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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - The Web Marketing Association announces the winners of its annual Internet Advertising Competition (IAC) Awards, an effort to honor excellence in online advertising and to recognize the individuals and organizations responsible for the best in Internet marketing. The IAC Awards are the first and only industry-based advertising award competition dedicated exclusively to online advertising. The Competition web site with a complete list of winners is located at www.IACAward.org
"Online advertising is finally getting the recognition it deserves and The Web Marketing Association is pleased to help set the standard for Internet excellence," said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association, Inc. "Spending for online advertising continues to grow rapidly and the IAC Awards highlight the best in this unique advertising medium by industry."
2006 Best of Show Awards were awarded in each of the online medium categories. This year's winners include:
Disney Online for Kellogg's Fruit Streamers Mini-site (Best Ads the Client Did Not Pick)
Kel Geddes Management Ltd for The Official Anne Geddes Website Email (Best of Show Email Message)
ThinData Inc. for Building a Better Member Email (Best of Show Email Message Campaign)
OER_Satama for Scream mail (Best of Show Integrated ad campaign)
Aristotle for Keowee Falls Interactive Tour (Best of Show Integrated ad campaign)
Beyond Interactive for 3M Breast Cancer Awareness (Best of Show Microsite/Landing Page)
Cheil Communications America for Cocktail Shaker (Best of Show Online ad)
Foote Cone & Belding for Above The Influence (Best of Show Online Campaign)
Scudder Investments for Scudder Participant e-Newsletter (Best of Show Online Newsletter Campaign)
Walt Disney Parks and Resorts for Block Party Bash (Best of Show Rich Media Online Ad)
Geary Interactive for 24 Sweepstakes (Best of Show Rich Media Online Campaign)
For the second year in a row, TMX Communications of Conshohocken, PA was recognized with the 2006 Top Agency Award, winning 13 IAC Awards. Their awards included 12 Best of Industry awards and an Outstanding award. Last year, TMX Communications shared the Top Agency Award with Organic, Inc.
Other IAC Award winners who received multiple awards included:
AGENCY (number of awards)
TMX Communications (13)
Agency.com (10)
Beyond Interactive (9)
Bridge Worldwide (9)
Organic, Inc. (9)
McKinney (8)
Cheil Communications America (7)
TM Interactive (7)
Marketel (6)
America Online, Inc (5)
Biggs-Gilmore (5)
Creative Direct Marketing Group (5)
Armchair Media (4)
bbdigital (Blattner Brunner) (4)
Disney Online (4)
Kel Geddes Management Ltd (4)
Mullen (4)
Ogilvy Worldwide (4)
Sharpe Partners (4)
Smashing Ideas (4)
The Barbarian Group (4)
THINK, Inc. (4)
VML (4)
The Competition web site with a complete list of winners is located at www.advertisingcompetition.org
The 2006 Internet Advertising Competition is sponsored by, BURST! Media, Small Army, AdTools, ExactTarget, OddCast, Line56 Media, and PRWeb.
About the Web Marketing Association
The Web Marketing Association is an organization working to create a high standard of excellence for Web site development and marketing on the Internet. Staffed by volunteers, it is made up of Internet marketing, advertising, PR and design professionals who share an interest in improving the quality of advertising, marketing and promotion used to attract visitors to Web sites. Since 1997, the Web Marketing Associations annual WebAward Competition has been helping interactive professionals promote themselves, their companies, and their best work to the outside world. Now in its ninth year, the WebAward Competitions have become the premier event for Web developers and marketers worldwide.
The Web Marketing Association is currently accepting entries for the ninth annual WebAward Competition for Web site development at www.webawards2006.org . Deadline for entry is May 31st.
The Web Marketing Association spent the last two day
exhibiting at the OMMA Conference in
Hollywood.
It was a great conference with well attended, interesting sessions and
outstanding keynotes.
We introduced our new booth at the show. Seen here in the photo
is Bill Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association meeting OMMA attendees
discussing the 2006 WebAwards. The winner of the video iPod drawing will be
announced in a few days.
Marcus +
Company, a Boston-based boutique marketing consulting firm specializing in
helping companies win of noteworthy award programs, has highlighted the 2006
WebAwards and the Internet Standards Assessment Report in the recent Marketing
with Honors newsletter.
The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the call for entries for its 10th annual international WebAward competition. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a successful Web site. It recognizes the individual and team achievements of Web professionals who create and maintain outstanding Web sites. The deadline for entry in the 2006 WebAwards is May 31, 2006. A complete list of past winners and this year’s entry form can be found at www.webaward.org.
“The WebAwards is different from other Web site award programs because we’re not just a beauty pageant focused on name recognition and design,” said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. “The goal of the WebAwards is to not only recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today, but also provide valuable feedback to entrants on how their sites stack up against their peers and industry standards of excellence. For that reason, we see ourselves more like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval than the Academy Awards.”
Web sites are judged on seven criteria, including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use and receive a numeric score. Each WebAward entry is judged against other entries in its industry category and then against an overall standard of excellence. Entrants also benefit from receiving valuable feedback from the WebAwards professional judging panel on their Web site development efforts.
Using the quantifiable data collected from nearly 10,000 Web site evaluations over the past decade, the WebAwards has defined and recognized industry-specific benchmarks for successful Web sites in each of these areas and release a the Internet Standards Assessment Report to communicate the findings of the study. A copy of the study is available at www.webaward.org.
This year’s top awards will include:
* A “Best of Industry” WebAward, a handsome plaque with the image of the winning site embossed, will be given in each of the 96 industry categories, including financial services, medical, small business, travel, advertising, transportation and government. New categories for this year include Blogs, Architecture, Electronics and Photography.
* The competition’s highest honor, the 2006 WebAward “Best of Show”, will be given to the one site that the judges believe represents the pinnacle of outstanding achievement in Web development. Last year’s Best of Show winner was based IQ interactive (www.iqtv.com), for their outstanding work on "National Geographic – Inside The Mafia" at URL www.insidethemafia.com.
* The Web Marketing Association will also recognize the interactive agency winning the most awards in the competition with the “Top Interactive Agency” WebAward. The 2005 Top Agency award was presented Zugara (www.zugara.com), taking home 20 awards, more that any other organization in the history of the competition.
Judging for the 2006 WebAwards will take place in June through August, with winners announced in September. Judges will consist of a select group of Internet professionals who have direct experience designing and managing corporate Web sites,–including members of the media, advertising executives, site designers, content providers and webmasters – with an in-depth understanding of the current state-of-the-art in Web site development and technology. Mark Kingdon, CEO of Organic, Inc. has been selected to lead the judging panel this year. Past judges have included top executives from leading organizations such as Ogilvy Interactive, Saatchi & Saatchi, Blattner Brunner, Comedy Central, Sun Microsystems, Refinery, Euro RSCG, EPB Interactive, New York Post Interactive, The Cincinnati Enquirer, J. Walter Thompson, Xerox, Art Institute of Pittsburgh, Modem Media, and Answerthink.
The 2006 WebAward Competition current sponsors include Burst Media, SimpleFeed, Register.com, NewsUSA, AdTools Inc, Small Army, Perseus Development Corp and PRWeb. Media Sponsors include Website Services Magazine, AdRants, MarketingVox, MediaPost, eComXpo, Ad:Tech and Macworld. The Web Marketing Association thanks all of its sponsors for helping to make this annual competition possible.
About the WebAwards
The 10th annual international WebAwards competition sets the standard of excellence in 95 industry categories by evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Web site development. The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today. Entrants benefit from a Web site assessment by a professional judging panel and the marketing opportunities presented to an award-winning Web site. For more information, visit www.webaward.org.
The Web Marketing Association will be participating in
several of the leading industry conferences this year. Here is your opportunity
to participate in important educational sessions while networking with other
industry professionals. Here a leading industry conference that we
recommend.
WebMaster World
Apr 18-20, 2006, Hynes
Convention Center, Boston
WebmasterWorld's PubCon is an educational
conference and industry trade show programmed specifically for web professionals
and website site owners. The event will be opened with a Keynote Speech by best
selling author Malcolm Gladwell, writer of 'The Tipping Point,' and 'Blink.'
The conference has four tracks each day and these include
sessions focusing on some of today's hottest Internet topics. The tracks are:
Organic Search & General Webmaster Issues, Paid Search (PPC), Affiliates
& Advertising, and the highly popular Site Reviews. In addition, the highly
rated networking event gives attendees the opportunity to meet and discuss their
individual issues with the other attendees, speakers and businesses. The event
is supported by the Industry's leading businesses as speakers, exhibitors, and
sponsors, including Ask, Google, Microsoft's MSN Search and Yahoo!.
For more information go to www.pubcon.com A limited number of participants
can receive 25% off the full conference rate by entering code "wm-80625" when
registering.
Vistit us at booth #406 and learn more about the 2006 WebAward competition.
Bill Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association, will be moderating a panel at eComXpo, a virtual trade show
for eCommerce marketers. Joining him will be Chris Colborn, VP Interaction
Design, R/GA, Jeff Freedman, Marketing Principal, Small Army, and Michelle
Gugick, Associate Director of Interactive, Ernst & Young. The title of the
panel is Building an Award-Winning Web site: Current Trends in Web
development from the Judges of the 2006 WebAwards. Please join us for this
informative discussion. Attending the event is completely free, and registration
is now open at www.ecomxpo.com.
PRWeb, a sponsor of the 2006 WebAwards, has created a podcast interview of William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association, discussing the major finding of the recently released Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR).
Entitled "Breakthrough Internet Study Sets Benchmarks for Web Site Development " the podcast is currently live and is listed on the main page under "Most Recent Podcasts" and in the "Most Recent Podcasts" RSS feed.
(http://prwebpodcast.com/feed/recent.xml).
It can also be found under the approriate iTunes category feeds on this page (http://prwebpodcast.com/podlist.php).
You can find the podcast in various formats on this page: http://prwebpodcast.com/releases/pod137.htm)
The Web Marketing Association will be participating in
several of the leading industry conferences this year. Here is your opportunity
to participate in important educational sessions while networking with other
industry professionals. Here a leading industry conference that we
recommend.
ad:tech
Apr 26-28, San Francisco
The #1
Event for Interactive Marketing. Join us at ad:tech San Francisco for
groundbreaking sessions, a hands-on technology showcase, enhanced networking
opportunities, and sizzling parties.
Save 20% by registering with our promotional code: ATSFEG.
Learn more and register at: www.ad-tech.com/sf.asp Visit us at booth #5751 and learn more about the 2006 WebAward competition.
Burst Media has been
named a 2006 sponsor of the Web Marketing Association’s 10th annual WebAward
Competition. The WebAwards is the
standards-defining competition that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven
criteria of a successful Web site.
"We are pleased to have Burst
Media helping us to promote the WebAward
Competition again this year," said William Rice, President of the Web
Marketing Association. "Burst's
network of sites has given us outstanding reach for our advertising
campaigns. Burst Media makes it easy for us to execute and analyze our advertising strategy on
many sites that would normally not be available to us".
"Helping support the online marketing community is an important part of
Burst Media's philosophy," said Jarvis Coffin, President and CEO of the Burst
Media. "As a past WebAward winner, we recognize the value of participating
in a program such as the WebAwards. Winning
a WebAward not only provides valuable feedback from expert judges, but also gives
companies a valuable marketing tool and shows company management that their
Internet investments are on the right track. We are pleased to support the
efforts of the Web Marketing Association and the WebAward program."
Burst Media
is an Internet ad services and online ad sales rep company that delivers more
than 4 billion advertising impressions for over 4,000 websites every month, Burst
reaches approximately 1 in 3 people online and is among the 15 largest online
media properties in terms of unique visitors and reach. By providing thousands
of web publishers with tools and expertise from ad sales to email newsletter
tools and community forums for learning, Burst helps publishers generate
sustainable revenue. Burst also markets AdDesktop, a competitively-priced, ASP
ad management solution that helps web publishers securely target, serve, track
and report the performance of online advertising campaigns. The company,
founded in 1995, is based near Boston, and was recently named the 11th
fastest growing private company in Massachusetts by the Boston Business
Journal.
Interactive Briefing, the newsletter of the Web Marketing Association, featured two articles this month:
How
Tradeshows can benefit from going Virtual - Trade show are a great way
to meet with a lot of vendor and learn about current trends. Here's a case study
about one group that is bringing their tradeshows to a computer near
you.
Bringing
out a sites personality -- Currentsite.com is a branding tool,
interactive playground and an award winner.
Last week, the Web Marketing Association released the Internet Standards Assessment Report, a landmark study of web development benchmarks across 81 industries. We are pleased to report that many leading publications have already picked up on the report, including:
AdRants - Gaming Sites On Top, PR Sites On Bottom of Website
Effectiveness Study
http://www.adrants.com/2006/03/gaming-sites-on-top-pr-sites-on-bottom-of.php
MarketingVox - 10-Year Study Establishes Website Development
Benchmarks
http://www.marketingvox.com/archives/2006/03/16/10year_study_establishes_website_development_benchmarks/
Adotas - Study Dissects Web Trends Across 80 Industries
http://www.adotas.com/2006/03/study-dissects-web-trends-across-80-industries/
WebProNews - Gaming Sites, Great; PR Sites, No
http://www.webpronews.com/topnews/topnews/wpn-60-20060316GamingSitesGreatPRSitesNo.html
The Web Marketing Association will be participating in
several of the leading industry conferences this year. Here is your opportunity
to participate in important educational sessions while networking with other
industry professionals. Here a leading industry conference that we
recommend.
eComXpo
April 4-6, 2006
100% Online & Virtual, eComXpo
will bring together more than 7,000 advertisers, publishers, search marketers,
merchants, affiliates, webmasters, agencies and vendors, making this the world's
largest tradeshow for eCommerce Marketers. All the benefits of a top tradeshow
can be attained from the comfort of your home or office. View interactive
presentations from industry luminaries, enter to win valuable prizes, and
network with exhibitors and attendees! Attending the event is completely free,
and registration is now open at www.eComXpo.com
Perseus Development Corporation, the
global leader in web survey software and Enterprise Feedback Management (EFM)
solutions, has been named a 2006 sponsor of the Web Marketing Association’s 10th
annual WebAward Competition The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition
that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a successful Web
site.
"We are pleased to have Perseus helping us to promote the WebAward
Competition again this year," said William Rice, President of the Web
Marketing Association. "We use
Perseus SurveySolutions® to gather feedback from participants and
judges and use this information to make the next year's program even
better. Perseus makes it easy for us to
create, execute and analyze customized surveys that allow us to better
understand the needs of the online marketing community."
"Feedback is critical for an organization to understand the needs of
its key audiences, and the participation in award competitions is a valuable
form of feedback," said Dwight Galler, Vice President of Marketing at
Perseus. "Winning a WebAward not
only provides valuable feedback from expert judges, but also gives companies a
valuable marketing tool and shows company management that their Internet
investments are on the right track. We
are pleased to support the efforts of the Web Marketing Association and the
WebAward program." Perseus is leading the transition from web survey systems to Enterprise
Feedback Management (EFM) solutions that help organizations better understand
their world. Organizations worldwide rely on Perseus solutions to better
identify and meet employee, customer and partner needs, and increase
profitability by creating loyal relationships.. Perseus products enable
business professionals to quickly and easily obtain, analyze, and manage
sophisticated enterprise feedback using intuitive web-based software. Perseus
SurveySolutions is a recipient of PC Magazine’s Editors' Choice award for
web-survey software, and is used by over 18,000 customers worldwide including
over twenty-percent of the Fortune 100. Perseus is a 2003 and 2004 Inc. 500
company and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 company, and a four-time Deloitte
Technology Fast 50 company. (www.perseus.com).
The Web Marketing Association will be participating in
several of the leading industry conferences this year. Here is your opportunity
to participate in important educational sessions while networking with other
industry professionals. Here a leading industry conference that we
recommend.
OMMA Conference
March 27-28, Hilton Universal
City, Hollywood CA
As online media, marketing and advertising rapidly
rise in prominence the industry is experiencing a profound shift in media mix
models, with marketers committing ever more resources to digital media and
marketing programs including online brand advertising and promotion, search
programs, interactive video, e-mail, RSS, podcast, and blog marketing, and a
host of other emerging platforms. This conference will feature industry experts
exploring these issues and more. To learn more go to OMMA
Conference
Visit us at booth #105 at the OMMA Conference and learn more about the 2006 WebAward Competition.
If you have not seen it yet, WebAward.org
has been designed and reengineered to meet the growing needs of the awards. Now
you can create a single account and enter multiple entries and always know the
status of your entries. Special thanks to everyone who worked long hours getting
this site ready to launch, especially Jeff Freedman at Small Army for the great
new design and Chip Lowell for the round the clock programming efforts to write
and test the code for all of the new functionality of the site. The call for
Entries will begin in earnest shortly, although the entry form is now on the
site.
Global domain name registration and Web business services provider,
Register.com, has been named a 2006 sponsor of the Web Marketing Association’s 10th
annual WebAward Competition. The WebAwards is the standards-defining
competition that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a
successful Web site. It recognizes the
individual and team achievements of Web professionals who create and maintain outstanding
corporate Web sites. The 2006 WebAward Call for Entries will begin April 2, 2006 at www.webaward.org.
"Register.com is a leader in providing services and domain
names to Web professionals and small businesses. We are excited that we will be
working with them to promote the WebAward Competition this year," said
William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. "The
WebAward.org domain has been with Register.com since the WMA was founded in
1997. Register.com has a stellar reputation for seeking out and providing the
best services to business owners and Web professionals and we are delighted to
work with them."
"In addition to fostering the online interests of small business owners
and assisting them with their Web needs, helping to support the online
marketing community is an important part of Register.com's philosophy," said
Monica Hodges, general manager of Retail at Register.com. "We recognize
the value of participating in a program such as the WebAwards and believe that
the expert feedback participants receive is invaluable. Moreover, winning an
award provides businesses with a valuable marketing tool and demonstrates to company
management that their online investments are on the right track. We are pleased
to support the efforts of the Web Marketing Association and the WebAward
program."
Register.com, Inc. is a leading provider of global domain name
registration and Internet services for businesses and consumers that wish to
have a unique address and branded identity on the Internet. With approximately
three million domain names under management, Register.com has built a brand
based on high-quality domain name management services for small and medium
sized businesses, large corporations, as well as ISPs, telcos and other online
businesses. Register.com’s call center was certified in 2005 by J.D. Power and
Associates for providing “an outstanding customer experience.” The company was
founded in 1994 and is based in New York. To experience the Register.com difference in customer service, call toll-free 1-888-REGISTER or visit the company online at (www.register.com).
The Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the annual international WebAward
competition (www.Webawards2006.org),
today announced the findings of a decade-long study of Web development trends
across more than 80 industries. The
resulting Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR) provides industry
benchmarks for Web site development and is based on data collected from nearly
10,000 Web site evaluations. A copy of the full report can be downloaded at http://www.webaward.org/isar_report.asp.
The WebAward competition is the
only major award program to provide an in-depth, quantitative analysis of
results to develop standards of excellence for future development. The results evaluate average scores in each
industry against defined benchmarks in seven categories, including design, innovation,
content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use.
“According to our professional
judges, design, ease-of-use and innovation are the most important contributors
to a Web site’s success or failure,” said William Rice, president of the Web
Marketing Association. “However, our
results found that industries overall excelled in content and copywriting over
design and ease-of-use, which may close the door to many users. Innovation, while critical to a Web site’s
success, actually received the lowest average scores across all industries. We believe this is due to the fact that
innovation is so elusive and difficult to maintain – what is groundbreaking in
one industry may be commonplace in another.”
The report reveals that gaming Web
sites dominate the top scores in every category, followed by music, which
placed second overall, and automobile and sports Web sites, which tied for
third place. The industries with the
lowest average Web site scores included radio, public relations and search
engines.
Top Industries
The consumer-focused sites which
led the industry rankings over the last decade feature vibrant content aimed at
migrating the brand experience online and building online communities. In addition, these industries excel because
of the need to meet high audience expectations that almost demand that sites be
on the cutting edge of Web development. For example:
· Gaming Sites: These
sites feature experienced designers who understand the intricacies of Flash
animation and the benefits of online communities, including message boards and
chat features. Targeted to a younger
audience, these sites focus on providing a user experience that is on par with
the actual gaming experience. Recent best of industry winners include: Star Wars Mercenaries Game Site, SOCOM II: U.S. Navy SEALs
and Disney’s Hot Shot Business.
· Music Sites: Users come to music sites for the content,
but they stay for the experience. According
to Rice, “Music sites have conquered the age-old dilemma regarding the use of
technology, where too little equals boring and too much means the site can be
overwhelming. The music sites we’ve
evaluated over the years have demonstrated the ability to build a loyal
following by effective uses of technology to stream rich media content without
sacrificing usability.” Recent best of
industry winners include: Red Bull Music Labs,
Sting: Public & Pay Member Site and Live365.
· Automobile Sites: One of the most hotly contested industries,
automobile sites realized early that customers were most likely to engage an
auto brand in the privacy of their home or office, rather than in a showroom
with a commission-driven sales person. As a result, this is one of the few industries
that has beaten the average scores for the WebAwards every year since the
competition’s inception. Recent best of industry winners include: Volkswagen 2005, Toyota Scion and The all-new XJ online
campaign.
· Sports Sites. These sites benefit from a fanatical fan base
who count on their favorite Web sites to stay in-the-know about sporting news
and events. Therefore, it’s no surprise
that this industry ranked highest in the areas of design and content. Recent
best of industry winners include: Nike
Basketball, RBK Sound and Rhythm and Prince Tennis Website.
“As Internet bandwidth developed,
so did the ability for Web sites to deliver a dynamic rich media experience
that merges online entertainment with e-commerce to create a compelling
interaction for users,” added Rice. “While content is still king, it’s a Web site’s ability to interact with
users in interesting ways that keeps an audience coming back.”
Other noteworthy industries
include retail, healthcare and travel. Retail-oriented sites, including shopping, auctions and catalogs, ranked
highest for interactivity. These sites
allow for personalized cross-selling and detailed product information which are
not always available in print catalogs or off-line stores. Similar to the automobile industry, the
retail industry has succeeded by maintaining its off-line brand presence
online.
In the healthcare and travel
industries, content, copywriting and ease-of-use dominated the scores due to
recent changes in industry dynamics. “An
important trend we’re seeing in healthcare and travel is disintermediation,”
said Rice. “For example, the healthcare
industry previously relied completely on service providers for patient
interaction, but new legislation has opened the door for direct-to-consumer
initiatives. As a result, the healthcare
industry has become very competitive in the areas of content and copywriting as
consumers are turning to these sites to become better informed before deciding
on a course of action with their doctors.”
“A similar scenario exists in the
travel and leisure industry, with the practical elimination of travel agents,”
continued Rice. “These Web sites have
demonstrated a strong showing in both copywriting and ease-of-use as Web sites
integrate effective copy with strong images to create a lifestyle experience
for the user, allowing them to make better choices for themselves.”
Bottom Industries
The industries with the lowest
average Web site scores included radio, public relations and search engines. These sites tend to concentrate more on
content than delivery platform, often forcing too much information into too
little space, which hinders design and ease-of-use. For example:
· Radio Sites. These sites rank particularly low in the
areas of innovation and use of technology. This is surprising given the industry’s ability to harness rich media
similar to music sites. While radio station sites can draw upon music for
content, they often try to cram their homepages with so many options that users
can feel lost and overwhelmed.
· Public Relations
Sites. While advertising sites excelled
in design and innovation, public relations sites ranked low across all
categories. Notably, public relations
scored lowest for copywriting, even though it is an industry known for
effective communication. According to
Rice, “It’s likely that PR practitioners focus more on developing their
clients’ sites, while their own sites suffer from typical ‘brochure-ware.’ Another possibility is that the low scores
reflect the informal nature of the Internet and the backlash over over-edited,
corporate speak.”
· Search Engine Sites. While search engines are dominating the buzz
around the Internet industry as a whole, these sites rank lower than average in
every category, except ease-of-use. In
fact, search engines received the lowest scores for use of technology even
though the behind-the-scenes technology driving search engines is so
sophisticated. These low scores can be
attributed to the spartan nature of most search engines which allow the results
to speak for themselves.
“Of course, in every industry, there are Web sites that
stand out and others that don’t make the grade,” concluded Rice. “Our goal has always been to be more than
just a popularity or beauty contest that rewards brand names and good
design. Instead, this report is designed
to take a decade’s worth of judging scores to define what Internet marketing
professionals should strive for in their Web site development efforts.”
About the WebAwards
The 10th annual international WebAwards
competition sets the standard of excellence in 95 industry categories by
evaluating Web sites and defining benchmarks based on the seven essential
criteria of successful Web site development. The goal of the Web Marketing Association, sponsor of the WebAwards, is
to provide a forum to recognize the people and organizations responsible for
developing some of the most effective Web sites on the Internet today. Entrants benefit from a Web site assessment
by a professional judging panel and the marketing opportunities presented to an
award-winning Web site. For more information,
visit www.webawards2006.org.
NewsUSA has been named a
2006 sponsor of the Web Marketing Association’s 10th annual WebAward
Competition. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets
industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a successful Web site.
"We are pleased to have NewsUSA helping us to promote the WebAward
Competition again this year," said William Rice, President of the Web
Marketing Association. "NewsUSA’s
ability to provide news and features the newspapers, magazines and radio
outlets throughout the country is critical in helping us not only to reach
important reporters and editors, but also search engine placements, which can
increase overall visibility and site traffic".
"Helping support the online marketing community is an important part of NewsUSA's philosophy," said Rick Smith, President and CEO of the NewsUSA. "We recognize the value of participating in a program such as the WebAwards. Winning a WebAward not only provides valuable feedback from expert judges, but also gives companies a valuable marketing tool and shows company management that their Internet investments are on the right track. We are pleased to support the efforts of the Web Marketing Association and the WebAward program."
For more than 18 years, NewsUSA has been successful in
providing national publicity placement for our clients. We have provided media
placements to more than 3,000 clients in a variety of fields – public
relations, communications, nonprofit, government, health care, automotive, and
health and beauty to name a few. Because of our long-standing relationships
with over 16,000 media outlets, we have successfully delivered more than 5
million print and radio placements and billions of dollars of media ad space
nationwide.
Our clients include many Fortune 500 companies and some of the largest associations and public relations agencies in the world, as well as smaller companies and individual entrepreneurs. Visit www.newsusa.com for more information.
ExactTarget, the leader in on-demand email marketing software, has been named a 2006 sponsor of the Web Marketing Association’s annual WebAward Competition.
“We are pleased to have ExactTarget support the WebAward Competition again this year,” said William Rice, president of the Web Marketing Association. “ExactTarget’s expertise in delivering customized emails to our opt-in lists is critical to helping us get the word out regarding the WebAwards. We will use ExactTarget’s email program to manage and analyze the communications we send to those interested in our award programs.”
“Email is the most powerful marketing tool available. If used properly, nothing is more personalized, inexpensive, interactive or easier to execute,” said Chris Baggott, co-founder and chief marketing officer of ExactTarget. “Winning a WebAward not only provides valuable feedback from expert judges, but it also shows company management that their Internet investments are on the right track. We are pleased to support the efforts of the Web Marketing Association and their WebAward program.”
ExactTarget is the market leader in on-demand email software solutions for permission-based email marketing. More than 4,000 organizations worldwide, including The Home Depot, Scotts and Encyclopaedia Britannica rely on ExactTarget email solutions to strengthen their customer relationships and to control email throughout the enterprise. ExactTarget is a recognized technology leader, ranked highest in business suitability by JupiterResearch in 2004 and 2005 based on the solution's usability, strong feature set and dynamic content tool. ExactTarget solutions meet the needs of all industry verticals and all size organizations, including SMB, corporate divisions, not-for-profits, large retail/direct marketers, agencies and enterprises. Privately owned and headquartered in Indianapolis, USA, the company has more than 30 offices spanning North America, Europe and Australia. To learn more, go to http://www.exacttarget.com.
Small Army, a Boston-based marketing and creative services firm, has been
named a 2006 sponsor of the Web Marketing Association’s 10th annual WebAward
Competition.
"Small Army has been a long time supporter of the Web
Marketing Association and the WebAwards," said William Rice, President of
the Web Marketing Association. "They
have been a critical marketing and creative partner that has helped us define
and build the WebAward brand. Whether
it’s marketing strategy and website design or advertising and direct mail,
Small Army offers some of the best talent available in the industry. We are excited to continue this partnership.”
"The WebAwards doesn’t only recognize online marketing innovation but,
more importantly, drives it," said Jeff Freedman, Marketing Principal of
Small Army. “Our partnership with the
WebAwards enables us to stay on top of the latest trends and innovations in
online marketing. It also provides our
agency with the opportunity to help define and raise the standards for the
entire industry.
Small Army is a full-service
marketing and creative services agency based in Boston, MA. Currently ranked the 23rd largest agency in New England by the Boston Business Journal, Small Army provides a diverse set of clients with a unique blend of senior-level strategic, creative and technology talent to produce and implement innovative marketing programs
with measurable ROI. For more information, visit www.smallarmy.net.
eComXpo, the virtual tradeshow for search, affiliate and interactive
marketers, has been named a 2006 sponsor of the Web Marketing
Association’s 10th annual WebAward Competition. The WebAwards is the standards-defining
competition that sets industry benchmarks based on the seven criteria of a
successful Web site.
"We are pleased to have eComXpo helping us to promote the WebAward
Competition this year," said William Rice, President of the Web
Marketing Association. "Trade shows
are an important part of our marketing efforts and we are excited to
participate in an event that is much like our own program – 100% virtual and
online".
"Helping support the online marketing community is an important part of
eComXpo's philosophy," said John Grosshandler, Founder and Event Director of eComXpo.
"Marketing professionals come together at eComXpo to learn how to excel as
professionals. Winning a WebAward not only provides valuable feedback from
expert judges, but also gives companies a valuable marketing tool and shows
company management that their Internet investments are on the right track. We
are pleased to support the efforts of the Web Marketing Association and the
WebAward program."
eComXpo is the first virtual, online trade show and
conference for eCommerce marketers. Its third show is April 4-6, 2006 . Free
Registration and information are available at http://www.ecomxpo.com. Over 175 exhibitors, sponsors, and presenters will be gathering with over 7,000 attendees, completely online.
eComXpo provides all the benefits of a top tradeshow without the cost, travel
or hassle normally associated with traditional events.
The judging for the 2006 Internet Advertising Competition Awards is complete and
the participants will be notified next week. Winners will be posted on
the IAC Awards Web site the following week. A special thanks to all of the
industry professionals who pitched in and helped judge this year’s IAC Awards.
They did a tremendous job.
PRWeb has been named a 2006 sponsor of the Web Marketing Association’s 10th
annual WebAward Competition, the Internet’s premier award competition that judges Web site development against an
ever increasing Internet standard of excellence and against peer sites within
an industry.
"PRWeb is the perfect choice for
helping us get the word out about the 2006 WebAward program," said William
Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association. PRWeb's press release
newswire, allows us to target
specific industries with our news stories and help us not only to reach
important reporters and editors, but also search engine placements, which can
increase overall visibility and site traffic."
"Supporting the online marketing community is an essential part of PRWeb
philosophy," said Mick Jolly, Executive Vice President for PRWeb. "We
are supported by those marketing professionals who value cost-effective
distribution of their news releases. We
see the WebAward program as another valuable way for marketing professionals
who win an award to benefit from increased visibility. We are pleased to support the efforts of the
Web Marketing Association and the WebAward program."
PRWeb is the Internet's
leading press release distribution newswire. PRWeb developed the direct to
consumer press release distribution model in 1997 and has grown to be
recognized as a leader in the press release and news distribution industries.
PRWeb is the industry leader in search engine visibility and RSS deployment,
serving more than 8.6 million customized RSS feeds to PRWeb visitors.
We want to warn the online community that Global Internet Solutions
claims "Global Internet Solutions has won the award from the
prestigious Webawards competition". This is in fact not true. They have
never received any awards from the Web Marketing Associatio
We
have received several complaints regarding Global Internet Solutions
and it is apparent from their unethical and illegal use of our logo on
their Web site that anyone considering purchasing their services should
be warned.
We will continue to pursue legal means to insure only Web sites that have legitimate won a WebAward are able to display the logo on their site. Follow up note: A day after this posting appeared, our logo along with several others was removed from the site.
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