FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Web Site Competition Heats Up as Industry Award Season Begins
BOSTON, MA – April 10,
2006 – Awards season is underway and our society is hooked on awards
that recognize who is best in their field. The entertainment industry has the
Academy Awards, the Golden Globes and the Emmys. The auto world has MotorTrend
Car of the Year, manufacturing has the Malcolm Baldridge Award and journalists
have the Pulitzer Prize, just to name a few.
The online marketing community also has its way to
recognize top performers. The Webby Awards (www.webbyawards.com) like to call
themselves the Oscars of the Internet while the Web Marketing Association’s
WebAwards (www.webawards2006.org) are likened to the Good Housekeeping
Seal of Approval. Major advertising festivals like the Clio Awards (www.clioawards.com)
and Cannes Lion (www.canneslions.com) also now include interactive categories.
What these awards all have in common is the desire to recognize great Web sites.
It’s how the winners are chosen that make the award programs different.
“The WebAwards have been so successful for the past 10
years because of our clearly defined judging process and our focus on setting
industry specific standards for Web development,” said William Rice, President
of the WMA. “To us, winning a Web site award is not only a great marketing
opportunity, but a chance to receive quality feedback from industry
professionals that help improve the overall Web experience.”
Before entering an award competition, the Web Marketing
Association offers the following tips on what to look for in a quality Web site
award program:
- Feedback – Entries should receive valuable
feedback from the judges through specific commentary, advice for
improvement, and quantitative scoring that can be evaluated against an
industry average.
- Clear judging criteria and process – In order
to make sure each entry has an equal chance to win an award, the judging
process should be comprehensive, so that judges see all of Web sites entered
and not just a few finalists.
- Longevity – The awards program should have a
substantial history of Web site evaluation and a roster of winners in each
category that have experienced a clear value from the program.
Focus – The awards program
should be solely focused on the evaluation of Web sites so interactive winners
are not overshadowed by winners in print or broadcast as in some well respected
advertising award programs.
- Quality of judges – Award judges should be
industry professionals with a solid understanding of Web site production and
Internet marketing objectives, not a simply a celebrity that brings a name
but little Web development experience.
“WebAward participants know that each entry will be
submitted to the judges, not just a few handpicked, big-name finalists. They’re
also aware of the criteria on which they will be judged, and will receive their
overall scores – compared to both their industry and the overall standard of
excellence,” notes Rice. “The WMA’s WebAward
competition is the only major award program to provide an in-depth, quantitative
analysis of results that help entrants develop standards of excellence for
future innovation.”
Internet awards season is now officially underway, and the
WMA is currently accepting entries for its 10th annual international
WebAward competition. The deadline for entry is May 31st and entries
can be submitted at www.webawards2006.org.
About the Internet Standards Assessment Report
Recently the Web Marketing Association released a study
based on nearly ten thousand Web site evaluations in more than eighty industries
since 1997. The Internet Standards Assessment Report (ISAR) is the
results of nearly a decade of independent evaluations of Web site development
based on seven criteria critical to a successful Web site: design, innovation,
content, technology, interactivity, copywriting and ease of use.
To receive a copy of The Internet Standards Assessment
Report or to learn more about the Web Marketing Association’s WebAward
program please visit: www.webawards2006.org.
About the WebAwards
The 10th annual international WebAwards
competition sets the standard of excellence in 96 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 media
inquiries, contact:
Gretchen
Bender, Greenough Communications
(617) 275-6526
or
gbender@greenoughcom.com
William Rice
President, Web Marketing
Association, Inc.
(860) 558-5423 or
wrice@webaward.org
|