiple nominations for separate projects.
*NOTE: Duplicate entries will be combined.
IMPORTANT DATES – Subject to change
July 24, 2019 – Call for entries opens
December 18, 2019 – Deadline to submit entries
February 25, 2020 – Finalists announced
April 1, 2020 – 16th Annual DSE APEX Awards Ceremony, Las Vegas.
PRESENTATION AT NETWORKING RECEPTION
The awards will be presented during the ceremony on Wednesday, April 1 at 6:00 pm, which immediately follows our popular Networking Reception (5:00 – 6:00 pm). While finalists will be announced prior to DSE, Gold Award winners will not be notified ahead of time. All nominees are strongly encouraged to make plans to attend the awards ceremony and have a speech prepared in case you are announced as a Gold winner.
ENTRY FEES
Early Bird – $145 per nomination (through October 4, 2019)
Regular Fee – $195 per nomination (October 5 through December 18, 2019)
Change Request Fee – If there is a request to modify an original entry, there will be an additional $75 fee imposed that must be paid before the change is made. This includes wording, images and video. No changes can be made after the entries have been submitted to the judges.
Entry fees must be paid in full by December 18, 2019. Any nominees that have not submitted payment by this date will be disqualified. Entry fees are non-refundable (includes withdrawn entries).
AWARD CATEGORIES
The DSE APEX Awards will be awarded to three outstanding entries – Gold, Silver and Bronze – in a total of 12 categories listed below. Additionally, the APEX Installation of the Year, APEX Integrator of the Year and APEX Content of the Year Awards will be presented to three overall winners.
Corporate Environments
(external or internal corporate communication installations, including office building lobbies)
Digital-Out-Of-Home
Accepting nominations in the following categories:
- Large Format / Spectacular
- Mobile DOOH
- Mobile Integrated DOOH Campaign
- PSA / Media for Social Impact
Educational Environments
(colleges, schools and universities)
Entertainment & Recreation
(amusement parks, casinos, fitness centers, golf courses, movie theaters, national/state parks, art galleries, museums, dedicated digital art installations)
Experiential Design & Planning
(installations that captivate users with multiple displays and technologies that create an environment of interactivity and virtual experiences)
Healthcare Environments
(hospitals, clinics, doctors’ and dentists’ offices)
Hospitality
(hotels, cruise ships, motels)
Public Spaces
(interior/exterior installations in multi-branded shopping or gathering places such as malls, city squares/plazas)
Restaurants, Bars and Foodservices
(QSR, Fast Casual, specialty restaurants, bars & nightclubs)
Retail Environments
(all retail stores including grocery and convenience stores)
Transportation
(airports, subway/train stations, airplanes, rail cars, buses & bus shelters, taxis)
Venues
(stadiums, arenas, amphitheaters, convention centers, performing arts centers)
THREE OVERALL WINNERS
Installation of the Year: The APEX Installation of the Year Award honors the most innovative use of hardware, software, and content as a whole. This project entry should be a shining example of digital signage spectacle, measurable business impact, and experiential design and execution. The submission must outline the objective and clearly show how the solution accomplished that goal.
Integrator of the Year: This APEX Award honors the company that had the most successful overall year, with multiple project installations that achieved goals based on the criteria of challenge, creativity, ROI and ROO. The award will be based on three or more primary projects completed since October 2018. A narrative for each project is required with the submission. Each narrative should include project scope, project objectives, images and proof of success from the point of view of the customer, user, and integrator. Projects submitted for Integrator of the Year do not need to have been included as another APEX Award entry.
Content of the Year: As they say, content is king, and the APEX Content of the Year Award is reserved for the project deployment that best transcended its physical technology and created a meaningful experience for the audience or end user through valuable messaging and creative message delivery.
CRITERIA FOR JUDGING
Nominated installations and content will be evaluated by a panel of independent industry judges who are members in good standing of the Digital Signage Federation. Projects will be judged on:
Challenge – What was the objective of the installation? What was the size, scope or unique requirements of the deployment? What strategies were used to design the installation, and what technology was deployed to ensure a successful implementation?
Creativity – What differentiates digital signage content is the ability to direct messaging to a specific audience for a specific purpose. Was the installation design and/or content original or imaginative? More importantly, does the visual take advantage of digital signage and meet the objective outlined in the objective statement?
Result – Depending on the project, success may be judged by return on investment (ROI) or return on objective (ROO). To what extent did the digital signage or interactive technology deployment and/or content meet either quantitative or qualitative goals and objectives of the installation and benefit the viewer?
NOTIFICATIONS & TROPHIES
Finalists will be notified on or before February 25, 2020. You are encouraged to notify all partners involved with your project to ensure proper credit. Only the project/venue nominee will receive a trophy if named a finalist. Additional trophies may be ordered for all partners (including the nominating company) after the show.
PHOTO AND VIDEO REQUIREMENTS
Photos and videos help our judges with scoring each entry as they are able to see how the installation and/or content displays in real life. The better picture you are able to paint for the judges, the better they will fully understand the installation/content, which will lead to higher scores.
PHOTOS
A minimum of one (1) photo is required, and the maximum is five (5). Photos should be large-format and high-resolution (300 dpi) ONLY. Professional photos are highly recommended. Low-resolution images will automatically disqualify your entry.
VIDEOS
A minimum of one (1) video is required, and the maximum is two (2).
Your video submission must be HD, no longer than 5 minutes, and preferably an MP4 which will be uploaded via our online submission form. SUBMITTING LINKS TO VIDEOS HOSTED ON YOUTUBE, VIMEO OR OTHER SITES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
If recorded on an iPhone or Android device, the video must be shot in landscape orientation. Videos must not contain any profanity.
Your video should explain: 1) the project objective; 2) the technology solution(s) used in the deployment of your digital signage display or network; 3) the content displayed on the screens, and; 4) how the content met the objective of the project.
An APEX Awards committee member will review the submission and, if approved, the submission will appear as part of the submission materials, and segments of the video may be played during the Awards Ceremony at DSE.
For video examples of APEX Award-winning projects, visit Digital Signage Connection’s Case Studies page here to get a feel for submissions from past winners and finalists.
PHOTO AND VIDEO FILE NAMING
Make sure to clearly identify your company and entry name in the file names of your photos and videos. Do not have spaces between the words of your file name. Use underscores or hyphens if needed.
Example – Please name your files in this format:
CompanyName_ApexAwards_CategoryName_EntryName.extension
A correct filename would be:
XYZcompany_ApexAwards_Education_DSEHighSchool.jpg
*If you are submitting more than one photo or video file, please append the number 1 or 2, etc. at the end of the filename.
Example – XYZcompany_ApexAwards_Education_DSEHighSchool_1.jpg
Example – XYZcompany_ApexAwards_Education_DSEHighSchool_2.jpg
DIRECTIONS FOR UPLOADING PHOTO AND VIDEO FILES
PHOTOS – You may upload a maximum of five (5) individual photo files using the uploader buttons located in Section 5 of the nomination submission form. Click “Browse” and then select the appropriate file(s) on your computer.
Photos should be large-format and high-resolution (300 dpi) ONLY. Professional photos are highly recommended. Low-resolution images will automatically disqualify your entry.
VIDEOS – After you submit your nomination form, you will be taken to a completion page where you will find a video upload form. Fill in the company information. Then, click “Browse” and select the appropriate file(s) on your computer. All video files will be submitted to a secure server that is managed by Digital Signage Expo and hosted by ShareFile.
You may upload a maximum of two (2) video files. SUBMITTING LINKS TO VIDEOS HOSTED ON YOUTUBE, VIMEO OR OTHER SITES WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.
