The Society for New Communications Research of The Conference Board (SNCR) has announced the winners of the 2018 SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards. Now in its 12th year, this prestigious awards program honors the work of corporations, governmental organizations, nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, media outlets and individuals who are innovating the use of social media, ICT, mobile media, and collaborative technologies in the areas of business, media, and professional communications, including advertising, marketing, public relations, corporate communications, and CRM, as well as entertainment, education, politics, and social initiatives.

The 2018 Excellence awards are granted in six categories: 1) Communications, Communities, and Collaboration, 2) Innovation in Digital Experience, 3) Multi-Platform Communications, 4) Social Data for Customer Experience and Operational Efficiency, 5) Storytelling, and 6) Fellows Choice Awards.

An awards dinner and gala to celebrate the honorees will take place at a ceremony in New York on the evening of June 26, following The Conference Board’s 23rd Annual Corporate Communications Conference. Event registration for the awards dinner gala is available at this link. 

“Digital transformation presents organizations with the opportunity to improve strategic decision-making, efficiency, and communications. Winners of this year’s awards program have demonstrated that they’re capitalizing on these opportunities and proving themselves to be innovative users of the latest technologies,” said Alex Parkinson, senior researcher and director of SNCR. “Not only are these organizations putting technology to use, but they’re also adept at measuring their results. That’s what made them really stand out to our Fellows.”

The 2018 SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards winners

(Runners-up received an honorable mention if they achieved a threshold score from our judges)

Category: Communications, Communities, and Collaboration

• Corporate Division
• Winner: Lloyds Banking Group
• Honorable mention: HP, Inc.
• Nonprofit Division
• Winner: ASPB
• Government Division
• Winner: Virginia Office of the Attorney General and Madison + Main
• Academic Division
• Winner: Ana G. Mendez University System and Latin2Latin Marketing + Communications
• Honorable mention: California State University, Northridge

Category: Innovation in Digital Experience

• Corporate Division
• Winner: John Hancock Insurance
• Honorable mention: Cisco
• Nonprofit Division
• Winner: Local Initiatives Support Coalition (LISC)

Category: Multi-Platform Communications

• Corporate Division
• Winner: OCBC Bank
• Nonprofit Division
• Winner: The Asia Foundation
• Technology Innovation Division
• Winner: Gregory FCA

Category: Social Data for Customer Experience and Operational Efficiency

• Corporate Division
• Winner: AMN Healthcare
• Technology Innovation Division
• Winner: Just Drive Media

Category: Storytelling

• Corporate Division
• Winner: Philips
• Honorable mention: Lincoln Financial Group
• Nonprofit Division
• Winner: Endeavor Global
• Academic Division
• Winner: Tarrant County College

Category: Fellows Choice

• Corporate: Unilever
• Nonprofit: The Trust Project
• Media: Axios
• Technology Innovation: New Knowledge
• Academic: Massachusetts Institute of Technology Researchers (“The Spread of True and False News Online”)—Soroush Vosoughi; Sinan Aral; Deb Roy

This year, the Fellows Choice Awards focused on organizations making an exemplary effort to address fake news. As part of this focus, the awards event will include a brief panel discussion about fake news, featuring the honorees, and moderated by SNCR Advisory Board member Jeff Pundyk, editorial director of Techonomy.

“The scourge of fake news and disinformation has revealed itself to be a unique modern challenge that’s affecting organizations and individuals in a variety of different ways,” said Jen McClure, SNCR founder and advisory board chair. “As our Fellows continue to investigate the ramifications of fake news and best practices for addressing the problem, we’re delighted to honor those who are leading the way to identify innovative solutions.” 

In its 12-year history, the SNCR Excellence in New Communications Awards program has honored hundreds of organizations and individuals through this prestigious awards program. All the winning case studies are available to members of The Conference Board at www.conferenceboard.org/sncr.