The winners of the DDMA EMAS Awards 2024 were announced today. Ancienne Belgique claimed victory in the Email Marketing Automation Excellence category, while Autogroep Twente secured the top spot in the Outstanding Email category. Karin Meinders (Harvest Digital) was honored as EMAS Young Talent of the Year. In the Battle of the Agencies, with Brabantia as this year’s client, Springbok Agency emerged triumphant.
Joris de Bruijne (jury chair): “The diversity of the cases sparked great discussion during our deliberations. Ultimately, the entire jury made a thoughtful decision on the winners. It’s inspiring to see how (young) marketers are captivated by the profession, creating truly excellent emails with a perfectionist mindset, and how established organizations take email marketing seriously. The winners showcase the diversity and effectiveness of email marketing!”
Winner in the Email Marketing Automation Excellence Category: Ancienne Belgique
Ancienne Belgique innovatively made fixed blocks available in an email template, incorporating personalization and smart content related to the concert schedule, image usage, and already sold tickets. According to the jury, this approach demonstrates how Ancienne Belgique understands the simplification and full automation of work processes for marketers. This results in a highly personalized experience for the recipient, increased conversions, and more time for further optimizations.
Ancienne Belgique: “It was challenging to condense our long story into 5 minutes, but we succeeded. Our case is the result of a multi-year journey. We are very proud and grateful, especially to our partners Sparklink and Inventis. We hope we’ve inspired people to create their own Ancienne Belgique account and visit us. We’re thrilled that the jury gave us the opportunity to be on stage and ultimately receive the grand prize.”
Winner in the Outstanding Email Category: Autogroep Twente
By leveraging advanced technology and data, Autogroep Twente created a highly personalized email that provided immediate clarity to the recipient. By showcasing the customer’s current car, the email’s recognizability upon opening was increased. The direct offer led to concrete leads and consistency within the customer journey. The jury praised the concept for being well-thought-out from start to finish, resulting in an excellent customer experience.
EMAS Young Talent of the Year: Karin Meinders (Harvest Digital)
The jury awarded Karin Meinders the title of EMAS Young Talent of the Year, impressed by her infectious enthusiasm for the profession. She has a strong interest in the technical and data aspects of email marketing and has already achieved significant results.
Karin Meinders, Junior Marketing Technology Consultant at Harvest Digital: “This was an incredible experience. First, hearing that my colleague Peter nominated me was amazing. Learning I was among the final three was even more exciting. The jury day went well, but you never know exactly what they’re looking for or how things will turn out. And did they turn out! It was incredibly fun to finally have my moment on stage and win the grand prize, especially since I only started working in September.”
Winner of the Battle of the Agencies: Springbok Agency
Finally, Funnelboost, Netprofiler, and Springbok Agency competed for the title in the Battle of the Agencies. The three agencies developed an email campaign for Brabantia. The task was to create a creative email encouraging subscribers to design a print for the iconic Brabantia NewIcon pedal bin. Springbok Agency achieved the best results and emerged as the winner.
Stan Plandsoen and Rachelle Abbas (Springbok Agency): “What made the entire Battle of the Agencies process so enjoyable was involving all the different disciplines of our team, from design and copy to CRM and development. It’s incredibly rewarding to win. This completes the circle. Moreover, it’s a huge compliment that both the Brabantia design jury and the client selected our email as the best.”
Eric van der Palen, Director D2C at Brabantia: “The Battle of the Agencies was a completely new experience for us and a very educational process. Before deciding to participate, we had quite a bit of internal discussion. After all, you are handing over your brand to three anonymous agencies and promising to send out the emails they create for you. But we are very happy we participated, as all three agencies did an excellent job. In terms of metrics, the campaigns were very close, but ultimately the email from Springbok Agency outperformed the others on almost all fronts. I am very pleased to announce them as this year’s winner.”