TransUnion walked away with Silver for their TransUnion 1Check app and, PPC was awarded Bronze for their PPC Builder's app in the Mobile Application category. “We are delighted that our clients have received such prestigious recognition”, said Zak van de Merwe, CEO of DSG.

“We are also extremely proud of the role our business played in the development of both these mobile apps that enabled our clients to attain accolades. These awards are testament to the depth-and-breadth of our abilities to understand a client’s strategy towards managing their customer relationships and experiences - and translate this into truly customisable digital solutions,” continues Van de Merwe. “Our extensive knowledge and understanding of the mobile market, together with our experience and expertise in designing and developing mobile and digital solutions, enabled us to deliver enhanced and on-demand user experiences for our clients – and to their customers.”

The South African SMARTIES Awards are part of the only global awards programme created specifically to recognise innovation, creativity, and success – thereby honouring best-in-class mobile marketing campaigns from around the world. The Mobile Marketing Association (MMA) South Africa stated that they received a record number of submissions and a 141% increase in entries for this year’s awards, when compared to 2014.

These awards empower industry frontrunners to gain recognition, by sharing their great marketing stories. The awards programme also offers several opportunities for industry players to profile their talented teams who continue to push the boundaries in defining and employing smart mobile marketing strategies that work – and thereby enable businesses to engage with their desired audiences and create unique and on-demand customer experiences.

Kriben Reddy, director of Product Development at TransUnion Auto, says: “The strategic objective for developing the TransUnion 1Check app was to create a single interface that delivers all the power of our database of information and multiple products to dealers within the motor industry. Although the 1Check app was an upgrade of the initial offering - that was called Dealers Guide - by taking a far more customer led approach and working with DSG as our developers, the app now offers an integrated solution, in the palm of the user’s hand.”

Additionally, DSG was the only company who was involved in developing two of the company apps that made it to the finals for the 2015 South African SMARTIES Awards.

“Currently our PPC Builder’s app is still the only one available by a cement supplier for a small builder in Southern Africa, making the campaign for our app unique, as typically the building industry focuses predominantly on above-the-line marketing strategies. However, to be an industry forerunner, you need to be able to adapt to what markets – and particularly your customers – want. We therefore recognised the opportunity that a native mobile application would present for our business and, as our developer and our digital partner, DSG has enabled us to increase the time users/consumers engage with our brand, as well as to provide useful information to users,” says Sibongile Mooko, PPC’s general manager of Marketing Services.

“We have pioneered several mobile and digital offerings on behalf of our clients, however, these accolades reaffirm that our business continues to be a key player in the local and regional market – and in developing digital and mobile solutions tailored for businesses. We understand that managing the customer’s experience at every point of engagement is imperative to long-term success – and because of our understanding of this, our own business is lynched on the value we can add to the solutions we bring to our clients – and their customers,” concludes Van de Merwe.

For more information on DSG, visit www.dsg.co.za.