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Design Business Association Design Effectiveness Award
United Kingdom
This case study is featured in SEE Policy Booklet 3: Evaluating Design (November 2010).
The Design Business Association (DBA) was founded in 1986 to champion the integral role that design effectiveness plays in commercial success. The annual Design Effectiveness Awards are measured in terms of commercial benefits achieved for the client and customer. For example, increasing sales alone is not as significant as increasing sales in a declining market. Other softer indicators are also employed, such as the value attributed to increasing staff morale. The judging process incorporates six criteria:
2. Other influencing factors – Design rarely acts alone, therefore contributing factors to the success of a project (such as PR campaigns and direct mailing) must be identified in order to extrapolate the impact of this activity from the role of design.
3. Clarity of presentation – Entries must be well structured, concise and deliver a decisive message.
4. Cause and effect – Proof beyond reasonable doubt of a cause and effect between the design solution and the results. This refers to evidence of the targets defined in the original brief set against the results achieved.
5. Clarity of results – Emphasis is not placed on why a particular design solution was chosen but on concrete evidence that results were achieved.
6. Scale of effect – Competitors must demonstrate the significance of the outcome in the relevant commercial or company context. For example, a product or identity that creates new business and jobs and captures a significant share of an existing market could be relatively more significant than an entry describing only an increase in sales.
DBA Design Effectiveness Award 2008 Winner: Dave
In a complex market, a small UK digital TV channel wanted to increase its share of the lucrative 16–44 male audience. Following market research, it was clear that the channel needed completely rebranding. With a very tight budget (under £100,000) the channel briefed a team of designers to create a distinct brand personality that would stand out. They observed that in a fragmented TV market, strong design could play a powerful role in enabling viewers to navigate the crowded TV landscape. By identifying the tone of the programmes (intelligent and irreverent humour) and conducting investigation into why the channel appealed to its target audience, the design consultancy was able to gain a breakthrough insight: the comedy provided a setting for men to spend quality time with other funny men in a ‘down the pub’-style ambiance. Consequently, by assigning a name (Dave), a personality and creating a ‘gentlemen’s club’ feel, the designers were able to introduce to the public a compelling and ever-evolving brand for the TV channel. Since the relaunch, Dave has seen a remarkable growth from the 29th biggest channel to the 10th and the largest among the 16–44 male segment. It has also attracted eight million new viewers to the network. In the first six months alone, Dave delivered a £4.5 million profit, and the channel’s incremental growth contributed a staggering £25 million in ad-sales revenue for 2008. In creating a powerful channel brand, the project has ‘well and truly surpassed its objectives’. Spontaneous awareness of Dave has risen to 32%, lifting the channel above well-established competitors such as More4, BBC4, ITV3 and Bravo. In essence, a design investment of under £100,000 was transformed into a profit of £4.5 million in the first year alone and the channel is now rapidly gaining market share at the expense of larger, more established channels.
For more information visit: www.dba.org.uk/awards/dea.asp or www.effectivedesign.org.uk
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© Design Wales 2011
