The categories are grouped under the headings of Project Excellence, Creative Excellence, Product & Services Excellence and Outstanding Achievement. There are 24 categories to enter, including a category for Most Promising and Impressive Start-up, which looks for great startups since October 1, 2022. There is also the Green Signage category – new for 2025.

The Outstanding Individual category cannot be entered as it is in the gift of Sixteen:Nine, who maintain a rolling assessment of key figures in the industry before deciding on a winner. Any company wishing to enter the Outstanding Company category may do so, but they must have entered at least one other category to be eligible.

There is a limit on the number of entries any one company can make. This limit is set at 5 entries for each company. Agencies submitting entries on behalf of clients will be limited to 5 entries for each different client.

Before preparing your entry please take time to read the How to Enter and Useful Advice pages on this website. Please remember that the closing date for entries is September 30 2024.

Project Excellence

A project is often the sum of many parts. Project Excellence awards recognize and celebrate superior all-around efforts, from scenarios, needs and strategy to execution and results.

Innovative and Impactful Digital Out Of Home Advertising
sponsored by Times OOH

Excellence in DOOH advertising initiatives, factoring in strategy, scale, technology choices, and measured impacts.

Immersive and Experiential Environments
sponsored by Absen

Excellence in creating and delivering immersive, multi-sensory, interactive and explanatory spaces, including but not limited to museums, attractions and large public spaces. 

Results-Driving, Customer-Facing Solutions

Excellence in the strategies, content decisions, placements and technology choices that result in boosted performance at transaction and service points, as well as on the shelves and in the aisles.

Relevant, Timely Data-Driven Displays And Creative

Excellence in the use of real-time data, sensors, Artificial Intelligence, specialty displays (such as e-paper) and other technologies that result in always-relevant digital signage messaging.

Superior Technical and Project Design
sponsored by Nanolumens

Celebrating excellent decisions and work done behind the screens by integrators, solutions providers and creative technologists, including the designs for security, scalability, remote management, and hardware. Overviews that present no risk to network integrity are fine.

Omni-Channel Design and Execution

Digital signage design and delivery that broadens messaging beyond on-premises screens, with solutions that involve multiple channels, including mobile, and may leverage data from separate business systems.

Difference-Making Operational & Everyday Signage
sponsored by Yodeck

The content, software, technologies and strategies that drive simple – even boring – digital signage that guides, informs, warns and updates, including back-of-house workplace messaging, digital dashboards, wayfinding, directories, meeting room signs, hot-desk assignment screens and queue management.

Temporary/Pop-up Projects

Recognizing the overall design and execution of short-term, digital display-focused projects for scenarios like exhibitions, trade fairs and other scheduled, short-term events in which the equipment is deployed and then dismantled on a defined schedule.

Workplace
sponsored by ScreenCloud

Recognizing the overall design, execution and operation of messaging networks whose audience is primarily staff and visitors. This category includes both white collar/front-of-house screen networks, and those developed for manufacturing/back-of-house environments.

Creative Excellence

These awards recognize and celebrate superior motion graphics, video and generative artwork custom-created or adapted for use on digital signage and digital OOH networks. The emphasis here is on the visuals, not the display canvases.

DOOH Advertising Campaigns
sponsored by SNA Displays

From mind-blowing illusions to hyper-local relevance, excellence in the creative design of advertising design for anything from digital posters to vast outdoor billboard spectaculars. 

Retail Marketing and Messaging
sponsored by StratosMedia

Creative that grabs attention and makes a measured difference for the operator or brand, from sales and loyalty to awareness. Markets include but aren’t limited to QSR, hospitality and retail. 

Helpful Information 

Excellence in the presentation of signage that relays useful, timely non-marketing  information, whether that’s in a busy airport, a crowded waiting room, or complicated public or private space.

Large-format Digital Canvases
sponsored by SNA Displays

Original, adapted or dynamically-generated non-advertising creative for large video walls and projections in public and private spaces. Examples include mass transport hubs and office tower lobbies.

Interactive Design

Excellence in the design and user experience of creative applications involving touch, gesture, sensor-triggered and other one-to-one interactions and experiences with digital displays.

Subscriptions, Curated Content, Templates and Media Integrations

Excellence in the creative design and capabilities of licensed data feeds, streaming channel services like Atmosphere and content creation templates and services.

Product and Services Excellence

These awards recognize excellence in the development and delivery of the technologies and services that make digital signage projects more feasible, compelling, reliable, efficient and effective, and more sustainable.

 Innovation in Management and Control Software

Recognizing advances in Content and Device Management software, and other platforms and code, that directly impact the design and operation of screen networks.

Innovation in Display Technology
sponsored by ChromeOS

Celebrating meaningful new developments among physical products such as flat panel display, LED, projection and e-paper/specialty display makers, including advances in resolution, design, form-factor, energy management and other difference-making factors. Given the breadth of this category there is potential for multiple winners (e.g. LED displays, flat-panel display, projection, mapping, “Green” signage, etc)

High-Impact Application and Use of Emerging Software and Cloud Technologies

Recognizing the use of non-core CMS and management software technologies, such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, and automated content generation.

Difference-making Infrastructure

Recognizing and celebrating engineering advances by the companies who design and manufacture mounts, enclosures and other behind-the-scenes, mission-critical gear.

Clever, Intuitive Interactive Technologies

Innovation and excellence in hardware/software technologies that enable interactive experiences, including touch surfaces, gesture, haptics and sensors.

Customer and Partner Support
sponsored by ChromeOS

Excellence in the design and delivery of customer and partner support, using success factors like feedback scores.

Outstanding Individual

sponsored by SIXTEEN:NINE

FREE TO ENTER

This Gold Award is in the gift of Sixteen:Nine. They will be maintaining a list of likely nominees, but if you feel there is someone deserving of recognition please email Rose Freeman with their name, their position, their company, their business email address and up to 50 words explaining briefly why you believe the individual deserves this Award. This will be forwarded to Sixteen:Nine for consideration.

Outstanding Company

sponsored by ChromeOS

There will be one top gold accolade awarded by the judges to the company considered to be the most outstanding. This category is open to any company and the judges will look to award a trophy based on scale of operations (e.g. Smaller, Mid-size or Larger Company), as appropriate.