Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège and Spade win the UPMC 2019 Prize
The digital platform of the Opéra de Liège designed by Spade, was honored at the 21st edition of the Union Professionnelle des Métiers de la Communication (UPMC) Awards. A look back at the success of an ambitious project.
The 21st UPMC Awards Ceremony was held last May at the Val Benoît in Liège. Spade’s team is proud to have been honoured for its joint work with the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège (ORW). From this collaboration was born a remarkable, efficient and innovative website.
UPMC Digital Award: prestigious and demanding
The UPMC is a bit like the standard-bearer of people in the communication professions, but also the guarantor of their professionalism and an important player in the transmission of the profession to the communicators of tomorrow.
Although it has been operating in the Liège region since 2007, UPMC is the heir to older professional groups. The Union originated with the merger of the Union Professionnelle de la Publicité (UPP), which was created in 1934, and the Cercle Liégeois de l’Information et des Relations Publiques (CLIRP), founded in the early 1980s. That’s how prestigious the awards are!
The UPMC, which has taken over from the CLIRP Awards, annually recognizes a company or institution, a student, an event and an outstanding achievement. These honours reward professionals (and professionals in the making) who contribute to the influence of a company or institution in Liège, and who thus nourish the brand image of the Pays de Liège.
The UPMC Awards took an official leap forward in the digital world in 2018, with the creation of the Digital Award in their twentieth year. The newcomer has carved out a place for himself in the trophies to highlight the excellence of digital communication projects. The many websites, campaigns, applications and online innovations that are emerging in the Province of Liège can now compete for recognition of the profession.
In 2019, the revamp website of the Opéra de Liège, operaliege.be, stood out from the crowd. For the greatest pride of the Spade agency!
A convinced demanding jury
The Jury, composed of 10 members of the UPMC Council of Administration, awards points to projects competing according to 5 criteria:
- the strategy (coherence of the digital communication campaign as a whole) / 10 points
- creativity (graphics and visual quality, storytelling, copywriting, content strategy, editorial quality) / 30 points
- the User experience (ergonomics, readability, usability, usability, usability, mobile aspect) / 30 points
- the impact (virality, public support, e-marketing strategy, SEM) / 20 points
- innovation / 10 points
After a thorough analysis of all the proposed candidates, the jury voted completely independently and without consultation.
In the end, the ORW website received no less than 702 points out of 1,000! “The final result of this vintage is particularly high,” comments Rodolphe Finamore, head of the Digital Working Group and member of the UPMC Board of Directors. And 8 out of 10 judges gave all their points to the project!
Hélène Thiébaut, Vice-President of the UPMC, points out that “the members of the jury particularly appreciated the User Experience (UX) offered by the ORW digital platform, highlighting the very successful ergonomics, the clear and functional structure, and the clear and pleasant navigation for each of the Opera’s target audiences, such as the press, families and children or the community sector. »
Hélène Thiébaut also pointed out that the jury was impressed by many aspects: the emphasis on the editorial content, the perfect coherence with the Opera’s overall communication campaign and the current and elegant graphic design. “In short, a site that makes it possible to promote the Royal Walloon Opera internationally! “she concludes enthusiastically.
Very happy with this result, the Spade team is also extremely satisfied with the quality of the collaboration with the communication team of the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège.
The Royal Opera and Spade: a successful collaboration
This prestigious prize was a great recognition for the Royal Walloon Opera as well as for Spade, the craftsmen of the new website. He confirmed the success of the exceptional collaborative approach between the cultural institution and the digital communication agency.
To carry out the complete revision of the digital medium, Spade has opted for an advanced strategic reflection phase, conducted in close collaboration with the ORW communication team, including Elisa Waisel, Sophie Roman and Eva Libert. This tailor-made work methodology makes it possible to carry out projects as close as possible to needs.
François Lamotte, Partner and Client Service Director of Spade : “The relationship of trust that has been built up over the course of the working meetings has been exceptional. Our collaborative approach, through various workshops, made it possible to define all the mechanisms that would animate the machinery of the new site. And the methodology has paid off! “.
This assessment is widely shared by Sophie Roman, Digital expert, Web – Social Media for the Royal Opera: “In addition to the technical skills (both in web development and design/UX), we particularly appreciate Spade’s responsiveness, as well as her good advice in some of our digital tool choices. »
Moreover, the Opéra Royal de Wallonie-Liège has chosen Spade among a dozen applications. According to Sophie Roman, the agency’s many assets motivated this choice: “Their understanding of our problems, our challenges and the proposal of a tool and methodology perfectly adapted to our needs, both in terms of practical and financial aspects, were decisive factors. »
The Spade team thanks ORW for their trust during this collaboration!