Creative Business Transformation

Work that transforms human insights into strategic advantages, converting innovative concepts into tangible business outcomes.

A01 Transformative Strategy.
Work that transforms human insights into strategic advantages, converting innovative concepts into tangible business outcomes.

Customer-facing creative experience focused design that has created new ways for brands to interact with their customers.

B01 Customer Experience Design.
Creative design of the customer experience. Initiatives that strengthen customer relationships by creating seamless journeys that span the digital and physical worlds, characterised by timely and personalised touchpoints.

B02 Product.
A new or reinvented physical or digital product, launched by an existing brand which has transformed the offer of that brand and addresses evolving customer needs and changes to a competitive marketplace.

B03 Service Design.
New or reinvented cross-channel service design, launched by an existing brand, which embodies a brand’s vision and delivers a frictionless customer journey that is integrated across multiple touchpoints.

B04 Brand Purpose & Impact.
Transformation of a brand’s ethical or socially driven purpose that authentically connects with customers, culture and society. How purpose has been embedded across core business functions. This could include, but not be limited to, product development, customer experience, marketing, people management, supply chains, etc.

Redesign of internal operations and technology to drive results, engage employees and build culture.

C01 Operational Transformation.
Wholesale, internal transformation that has created value through the scaled adoption of new or modified ways of working, such as operating models, processes or tools. Changes may involve staff, suppliers, distributors, consumers, regulators/governments.

C02 New Relationship Models.
Reinvention of the way customers use existing products/services, through the creation of new routes to market and delivery methods, such as direct-to-customer models, subscriptions and service-based propositions, often that blend digital and physical behaviours to create long-term customer relationships.

C03 Marketing Technology for Growth.
The strategic application of marketing technology to improve efficiency, reach more customers, strengthen engagement and deliver results, such as retention and conversion of customers. May include, for example, use of third-party platforms (CRM, CMS, payments systems, etc.).

C04 Creative Application of Emerging Technology.
Application of new or emerging technology that transformed how a brand/business and its customers interact. This could include, but not be limited to, the application of AI, data intelligence, cognitive tools, voice assistance, etc.

C05 Venture Models & Corporate Innovation.
Solving business problems through an outside-in approach. The successful creation and launch of new products/services developed in venture models. This could include, but not be limited to, use of incubators, accelerators, R&D and investments in start-ups, etc.

C06 Experience Transformation.
Organisations that have reimagined their internal culture, workplace environment, and employee engagement strategies in ways that improve job satisfaction, productivity, and retention driving meaningful business transformation. The work should demonstrate how implementing creative solutions—whether through communication, technology, or organisational design, created a more dynamic, inclusive, and supportive workplaces, resulting in positive shifts in business performance and employee well-being.

Transformative approaches to customer insight and targeting to effectively build new products/services or scale existing ones. Work that uncovers behavioural truths that enable businesses to capture new audiences and/or create more relevant experiences.

D01 Targeting, Insights & Personalisation.
Transformative approaches to customer insight and targeting to effectively build new products/services or scale existing ones. Work that uncovers behavioural truths that enable businesses to capture new audiences and/or create more relevant experiences.

Celebrating how a business successfully transforms inside and out.

E01 End-to-End Transformation.
Celebrating how a business successfully transforms inside and out – from internal operations, teams, training programmes and policies to the choice of suppliers and partners, and how all this impacts the products and services, communications and customer experience. The work should demonstrate tangible results within every stage or touchpoint of the transformation.
* There is an increased eligibility for this category of over 5 years: 01 August 2021 – 30 September 2026.