INTERNATIONAL. The Moodie Davitt Report is proud to reveal the winners of The Moodies – the airport and travel retail digital, social media & marketing awards – for 2019. The winners are being announced today through The Moodie Davitt Report website and across the title’s various social media platforms.

The awards, now in their sixth year, recognise best practice in social, digital media & marketing among the airport and wider travel retail community.

The winners were drawn from 170 shortlisted finalists across 21 categories announced earlier, generated via a mix of self-nomination or nomination by independent parties. The Moodie Davitt Digital Awards cover digital, mobile, social media and marketing activities across airports overall, plus airport retail and food & beverage.

“This year’s winners represent a masterclass of digital innovation and excellence. They also underline some pivotal trends in the industry’s use of digital media.”

Commenting on the winners list, The Moodie Davitt Report Chief Technology Officer Matt Willey said: “This year we had a record response to The Moodies, receiving around 250 direct nominations across 21 diverse categories.”

“The standard of those nominations has surpassed all the judges expectations. The quality, diversity and technological sophistication was far beyond previous years. The volume of material we had to sift through to deliver our awards winners list truly reflects the pivotal role that social and digital media now plays across travel-related commercial sectors –  and, we believe, the esteem in which The Moodies are held.”

“The major talking points include the popularity of the new KOL-led Campaign category, mirroring the heavy investment that brands and retailers have been pouring into such programmes; the rise and rise of Instagram – to a marked degree at the expense of traditional social media channels Twitter and Facebook; and the emergence of more focused and tactical marketing campaigns.

“Additionally, the entries underline the vibrancy of airport communication in general as a means of reaching out to the consumer – those prophets of doom who predicted the decline of airport advertising in the mobile-centric age will have to think again.”

A forthcoming special edition of The Moodie Davitt eZine will profile the winners of The Moodies. Winners are being invited to a special one-day event in London that will honour the winners while also presenting a state-of-the-nation examination of social and digital media best practice in our industry. Details to be revealed soon.

The Moodies 2019 – Winners List

Best Use of Facebook

This award examines successful Facebook strategies and how the platform was used to share messages and create an engaged community around the brand or airport.

  • Cork Airport – Winner, Airport

  • Delhi Duty Free-  Winner, Commercial Operator

  • Copenhagen Airport – Highly Commended


Best Use of Twitter

We wanted to find the best examples of how Twitter was utilised within an overall marketing strategy, how did it deliver against objectives and how was success measured?

  • Dublin Airport – Winner, Airport

  • Delhi Duty Free –Winner, Commercial Operator


Best Use of Instagram

In this category we wanted to explore how Instagram has been integrated into campaign planning and the marketing mix. How did it enhance the message and how did it exceed objectives?

  • Copenhagen Airport – Winner, Airport

  • BTA Havalimanlari – Cakes & Bakes –Winner, Commercial Operator

  • Dublin Airport – Highly Commended


Best YouTube/Video Campaign

This award sought to highlight the best video projects and campaigns from 2018/19, those that have delivered exceptional audience engagement and moved airport, retailer or brand awareness beyond the business environment.

  • Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco – Navidad – Winner, Airport

  • Beauty Unlimited – The Shilla Duty Free– Winner, Commercial Operator

  • You’re So Beautiful – Lotte Duty Free –Highly Commended


Best Use of WeChat

This award examines how WeChat has featured within a campaign or business to enhance the business or marketing message and deliver increased audience or spend.

  • King Power International (Thailand) –Winner, Commercial Operator

  • L’Oréal Travel Retail Americas – Giorgio Armani Lip Vibes – Winner, Brand

  • Lagardère Travel Retail – Red Pockets – Highly Commended


Best Agency

Which was the best digital advertising, marketing or creative agency and how did their work drive brand recognition for their travel retail clients in 2018/19?

  • PSI – Winner


Best Collaboration Campaign

The winning campaigns needed to demonstrate creativity, innovation and best practice across multiple platforms and channels across more than one organisation.

  • Cartier – Santos Cartier x DFS Big Bang – Joint Winner

  • The Shilla Duty Free – The Beauty House with LaPrairie – Joint Winner


Best Omnichannel Campaign

This award recognises organisations that have successfully integrated various digital and social channels into a highly successful and cohesive campaign.

  • L’Oréal Travel Retail Americas – Lancôme L.A Lip Art – Winner

  • Shiseido NARS Lip Gallery – Highly Commended

  • L’Oréal – #YSLBeautyHotel – Highly Commended


Best Competition

In this category we were seeking a competition or contest in 2018/19 that delivered exceptional results and contributed to sustainable business growth.

  • Kempegowda International Airport – 10 Week Celebration – Winner, Airport

  • HMSHost – Channel Your Inner Chef –Winner, Commercial Operator

  • George Best Belfast City Airport in partnership with Lighthouse Communications – 12 Days of Christmas – Highly Commended


Best Launch/Relaunch

We wanted to recognise examples of exceptional strategies used to support the launch/relaunch of a new product or service by a brand, retailer or airport.

  • Copenhagen Airport – New Shopping & Restaurant Area – Winner, Airport

  • JCDecaux – HKIA Huawei Mate 20 Pro – Winner, Agency

  • Diageo – White Walker – Joint Winner, Brand

  • Cartier – Santos Cartier X DFS – Joint Winner, Brand


Best KOL-Led Campaign

This award recognises the best partnership between KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) and airports, retailers and brands in campaigns that clearly demonstrate exceptional results in terms of audience, influence and return on investment.

  • Changi Airport Group – #BelanjaDiChangi – Winner, Airport

  • The Shilla Duty Free – Beauty Class –Winner, Retailer

  • HMSHost – Eat Well Travel Further – Winner, Food & Beverage Operator

  • L’Oréal Travel Retail Americas – YSL Dare to Stage – Winner, Brand


Best Branding Advertising

This award recognises the biggest, brightest and most impactful advertising executions by airports, retailers and brands in the travel retail channel in 2018/19.

  • Mumbai Duty Free/Flemingo Travel Retail – MDFIF Shopping Festival –Winner, Commercial Operator

  • Shiseido Travel Retail – Ultimune #StrongSouls – Winner, Brand

  • Diageo – White Walker  – Highly Commended

  • Schiphol Group – Rituals – Highly Commended


Best Tactical Advertising Campaign

This award recognises the best examples of an innovative short-term advertising campaigns that delivered significant exposure for the client or brand.

  • Autogrill Belgie – Black Pearls Brussels Airport –Winner, Commercial Operator

  • oOH! – Lexus Melbourne Cup – Winner, Agency

  • PSI/Gyro – Workplace by Facebook – Highly Commended

  • JCDecaux – Tmall New Retail Concept – Highly Commended


Best Native Campaign

This awards highlights innovative native solutions that integrated seamlessly into the business and campaign and drove significant ROI for the client.

  • Schiphol Group – UnionPay GoldenWeek – Winner


Best CSR-Focused Campaign

This category awards recognised the most innovative Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and how digital platforms were used to advocate for important social causes.

  • HMSHost – Food Fight for Veterans – Winner, Commercial Operator

  • Distell – Amarula World Elephant Day – Winner, Brand

  • Aeropuerto Internacional de Carrasco – First Flight School of Football – Highly Commended


Best Employee Engagement

This award highlights the best technologies and initiatives in employee engagement that have contributed ongoing success to the businesses involved.

  • Lagardère Travel Retail – The Innovation Boosters –Winner, Commercial Operator

  • Ethos Farm – Worklife App – Winner, Technology Platform

  • 27 Stella/FlyinStyle – BNA Insiders – Highly Commended

  • Versilia Solutions – JetSMART Crew Engagement – Highly Commended


Best Use of Real-time/Geolocation

In this category we were looking for the best examples of campaigns that delivered an impressive audience level to an event or launch in real-time or by using Geolocation technology.

  • Shiseido Travel Retail – Dolce & Gabbana Light Blue & The One – Winner

  • William Grant & Sons – Make it Monkey – Highly Commended


Best e/M Commerce

This award recognises the most effective use of e-commerce and mobile to achieve a specific marketing outcome within airport travel and retail environment.

  • AOE – Heathrow Boutique – Winner

  • Aberdeen Airport – Frictionless Online Booking – Winner, Targeted


Best Use of Mobile

For this awards entries were required to demonstrate how they used the mobile platform to offer innovative, useful or engaging mobile content, services, applications or utilities.

  • Groupe ADP – Paris Airport Application – Winner, Airport

  • Jessica’s Secret  – Beijing Miracle Capital Investment Consulting – Winner, Consumer Technology

  • Ethos Farm – Worklife App – Winner, Business Technology


Best Website Overall

This awards highlights the excellence in the development of websites and microsites. It focuses on the functionality, overall structure, navigation, UX and UI design, use of content and the results delivered.

  • Aberdeen Airport – Winner, Airport

  • Delhi Duty Free –Winner, Commercial Operator

  • Ireland West Airport – Highly Commended


Best Use of Social/Digital Media

This final category recognises the best campaigns, initiatives or programmes that use digital, mobile and social to build strong relationships while driving core business objectives.

  • Copenhagen Airport – Winner, Airport

  • Delhi Duty Free – Winner, Commercial Operator

  • L’Oréal Travel Retail Americas – Winner, Brand

  • Mondelez World Travel Retail – Highly Commended

  • Heretix360 – Highly Commended


Final Judging Criteria

The judges were looking for clear objectives, creative and effective implementation and tangible and demonstrable results in the campaign award categories.

Each entry was judged under the following headings:

•   Total budget & objectives

•   Target audience & strategy

•   Implementation & creativity 

•   Results & evaluation

Additional criteria:

Quantifiable impact
Judges used quantifiable yardsticks to measure the impact of each nomination. For instance, nominated Facebook pages were rated by the number of ‘likes’ and ‘check ins’; YouTube presence was rated by the number of ‘views’; and the number of ‘followers’ generated by a Twitter account was noted. For airports, annual traffic was taken into account when assessing the number of ‘likes’, ‘views’ or ‘followers’ their social media presence generates.

Customer engagement
Many companies are present in social media, but often they fail to update that presence or use it to create a meaningful relationship with their customers. Our judges rated nominations according to how well companies engaged with their customers through digital and social media, the level of interaction they achieved, and the quality of the conversation they generated.

Visual appeal
Visual quality and impact is critical across all categories, our judges were looking for creativity, quality of imagery and excellence in execution.

Quality of content
The ways in which companies use digital and social media vary considerably. Our judges focussed on originality and breadth of content, and on the methods employed to win the traveller’s attention. Extra merit was earned by companies that did more than merely sell a product or service, but used new media to create excitement and interest in the location in which they operate.

Incentive to spend
Our judges were looking at how airports and operators are using digital and social media to win spend from travellers? And how they ensure that those travellers become loyal customers?

Impact on the traveller experience
Today most travellers use mobile devices when they travel. The Moodie Davitt Digital Awards examined how airports and retailers have tapped into the SoLoMo – Social, Local and Mobile – trend to make their customers’ experience easier and more enjoyable, whether through practical information, gift incentives or other initiatives.