San Jose, CA (October 23, 2014) – The first annual Customer Experience Recognition Awards (CERAs) were presented at a luncheon ceremony at the Hilton DoubleTree in San Jose, California. A highlight of the Information Development World (iDW) conference, the CERAs recognized achievement in the same key areas as this multi-discipline conference “dedicated to helping organizations create exceptional experiences centered around content.”
An information discovery campaign implemented by Content Science on behalf of FootSmart Health Resource Center was honored as “Best in Show” for its comprehensive approach to providing informative health-related content to customers, including partnering with other organizations, social media campaigns and a highly usable website.
The 2014 CERA Winners | Photo courtesy of Content Rules Inc.
Organized by TechWhirl.com, the CERA program opened with an introduction by Val Swisher, CEO of Content Rules, and co-host of iDW. “This kind of recognition program is something our industry has long needed, Swisher noted. “And we’re particularly excited to have live-captioning for this event, provided by 121 Captions, which affirms the importance of accessibility in content-oriented customer experience.”
“Why the interest in customer experience? Sustainable advantage,” said Al Martine, TechWhirl Director of Operations, who emceed the awards ceremony. CERA honorees demonstrated this advantage, and how content-driven customer experience creates value for organizations and their customer bases, in seven distinct categories: Translation / Localization, Social Media, Customer Support /Technical Communication, Information Discovery, User Community, Employee Engagement, and Accessibility.
Winning projects range from the content supporting zero downtime for school districts at the start of a new year to the transformation of legacy policy into usable content (Employee Engagement).
Cisco Systems, Inc., received CERAs in two categories—Social Media and Customer Support / Technical Communication. The two projects originated with two different teams in Cisco, but demonstrate the company’s overarching commitment to its customers in an era that is increasingly information driven. “Cisco Live” was chosen for its enhancement of online and on-site attendee experiences through the use of social media. “Meeting Customer Demand for Knowledge” empowers customers to resolve critical network issues by making expert content more accessible online.
The 2014 CERA Recipients
Accessibility
Schoolwires, Inc.
“Hosting with Confidence & Demolishing Downtime”
Customer Support – Technical Communication
Cisco Systems
“Meeting Customer Demand for New Knowledge”
Employee Engagement
Information Mapping Canada & Vancity Credit Union
“Vancity Policy and Procedure Transformation Project”
Information Discovery
Content Science & FootSmart
“FootSmart Health Resource Center Foot and Lower Body Ailment and Wellness Content”
Social Media
Cisco Systems
“Cisco Live”
Translation / Localization
Ccaps & LinkedIn
“The Brazilian Link”
User Community
FootWasher Media
“Cultivate the Call Initiative”
Overall Winner – Best in Show
Content Science & FootSmart
“FootSmart Health Resource Center Foot and Lower Body Ailment and Wellness Content”
About the Judges
The judges for the 2014 CERAs represent thought leadership, innovation, and deep experience across all the disciplines of customer experience management, and several of them presented workshops, breakout sessions, and keynotes during the conference: Robert Rose, Chief Strategy Officer for the Content Marketing Institute, helps large companies, such as 3M, AT&T, and Staples tell their stories more effectively. Tina Lannin is founder of 121 Captions, a London-based captioning service with a global client roster. Sarah O’Keefe, President of Scriptorium Publishing, has worked with numerous organizations to implement technological strategies to increase content value. Rahel Anne Bailie is a content strategist, specializing in ominichannel projects, and founder of Intentional Design, Inc.
About the Sponsors
The CERAs take place as part of Information Development World and are sponsored by TechWhirl, The Content Wrangler, and Content Rules. TechWhirl is an online resource for customer experience, content management, and technical communication professionals and students at all experience levels. The Content Wrangler offers content consulting, as well as training and event management services focused on content management to a wide variety of customers around the world. Content Rules operates across the entire content lifecycle: from consulting on content strategy, to content development, to global readiness.
For more information about the CERAs, visit http://awards.techwhirl.com/customer-experience-recognition-awards-cera-overview/
