Best Use of Technology: Dudley Building Society Sponsored by Altodigital

Award sponsor Altodigital's James Mason presented the award to the society's delighted marketing and communications team.

Marketing and communications manager Leigh White said: "We really didn't expect this at all, sitting at the back of the room. We are really pleased to have been recognised with the award for best use of technology."

David Titley of design agency The Partnership, which helped develop the new system joined the society team on stage.

"We has such faith in the platform created with The Partnership's digital team. It was created with a very tight timescale.

"It had to be delivered within three months and that was where the guys from The Partnership came in," he explained.

The new platform, which enables the 159-year-old Dudley Building Society to introduce new products much more quickly.

The system also helps customers understand the range of savings accounts and decide which product might suit them best. It is now available in all five of the society's branches and by using its website.

"It has transformed the was in which we launch products," added Mr White.

Traditionally product changes, withdrawals and additions had to go through a laborious process of literature creation, updating relevant websites, marketing material creation and costly print runs. This process would take around a week to get a new product to market and incur significant design and print costs over the space of a year.

Stringent regulation governs how products are developed and launched with all steps requiring an audit trail and suitable documentation to be captured at each stage of the process only adding to workload.

The new system has also improved the sales process and can generate personalised literature.

Its introduction has also reduced costly print runs and the associated wastage when products are changed.

It has personalised communications to the customer’s needs and is delivering valuable data that will allow society staff to engage in more effective and targeted marketing activity.

The Dudley, which has its headquarters at Harbour Buildings on The Waterfront, Brierley Hill, is already in talks to make the solution commercially available to other societies in the UK.

In recent years the society has moved from a traditional to a modern building society with an ever-evolving range of savings accounts, mortgages, financial advice, insurance and estate planning services.

*The runners up for the best use of technology award were MTI Welding Technologies and Serveline IT.