Digital Innovation Asia recognize the most innovative and forward-thinking digital work in travel and tourism in Asia Pacific

Nominations are open for the inaugural DIA Awards, held at Bed Supperclub in Bangkok on June 10th

Bangkok, May 9, 2013: In association with Digital Innovation Asia (DIA) and the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), Travel Daily News Asia is delighted to announce that nominations for the Digital Innovation Asia Awards are open.

The Digital Innovation Asia Awards recognize the most forward thinking yet performance-oriented digital innovations in the Pacific Asia travel and tourism industry. The DIA Awards will be celebrated at famous BED Supperclub in Bangkok on June 10th from 8-10pm.

Unlike traditional industry awards programwith long speeches and formal dinners, the Digital Innovation Asia Awards will celebrate the industry we love and are connected to.

Categories include “Most Engaging Website”, “Most Viral Campaign”, “Most Creative Use of Technology”, “Most InspiringContent”, and “Most InnovativeDigital Organization”.

The DIA Awards are overseen by members of the new Digital Innovation Asia Council, an invite-only forum of the most senior e-commerce executives and digital marketing thought-leaders from hotels, airlines, and tourist boards from all corners of the Asia Pacific region. We still are open to receiving nominations, and encourage all travel and tourism organizations to submit their best digital work, and work they have admired over the past 15 months from January 2012 to April 2013. Please visit our DIA Awards partner TravelDailyNews.Asia to submit your nominations at http://goo.gl/rRVwS, and please register at http://DIAsiatourism.eventbrite.com.

Nominations are being accepted from now until April 20th. There is no charge for nominations, and it is open travel and tourism organizations, content creators, and agencies, as well as travelers.

Digital Innovation Asia is endorsed and supported by the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN), the Mekong Tourism Coordinating Office (MTCO), the Tourism Technology Association (TTA), the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA), the International Federation of IT in Travel and Tourism (IFITT), and the International Association of Travel and Tourism Professionals (SKAL).  

On June 10th, the inaugural DIA Awards are hosted at Bed Supperclub in Bangkok in the evening.

On June 10-12, Digital Innovation Asia continues in Bangkok, after Thailand's tourism trade show TTM+ in Bangkok, the World Islamic Tourism Mart (WITM) and Malaysia International Tourism Exchange (MITE) in Malaysia, and the World Economic Forum East Asia in Myanmar. On June 10, the first ever Blogger Match-up in Asia will as well as DIA's inaugural flagship digital innovation summit Speak-Out Asia will be hosted at lebua Hotel at State Tower.

Relevant and interested organizations and individuals are invited to contact us for speaking engagements and sponsorship opportunities. Bloggers and media professionals are invited to apply for accreditation privileges. We encourage nominations for the DIA Awards – nominations are free to submit.

The complete DIA program:

June 10: Blogger Match-up – lebua Hotel at State Tower (10:30 am – 4:30 pm)June 10: DIA Council Meeting (by invitation) June 10: DIA Awards - Bed Supperclub (8 pm – 10 pm)

DIA Awards VIP Reception (by invitation) – Bed Supperclub (7pm – 8 pm) June 11: Speak-Out Asia – lebua Hotel at State Tower (10 pm – 5 pm)June 12: China Boot Camp - (10:30 am – 4:30pm)June 12: Bangkok Blogger Tour (by Bangkok 101) – for accredited bloggersJune 13-16: Isaan Influencer Trip (by Smiling Albino / TAT) - for accredited bloggers

For more information on how to get engaged in Digital Innovation Asia from April 23-24 and June 10-12 in Bangkok, please visit www.DigitalInnovationAsia.com, like us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/DIAsiaTourism, download our brochures at http://www.slideshare.net/DIAsiatourism, and follow-us on Twitter @DIAsiaTourism (hashtag #DIAsiaTourism). Tickets are limited, and a PATA member rate exists. Register at http://DIAsiatourism.eventbrite.com/. Please visit our DIA Awards partner TravelDailyNews.Asia to submit your nominations at http://goo.gl/rRVwS. More information about the PATA Annual Summit on April 25-27 at the Centara Grand Bangkok can be found at www.PATA.org.

- ENDS -

About Digital Innovation Asia (DIA)Digital Innovation Asia (DIA) is a new initiative promoting excellence and knowledge sharing when it comes to leveraging digital, social, and mobile in the travel and tourism industry to promote the complete Asian Visitor Economy. Aligned with the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), it includes a new platform www.DigitalInnovationAsia.com, the Digital Innovation Asia Council, the Digital Innovation Asia Awards, Speak-Out Asia, Blogger-Match Up, Digital Aid Asia, China Boot Camp, the Digital Innovation Asia Challenge, and year-round program of workshops and seminars. Get inspired and engaged at: www.DigitalInnovationAsia - Facebook: DIAsiaTourism – Twitter: @DIAsiaTourism (hashtag #DIAsiaTourism) - LinkedIn: http://linkd.in/ZPKhpB - Register at http://DIAsiatourism.eventbrite.com/. Please visit our DIA Awards partner TravelDailyNews.Asia to submit your nominations at http://goo.gl/rRVwS

About Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)Since its foundation in 1951, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA), a not-for profit membership association, has achieved international acclaim by acting as a catalyst for the responsible development of travel and tourism to, from and within the Asia Pacific region.The Association provides aligned advocacy, leadership and events to its members, comprising 90 government, state and city tourism bodies, nearly 30 international airlines, airports and cruise lines, 57 educational institutions, and hundreds of travel industry companies in Asia Pacific and beyond.Thousands of travel professionals belong to dozens of local PATA chapters worldwide. The chapters organise travel industry training and business development events. PATA's ‘Next Generation' mPOWER platform delivers unrivalled data, forecasts and insights from the PATA Strategic Intelligence Centre to members' mobile devices anywhere in the world. PATA's headquarters is in Bangkok.

Media Contacts:

Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA)Ms. Parita NiemwongseTel: +66 2 658 2000E-mail: communications@PATA.org Web: www.pata.org

Digital Innovation Asia (DIA)Mr. Jens ThraenhartE-Mail: info@digitalinnovationasia.com Web: www.DigitalInnovationAsia.com

DIA AWARDS CATEGORIES

Most Engaging Website Most Viral Campaign Most InspiringContent Most Creative Use of Technology Most InnovativeDigital Organization

1. Most Engaging Website

The most engaging website inspires people to travel via engaging story telling, leverages great use of visual content and multi-media, and effective integration of social media, as well as intuitive calls to action.

Content

Content is the information provided by a site to its audience: it is – among other things - text, animation, sound, and video. Quality content is engaging, relevant, and appropriate for the audience. Not least of all, quality content encourages the user to share information that leads to building an interactive relationship resulting in lead generation and sales.

Execution

To evaluate execution is to look at how the campaign integrates new and existing web technologies and how well the campaign is implemented in the digital medium. If the campaign is part of a larger marketing campaign, how well does the web campaign enhance the marketing message? Does the work successfully integrate technology, incorporate innovations and deliver a consistent marketing message?

Interactivity

Interactivity is the way that a site allows you to do something. Good interactivity is more than a rollover or choosing what to click on next; it allows you, as a user, to give and receive. It makes the user a participant, not just a spectator. The theme of “relationship building” will also be

considered, looking at how the site enables users to personalize or customize their experience. For instance, does the site enable easy registration (which, in turn, provides incremental value to a repeat visitor)? What kind of confirmation message is sent? Does it go to a mobile device or just email? And lastly, can the site enable a visitor to creatively tell others about the site?

Overall Experience

Great marketing campaigns are more than the sum of their parts; their overall experience encompasses creativity, content, structure, visual design, functionality, and impact. An experience is one that’s remembered long after it’s seen or heard.

Structure and Navigation

Structure and navigation is the framework of a site: the organization of content, the prioritization of information, and the method by which the user moves through the site. Good navigation gets you where you want to go quickly and offers easy access to the breadth and depth of the site's content.

Visual Design

Visual design is the overall appearance of the site. Good visual design is of high quality, it is appropriate and relevant to both the audience and the message it supports. Strong and unique visual design communicates an experience in itself.

Nomination CriteriaWebsite design – creativity, consumer engagement, and usability are critical aspects of website design. Entries will be judged on the following criteria and will receive 0 to 10 points for each:

Content Execution Interactivity Overall Experience Structure and Navigation Visual Design

2. Most Viral Campaign

The most viral campaign is one that’s innovative, original, engaging and is proven successful through analytics and reporting.

Creativity

Great marketing campaigns need to push the envelope in many ways especially when it comes to creativity and originality. Judging of creativity will look at many areas of creativity including, but not limited to, content, design, use of technology, selection of music, sound design, and use of animation, or video.

Execution

Execution is how well the site integrates the use of technology. Good execution means the site works well. Good execution puts the site experience first and makes the technology invisible.

Impact

The purpose of all marketing efforts is to communicate a specific message to a target audience. Impact is the extent to which a marketing campaign achieves or exceeds its goals. Impact translates into ROI for the organization.

Overall Experience

The overall experience encompasses all of the previous elements but also includes the intangibles that differentiate a good site from a great one.

Nomination CriteriaThe focus of the Online Campaign category will be channel integration, return on investment, and the ability to achieve a specific goal and prompt a call-to-action. We’re looking for online campaign nominations that offer total quality. Entries will be judged on the following four criteria and will receive between 0 and 10 points for each:

Creativity Execution Impact Overall Experience

3. Most Inspiring Content

This category is searching for inspiring content that has used content creation as part of its strategy.

Photo

Submit a link to a photo that you posted on a blog, or on photo websites such as Flickr or Picasa. Your photo should be inspiring, contemporary, and visually tells story that positions the country as a unique tourism destination.

Story Telling

Submit a link to content you posted on your blog or on someone else’s blog, which portrays traveling in Asia as an exciting and unique tourism destination.

Video

Submit a link to a video that you posted on a blog, or on video websites such as YouTube, Vimeo, or others. The types of videos we’re looking for would be described as “thrilling” and “captivating” and would make viewers want to visit a destination in the Asia Pacific region.

Nomination CriteriaThe aim of the User Generated Content category is to urge consumers to share their Canadian travel experiences – from stories to photos to videos – on the web. We’re looking for nominees

that use emerging technologies to inspire fellow travelers to Canada as an exciting tourism destination. A high score will be awarded to entries that are captivating, and inspiring. Entries will be judged on the following three criteria and will receive between 0 and 10 points for each:

Photo Story Telling Video

4. Most Creative Use of Technology

Winning entries are seen to exploit new technology "straight from the lab" to its full potential in the travel and tourism world and embracing the complete visitor economy in the Asia Pacific region. The winning entry will be able to demonstrate a good brand/technology fit and show innovation in the use of the new technology to drive travel and tourism.

Consumer Relevance

Application and strategies should not only be innovative, but also create value to consumers, solve a problem, and take into account consumer and travel trends.

Use of Technology and/or Media

This award targets technology and/or media that enhances usability, convenience, and ease of use.

WOW factor

This award is all about making a lasting impact by thinking outside of the box.

Nomination CriteriaThe use of technology to leverage consumer trends and contribute to strategic alignment is the focus of this category. We’re looking for nominations that may include mapping applications, GPS applications, Google Earth integration, wireless marketing applications, social media interpretations, or use of other emerging web technologies. Entries will be judged on the following three criteria on a scale of 0-10 points:

Consumer Relevance Use of Technology and/or Media WOW factor

5. Most Innovative Digital Organization

The most innovative digital organization in the Asia Pacific region leverages technology, digital, social, mobile, and other forms of ICT in order to be consumer centric, and increase efficiency of the organization.

The Most innovative digital organization in Asia is not a technology company or digital marketing agency or online travel agency. The Most innovative digital organization is a traditional company,

hotel, airline, cruise line, or tourist board. The most innovative digital organization not only has an engaging website, executes viral campaigns, and makes great use of technology, but has build digital into the DNA on how to do business, making a true enabler without feeling forced and being disruptive.