The Digital Screenmedia Association has announced the winners for the DSA Crown Awards, which recognize excellence in digital out-of-home content.

The DSA Crown Awards ceremony was held aboard the Duchess Yacht, which cruised around Manhattan, New York, on Nov. 7 following the first day of Customer Engagement Technology World.

The categories for the content awards were Point of Sale, for content on screens in store catering to the shopper; Point of Transit, for reaching people are on the go, such as at airports and with digital billboards; and Point of Wait, for places where people have higher dwell times such as banks, elevators, and doctor's offices. New subcategories based on budget were introduced this year.

The awards ceremony was co-hosted by Keith Kelsen, author of "Unleashing the Power of Digital Signage," and Marcy Patzer of Scala.

The winners are:

Category – Point of Sale (content budget of $10,000 or more)

Gold: McCormick - "Guess That Spice," submitted by 5th Screen Digital Services and HP

Silver: Sprint - "Green Mountain Bike LCD," submitted by Two West

Bronze: Sprint - "Studio Holiday Grand Moment," submitted by Two West

Honorable Mention: McCormick – "Flavor Print," submitted by 5th Screen Digital Services and HP

Category – Point of Sale (content budget less than $10,000)

Gold: Mercedes-Benz - "Visualizer," submitted by Scala and Pro-Motion Technology Group

Silver: Sprint - "Need For Speed EVO 3D LCD," submitted by Two West

Bronze: Cedar Fair - "Digital Menu Board Optimization," submitted by Allure Global Solutions

Category – Point of Wait ($10,000 or more)

Gold: BBVA Flagship, submitted by John Ryan

Silver: Sprint - "Trail of Destruction," submitted by Two West

Bronze: Sprint - "Buyback Virtual Queue," submitted by Two West

Honorable Mention: Loews Don CeSar Hotel - Concierge Board, submitted by JANUS Displays

Category – Point of Wait (less than $10,000)

Gold: Sprint - "Total Equipment Protection," submitted by Two West

Silver: "Family Dental Care," submitted by Digital Clinic

Category – Point of Transit ($10,000 or more)

Gold: Monterey Bay Aquarium - "150 Feet of Awesome," submitted by Inwindow Outdoor

Silver: Tesco - "The U.K.'s First Interactive Virtual Grocery Store," submitted by Monster Media

Bronze: McCarran International Airport Digital Signage, submitted by Four Winds Interactive

Judges for the DSA Crown Awards included Michael Chase of St. Joseph Content, Paul Flanigan of Pro-Motion Technology Group, Pat Hellberg of The Preset Group, Jim Kealy of 2hemispheres, Keith Kelsen of 5th Screen, and Anne White of HypeHouse.

Each of the entries were scored independently by the judges, who took the following into consideration:

Did the content meet the objectives? Was the content engaging? Did the content fit the environment? Did the content fit the audience?

After all the judges submitted their scores, the scores were tallied and the highest average score in each category were chosen as winners. Judges who had entries in the competition recused themselves from judging their entry.

"The spectacular thing about this year's awards were the amount of entries featuring interactive engagement," said Keith Kelsen, judge and co-host. "Looking at this year's gold winners shows that interactive content is a significant trend for the industry. For retailers, interactive engagement helps make their stores a digital destination."

Read more about digital signage content.