The Direct Marketing Association is accepting nominations for the 2013 International Echo Awards competition.

The DMA Echo Awards date back to 1929 and honor the best in creativity, response rate and marketing strategy. As digital consumption continues to grow by consumers, more marketers are using online and mobile as a component of their overall campaigs.

?We are really focusing on the data-driven aspect of the Echo Awards this year,? said Linda Woolley, president/CEO of the DMA, New York.

?More and more consumers are migrating to mobile devices, so the entries that we are seeing for Echo have more of an element of mobile integrated into the campaign,? she said.

?Mobile is the way that more consumers are getting information and conducting their business, so it makes sense to see marketing campaigns migrate to mobile.?

Integrated marketing
Agencies and marketers are encouraged to enter campaigns in 13 channels: mobile, alternative and insert media, catalog, content and video, social media, direct mail, email, print, search, outbound calls, television and radio, Web display advertising and Web sites and landing pages.

Companies can enter campaigns into as many channels as they wish.

The theme for this year?s Echo Awards is ?The Ultimate Team Award,? which is meant to showcase how multiple disciplines are involved in creating an Echo award.

?Entries with a multichannel presence are highlighting each of the channels and showing the campaign results as a whole, not expecting each channel to supply its own ROI,? said Angella Hubbert, director of print production at Russ Reid and the DMA International Echo Awards Judging Chair.

?The showcasing of channels and the inclusion of mobile are showing that consumers and donors are finding multiple opportunities for engagement,? she said. ?And with that, multiple opportunities for extending the relationship and or the buying experience.?

This year, three new business categories have been added ? consumer products, education and professional services.

In total, winners will be picked from 15 business categories. The other categories are automotive, business and consumer services, communications and utilities, information technologies, financial products and services, insurance, nonprofit, pharmaceutical and healthcare, product manufacturing and distribution, publishing and entertainment, travel and hospitality/transportation and retail and direct sales.

The deadline for submission is May 3, and a gala to celebrate the winners will take place on October 15 in Chicago. The gala also coincides with the DMA2013 Annual Conference & Exhibition: The Global Event for Data-Driven Marketers.

Judging for the awards will take place in four rounds with judges from agencies and client-side marketers.

Marketers can learn more and enter an award at http://dma-echo.org.

?Digital is coming along slowly but surely,? said Tedd Aurelius, vice president and account director of The Martin Agency and the DMA International Echo Awards Chair.

?We still don't see mobile being used as often as it should or certainly when you compare it to other media,? he said.

?I think marketers are still unsure of how to properly use mobile and quite frankly, are still intimidated by it. I think they're having a hard time seeing how mobile fits into the campaign and how to convince clients that it's the right medium for the task at hand. So to me, it's really a client issue rather than an agency one.?

Data-driven results
Gold, silver and bronze Echos will be awarded for best-in-class advertising campaigns.

Additionally, seven other awards will also be given out ? the Diamond Echo, the U.S. Postal Service Gold Award, the Echo Governors Award for Strategic Innovation, the Henry Hoke Award, the Search Marketing Award, the Pitney Bowes Personal Connections Echo Award and the Echo Green Marketing Award.

As far as trends that the DMA is seeing, digital components are increasingly becoming more pervasive for marketers.

?Direct marketing relies on two things ? data and targeting potential consumers directly and analytics,? Ms. Woolley said.

?The goal is to put an offer in front of a consumer when they are likely to take part in an offer,? she said.

?The Echo Awards are recognizing the best of the best in direct marketing.?

Final Take
Lauren Johnson is associate reporter on Mobile Marketer, New York