We recently received the following question:

"Can you clarify for me the difference between the Internet Advertising
Awards Website category and the WebAwards."

Simply, the WebAwards (www.webaward.org) focus on the development of the total website and accepts entries from April through May. Micro sites tend to do well, but landing pages do not have enough content and navigation and tend to be at a disadvantage.

The Internet Advertising Competition (www.iacaward.org) focuses on the advertising effectiveness of a website (among other forms of online ads) and accepts entries from Nov through January. It does not look at overall website development, rather the effectiveness of the site as a branding and/or direct marketing tool.

If you visit the guidelines section of each website, you will see the details of the competitions.

Bookmark this BlinkBits BlinkList Blogmarks Buddymarks CiteUlike Connotea del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink FeedMarker Flog this! feedmelinks Furl Give a Link Gravee igooi Lilisto Linkagogo Linkroll ma.gnolia Maple.nu My-Tuts Netvouz Newsvine Onlywire RawSugar reddit Scuttle Shadows Simpy Spurl Taggly tagtooga TalkDigger Wink Yahoo MyWeb Posted by Bill at 11:00 AM | Permalink

The Web Marketing Association announces the launched of the 8th annual Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Awards. The IAC Awards are the first and only industry-based advertising award competition dedicated exclusively to online advertising. The Competition Web site is located at www.iacaward.org and the deadline for entry is January 29, 2010.

Awards will be presented within each of the industry categories and advertising formats including:
Online ad (including banner, pop-up or interstitial)
Rich media online ad
Email message
Online newsletter
Website (including landing pages and microsites)
Integrated ad campaign
Ads the client did not choose
Two new categories have been added this year. Online video and Mobile applications will now also be eligible to compete in the IAC Awards.

Best of show award for each medium will be selected from among the industry winners. Ads eligible for entry in the competition must have run during the period from January 1, 2009 through January 29, 2010, except for “Ads the Client did not pick, which do not need to have run.

The Internet Advertising Competition Awards are open to all organizations and individuals (advertising and interactive agencies, corporate marketing departments, etc.) involved in the process of developing Internet advertising. Entries may be submitted online at www.iacaward.org. The deadline for entry is January 29, 2010 and will be judged on creativity, innovation, impact, design, copywriting, and use of the medium.

Judging for the IAC Awards will take place in February, 2010, and winners will be notified by e-mail one week prior to the general announcement of winners in March, 2010. Judges will consist of a select group of Internet advertising professionals with an in-depth understanding of the current state-of-the-art in Web advertising. Past competition judges have included top executives from leading corporations, institutions and media organizations such as Ogilvy Interactive, Saatchi & Saatchi, Blattner Brunner, Comedy Central, Sun Microsystems, National Cable & Telecom Association, Refinery, Euro RSCG, EPB Interactive, New York Post Interactive, The Cincinnati Enquirer, J. Walter Thompson, Xerox, Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Modem Media, and Answerthink.

2009 Best of Show Awards were awarded in each of the online medium categories. Last year's winners are:

Design Lab for Design Lab Holiday Card (Best of Show Email message)
Digitas and Kelley Blue Book for Pontiac G8 – Tommy Kendall Avatar (Best of Show Rich media Online ad)
Atmosphere BBDO for Dude (Best of Show Integrated ad campaign)
Atmosphere BBDO for Photo Slice (Best of Show Interactive application)
Ogilvy San Francisco for iPath Origami Banners & Behind the Scenes Video (Best of Show Rich media Online campaign)
Agency.com for Skittles: Mix The Rainbow (Best of Show Online ad)
Biggs|Gilmore</strong> for The Spoonful (Best of Show Online Newsletter campaign)
AvatarLabs for WALL-E (Best of Show Online campaign)
Publicis Modem for LG - Learn to Fly (Best of Show Ads the client did not pick)
Overdrive Interactive for Symmetricom Next Generation Network (Best of Show Email message campaign)
Verizon, NFL Network and Communifx for Verizon and NFL Network Online Demo (Best of Show Websites)

Biggs|Gilmore of Kalamazoo, MI was recognized with the 2009 Top Agency Award, winning 19 IAC Awards. Their awards include a Best of show, 8 Best of Industry awards and 10 Outstanding awards.

A complete list of past winners can be found at www.IACAWARD.ORG/winners.asp

The 2010 Internet Advertising Competition Awards are sponsored by Burst Media, BGT Partners, 24-7PressRelease.com, AllBusiness, ExactTarget, ad:tech conferences, Microsoft PopPhizz, Internet World UK, Search Engine Strategies, Webmaster Radio, Rovion and Website Magazine.

Bookmark this BlinkBits BlinkList Blogmarks Buddymarks CiteUlike Connotea del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink FeedMarker Flog this! feedmelinks Furl Give a Link Gravee igooi Lilisto Linkagogo Linkroll ma.gnolia Maple.nu My-Tuts Netvouz Newsvine Onlywire RawSugar reddit Scuttle Shadows Simpy Spurl Taggly tagtooga TalkDigger Wink Yahoo MyWeb Posted by Bill at 08:45 AM | Permalink

WE have received several emails like the following:

I have just received a merchandise claim notification from IAC Awards Center Director, Las Vegas, NV for a vehicle entitlement requiring a redempton fee of $47.97. I would like to know if this is a legitimate merchandise incentive offer, or a scam.

The Web Marketing Association is based in Connecticut and does not have anything to do with this or any "merchandise claim notification"

As for vehicle entitlement requiring a redemption fee of $47.97 - two things come to mind. First you get what you pay for and I don't know what vehicle you can expect for $47.97. Second, if it sounds to good to be true....

Bookmark this BlinkBits BlinkList Blogmarks Buddymarks CiteUlike Connotea del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink FeedMarker Flog this! feedmelinks Furl Give a Link Gravee igooi Lilisto Linkagogo Linkroll ma.gnolia Maple.nu My-Tuts Netvouz Newsvine Onlywire RawSugar reddit Scuttle Shadows Simpy Spurl Taggly tagtooga TalkDigger Wink Yahoo MyWeb Posted by Bill at 09:00 AM | Permalink

BtoB Magazine recently ran a special report entitled 10 Great B-to-B Sites by Karen Bannan.

Each year, BtoB asks a panel of five Web site design and usability experts to identify 10 of the best b-to-b Web sites out there. For the third year, Bill Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association, was asked to participate and comments on website development standards based on his experience with the annual WebAward competition.

Bookmark this BlinkBits BlinkList Blogmarks Buddymarks CiteUlike Connotea del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink FeedMarker Flog this! feedmelinks Furl Give a Link Gravee igooi Lilisto Linkagogo Linkroll ma.gnolia Maple.nu My-Tuts Netvouz Newsvine Onlywire RawSugar reddit Scuttle Shadows Simpy Spurl Taggly tagtooga TalkDigger Wink Yahoo MyWeb Posted by Bill at 02:57 PM | Permalink

This month the Web Marketing Association is providing a free full conference pass to their New York conference http://www.ad-tech.com/NY to one lucky person. This year the conference will be held at Jacob K. Javits Center November 4-6. This is a great conference and always packed with interesting speakers and outstanding networking opportunities.

To enter send your contact information (name, title, company, address) to adtech@webaward.org. We will pick a winner on the 15th and notify them by email.

Bookmark this BlinkBits BlinkList Blogmarks Buddymarks CiteUlike Connotea del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink FeedMarker Flog this! feedmelinks Furl Give a Link Gravee igooi Lilisto Linkagogo Linkroll ma.gnolia Maple.nu My-Tuts Netvouz Newsvine Onlywire RawSugar reddit Scuttle Shadows Simpy Spurl Taggly tagtooga TalkDigger Wink Yahoo MyWeb Posted by Bill at 09:37 AM | Permalink

The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the winners of its13th annual WebAward Competition for Web site development. More than 2,000 sites from 45 countries were adjudicated in 96 industry categories during this year's competition. Entries were judged on design, copy writing, innovation, content, interactivity, navigation, and use of technology.

"Recognizing the best website in each industry is an important way to establish the ever changing standard of excellence in website development," said William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association. "Each year the WebAwards receives amazing entries from around the world that show impressive creativity and functionality. As the Internet evolves, so does the state of website development and winning a WebAward is a great way to demonstrate the effectiveness of your Web development efforts."

A complete list of the winning sites can be found at the WebAward Web site at www.webaward.org.

Bookmark this BlinkBits BlinkList Blogmarks Buddymarks CiteUlike Connotea del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink FeedMarker Flog this! feedmelinks Furl Give a Link Gravee igooi Lilisto Linkagogo Linkroll ma.gnolia Maple.nu My-Tuts Netvouz Newsvine Onlywire RawSugar reddit Scuttle Shadows Simpy Spurl Taggly tagtooga TalkDigger Wink Yahoo MyWeb Posted by Bill at 05:40 AM | Permalink

The 2009 Best of Show WebAward is presented to Organic, Inc. for their exceptional work on "Bank of America - Morris on Campus” website. The site was also recognized as Best Bank WebAward.

Bank of America enlisted Organic to help B of A maintain this leadership position by developing an online marketing program that would meet the needs of students in their current stage of life. Organic created Morris - the Wise Upperclassman and his online web show, “Morris On Campus.” For students, Morris is a peer, a mentor, and a confidante — someone who has recently had to make the same financial decisions other underclassmen are making today. “Morris On Campus”—a series of 6 web shows—is a way for Morris to communicate bank messaging, in terms that students can understand.

This is the second time Organic, Inc. has won the coveted Best of Show WebAward. They also received top honors at the very first WebAward competition in 1997 for their work on Philips Home Theater Web site.

Organic, Inc. won an impressive 12 WebAwards in 2009.

Bookmark this BlinkBits BlinkList Blogmarks Buddymarks CiteUlike Connotea del.icio.us Digg it Earthlink FeedMarker Flog this! feedmelinks Furl Give a Link Gravee igooi Lilisto Linkagogo Linkroll ma.gnolia Maple.nu My-Tuts Netvouz Newsvine Onlywire RawSugar reddit Scuttle Shadows Simpy Spurl Taggly tagtooga TalkDigger Wink Yahoo MyWeb Posted by Bill at 05:33 AM | Permalink