Tech MVP 2022: What makes a standout entry

The jury responsible for judging entries to Campaign Asia-Pacific's Tech MVP awards, which will celebrate the most exceptional technical talent and innovative products from the Asia-Pacific region, has revealed what they will looking for from entries.

There's only a day left until the early-bird deadline (Friday, April 1) for submissions to Tech MVP 2022, which includes two lists: Most Valuable Professional and Most Valuable Product.

To aid nominees as they prepare their submissions, Campaign asked the jury of six technology leaders to detail what core attributes they will be looking for from individuals and products, and to provide advice on what constitutes a standout entry.

What makes a Most Valuable Professional

David Wightman, global head of advertising, SCMP

Apart from technical expertise and analytical skills, individuals ought to demonstrate an ability to bring significant uplift or business growth, an appreciation for robust data practices, originality, creativity, as well as important qualities such as leadership and soft skills such as being a great communicator and collaborator.

Jessica Martin, head of privacy, regulatory, crisis and risk APAC, Google

People and tech that helps address a core consumer issue, innovatively and at scale. Also, I'd love to also see entries that help address a social problem and how that tech professional was able to bring about the solution.

Kaythaya Maw, chief technology officer APAC, Wunderman Thompson

Behind the technology are the individuals who have worked tirelessly in their contribution to inspire others and spark innovation. Beyond being brilliant at their craft, standout individuals will have a track record of making an impact as a thought leader, people developer, and change agent.

Roshni Chatterjee, head of marketing and community, Jungle Ventures

Specifically for both valuable tech professional and innovative product 2022, I will be looking for innovative, scalable, and creative solutions that either significantly improves and disrupts the existing value chain through technology, or deliver a customer experience that is meaningfully different. We should not be using tech in marketing, just for the sake of it. It should either make the customer experience better or the value chain more efficient.

Vincent Niou, VP of data and technology APAC, Essence

There is no shortage of individuals possessing strong technical acumen. However, those who are able to apply that knowledge to marketing challenges, drive material value, and communicate the intricacies in layman’s terms such that it is a galvanising force across teams, are exceedingly rare. I’ll be looking for those individuals.

What makes a Most Valuable Product

Wightman

A stand out entry would clearly demonstrate how the product is creating a gain or resolving a pain for its target customer(s), along with an indication of the scale of the addressable market. Finally, how the product has been built, and how the product can be configured to facilitate interoperability with other technologies is critical.

Martin

Take us on the journey with a clear problem statement and the challenges. Then what about the product is innovative or creative? It could be a brilliant, simple, elegant solution, that is scalable; but how it was brought to life required an innovative approach. Finally show us the impact please.

Maw

The standout products I’m looking forward to seeing are ones that are new and innovative, or making step-changes that are disruptive in nature.  They should demonstrate tangible benefits and be impactful in the contribution the product makes to addressing challenges or opening opportunities within their organisation, industry, or broader society.

Chatterjee

I will be looking for creative solutions that seamlessly integrate tech in marketing to deliver a truly innovative and meaningfully elevated customer experience.

Niou

I’ll be looking for solutions that index highly for originality, scalability and tangible business outcomes. When it comes to innovation, I’ll be seeking not only entries that deploy bleeding-edge technologies, but also those that leverage ‘older’ technologies in new ways. Last but not least, strong entries should highlight products that are future-resilient. This means they are built with the foresight to account for our industry’s evolution trajectory.

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The jury has been carefully selected to ensure the full breadth of the industry is represented: agency, brand/platform, publisher, tech supplier and VC. The hope is this will reassure any individuals or companies submitting to the list that their talent and products will be well understood.

The jury will be chaired by Robert Sawatzky, editorial director Asia, Haymarket Media Group.

Here's a reminder of the deadlines to nominate to Tech MVP 2022:

• Early-bird deadline: Friday, April 1
• Regular deadline: Friday, April 8
• Late-entry deadline: Friday, April 15
• On all dates, entries will be accepted until 23:59 SG/HK (GMT+8)

For more information on eligibility, what to prepare for your submission and the nomination and judging process, see the original call for entries here.

Questions? Send them to [email protected], and we’ll help as soon as we can.