We are happy that Cyber-Duck has been shortlisted for two UK Agency Awards! Celebrating how agencies promote themselves, the nominations reflect the results of our creative R&D campaigns alongside our New Business Manager’s achievements. 

Launched this year, the UK Agency Awards recognise and celebrate excellence ‘behind the scenes’: or how internal teams run, market and grow their agencies. This was the perfect opportunity for us. Our accredited approach and collaborative, creative culture help us stand out in a competitive industry. But, this is the first award scheme that recognises this kind of work. 

We are delighted that Cyber-Duck has been shortlisted for two categories: Best Mobile Campaign, with our viral UX Companion app; and our New Business Manager, Tom Millson, as the Rising New Business Star.

We were selected through a rigorous two-stage assessment process, lead by a prestigious team of judges from Google UK, Microsoft, Renault and Citroen. Open to the best design, digital and marketing agencies, Cyber-Duck is competing against big names like Saatchi & Saatchi, J. Walter Thompson, and Frank PR. Read on to find out more about each nomination!

Best Mobile Campaign Nomination: UX Companion

Creative research and development (R&D) projects are a great way to explore new approaches, ideas and technology. They have a real impact on our agency: informing digital solutions for clients and differentiating our agency for marketing and new business.

Amongst our most successful projects, UX Companion is one of the first native apps that offered a practical glossary of user experience (UX) principles. We aimed to detangle the rich, complex web of terms at the heart of our community, by sharing a clever reference tool for designers, students and marketers alike. Available for iOS and Android, the free app introduces 58 core topics, with an in-depth description (and further resources) provided for those who want more.

The campaign went viral, exceeding the original objectives by far. UX Companion has reached 20,000 downloads, across 97 countries to date. At its height, we received 7,000 downloads in a single week. It’s been featured as a top resource on Product Hunt and Usability Geek, and we were even invited to cover our experiences with Smashing Magazine

Rising New Business Star Nomination: Tom Millson

As our New Business Manager, Tom has been instrumental to Cyber-Duck’s high year-on-year revenue growth. He has a talent for communicating the value of our agency, advising the best solutions to solve the digital challenges faced by existing and prospective clients. Since joining us just two years ago, he has helped secure some of our largest clients, including Cancer Research Technology and the Institute of the Motor Industry.

Uniquely, Tom enjoys pursuing skills outside of the traditional new business arena. Drawing on his background in iOS and web development, he regularly gets stuck into our company R&D culture: building the first iteration of UX Companion, exploring texting apps for smartwatches and beacon-powered social networks.

The winners will be announced in September, against the backdrop of the Emirates Stadium. We’re very proud of Tom and the UX Companion team – wish us luck!