With 23 submissions from 12 countries
to the first Mage Titans’ Innovation Award we were so impressed.
23 entries for the Magento Innovation Award from 12 countries. #MageTitans
— Katie Gallagher (@katiegallagher) November 7, 2015
It was a very difficult job just to shortlist the entries down to seven, let alone to judge and whittle it down to one; that’s why we brought the experts in to do this for us. A panel of nine specialists were called in to judge; Joshua Warren, Chris Simmons, Allan MacGregor, Nick Lansley, MitchGoldman, Alex Blaney, and Sam Ban, Rik Blakow and Jon Woodall who were all in attendance on the day. But, even the specialists couldn’t decide!
Just wondering how many #Magento experience the innovation award jury has in total. I think zillions #MageTitans
— Arjen Miedema (@arjenmiedema_nl) November 7, 2015
Just after lunch on the day of Mage Titans, Grant Kemp took to the stage to introduce the Mage Titans’ Innovation Award and to announce the winner. He began that this was quite a controversial result, as there was not one clear winner, it was actually a very close race, almost a photo-finish, with a joint second place to be commended. Each entry was marked anonymously out of ten on both innovation and impact.
Fantastic enthusiasm for the Magento community from @ukandroid. Innovation award is a great idea. #MageTitans
— David Alexander (@bearslovehoney) November 7, 2015
The air was excitable and we think that the audience were in agreement with Grant that Magento builds, and the wider eCommerce world in general, was, and is, an area in which innovation can really push boundaries.
And so, Grant moved on with the announcements.
In joint second place were Meanbee and Cloudtags.
Meanbee had submitted their personalised content extension for Magento which automatically show customers the most relevant static blocks based on their previous product purchases and views. They have some rather impressive screenshots on their GitHub account, where you can also download and try out their Open Source creation. We can’t wait to try it out ourselves.
Cloudtags aim to create connected stores, blending digital and physical experiences. Through the innovative use of smart tags, NFC and beacon proximity sensors, CloudTags provides tens of thousands of data points about customers in-store browsing behavior and product-level intent. You can see their innovation in action on their website.
Congratulations to Meanbee and Cloudtags, you really have created stand-out innovations!
Finally, we came to the winner. We announced that the consensus was… GoInStore, who bring the online customer virtually instore via the use of smart, connected glasses, so they can view the item in action in the hands of an experienced assistant.
This wonder will be winging its way to you @GoInStore @dawsonsmusic – it's weighty! #MageTitans pic.twitter.com/Obs4yXdiyh
— Mage Titans (@MageTitans) November 7, 2015
Again, so many thanks go out to our Innovation Award sponsors, Sage Pay, to Grant for heading up the project and to all of our judges and entrants.
