Southwest Airlines and The Economist Lead Winners
Airship, a leader in mobile-first customer experiences, announced the winners of the 2026 Elevate Customer Experience Awards. Recognizing global brands for their exceptional achievements in mobile-first and AI-centered customer experiences, the awards were unveiled at the Elevate’26 Customer Experience Summit in Orlando, Florida.
Southwest Airlines was honored with the Elevate Visionary Brand award, recognised for its innovative strategies that enhance frictionless travel. Acknowledged for mastering the art of customer journey orchestration, The Economist received the Journey Orchestration Mastery award for creating a seamless, unified experience across multiple channels.
Brett Caine, CEO of Airship, stated, “The 2026 Elevate Award winners aren’t just adapting, they’re leading transformative and meaningful customer experiences.” These brands are setting the standard for turning everyday interactions into impactful, cross-channel journeys.
AI and Mobile Innovations Recognised
CIMB Malaysia earned the Business Impact Award, thanks to its digital strategies that significantly increased revenue and improved operational efficiency. OneFootball was distinguished with the Excellence in Personalization award for developing a sophisticated personalization architecture that provides individualized user experiences.
Sally Beauty received recognition with the Experimentation Award for fostering a culture of continuous testing and improvement, focusing on enhancing the customer lifecycle. Accuweather was awarded the ASO Leader Award for its strategic app store optimization that boosted discoverability and growth.
Virgin Atlantic was lauded for its new mobile app, which enhances the customer experience through a mobile-first approach. Meanwhile, VML received the Innovation Partner award for its role in delivering scalable mobile-first experiences globally, emphasizing the importance of collaboration in achieving business goals.
The Summit highlighted how evolving consumer behaviors and advancements in AI are reshaping brand interactions with customers. These award-winning strategies demonstrate how modern brands are effectively responding to these shifts.
The 2026 Elevate Customer Experience Awards also recognised innovative campaigns that leveraged AI agents to reach new levels of productivity and achieve real business results. This recognition underscores the impact of AI-centered strategies in modern customer interactions.
In addition to the main award categories, the event featured discussions on future trends in customer engagement, highlighting the importance of cross-channel integration and the potential of AI to transform the customer experience landscape. The awards not only celebrated past achievements but also set a precedent for future innovations in customer experience.
For more information about the Elevate’26 Customer Experience Summit and the awarded strategies, visit Airship’s official website at www.airship.com.
