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Recently the DAA held its 3rd annual Awards for Excellence Gala event in San Francisco. These awards were originally developed in response to DAA members who continually stood up to acknowledge their peers in the digital analytics industry and the outstanding contributions they made. As the global voice for the digital analytics industry profession, our leadership collectively decided to formalize the acknowledgments and establish the Awards for Excellence.

The Nominees
This year, we had over 60 nominations from across the globe for the five award categories that include: Digital Analytics Rising Star, Most Influential Industry Contributor, New Technology of the Year, Most Influential Agency/Vendor, and Practitioner of the Year. This list of impressive nominees was winnowed down to five finalists in each category by votes from our base of nearly 3,000 global members. What truly amazed me during this year's awards process was the level of detail and respect that was given to each nominee in consideration. The outpouring of accolades and commendations for each category nominee indicates the sheer volume of talent that exists in our small but ever-growing digital analytics community.

The Award Recipients
While nearly every nominee submitted in the 2013 Awards for Excellence could have been on the winner's podium, process dictates that we must select only one winner from each category. In both 2011 and 2012, the list of award recipients was equally impressive. Just look a the roster of DAA Award recipients:

In contemplating these award recipients and their fellow nominees, there were a few things that stood out to me among winners from each of the last three years:

• Rising Stars have confidence and conviction. Among each of the last 3 years winners, I had the good fortune to know a little bit about all of them and each exhibits a level of confidence in their analysis and belief in data that they're willing to stand up and fight for. This steadfastness in data empowers rising stars to lead with their analysis in a way that informs and influences decision-makers.
• Practitioners are mentors. For the past three years each Practitioner of the Year was not only excellent at what they do, but they also mentored others to achieve excellence. I believe that each winner would readily admit that they arrived at where they are in their respective careers through hard work and the support of their teams; and they gave back by leading and mentoring.
• Influential Industry Contributors Give Freely. Influential Industry Contributors also give willingly to the industry. Albeit in ways that are more diverse than Practitioners, each Industry Contributor over the past three years has given back to digital analytics by blogging extensively, teaching individuals and/or organizations, and simply sharing their expertise with others in the digital analytics industry.
• Influential agencies and vendors continually pursue excellence. In this category, influence comes at the cost of continually striving to do more. The winners here have demonstrated a commitment to push the envelope by developing technology that raises the bar for the entire industry, employing the best staff in the digital analytics industry, and training the next crop of digital analysts in a way that gives back to the industry.
• Old technologies can learn new innovative tricks. When it comes to innovation, we've learned from our New Technology of the Year winners that old can be new again. The fact that industry stalwarts can take home new technology of the year awards for reinventing and innovating in our fast moving industry is a testament to the evolution of digital analytics as a whole.

The Unsung Heroes
I'd be remiss if I failed to mention that the DAA Awards for excellence are but a small token of recognizing a select few in the Digital Analytics industry. In fact, this year we issued DAA President's Awards to recognize individuals who go above and beyond the call of duty on behalf of the DAA, but even still there are many more who deserve recognition. The list of deserving individuals and organizations that simply make things happen for their companies, their clients, and this industry is a long one indeed. However, many of these contributors just flat out never get recognized at all. While, I love that we get to celebrate specific individuals and organizations with our established awards, much of the incredibly fabulous work that occurs in digital analytics never gets recognized or acknowledged.

Way back when I began my career in this field, it wasn't about being recognized or rewarded for work, but rather most people just wanted to use data to help make better decisions. Still today, most people I know (myself included), work on behalf of our clients and the organizations they represent to make them successful. I think that the vast majority of people in this industry share my outlook and take an unselfish approach to educating in analytics and using data as the hero. While acknowledging the value and benefits that all DAA Award recipients and nominees have made, I also commend those who never get recognized and still deliver monumental contributions to our industry. Thank you all, and keep up the great work.

Sincerely,
John Lovett, DAA President