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Web Marketing Association Names the Best Web Sites in 96 Industries – The 2007 WebAward Winners

The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the winners of its tenth annual WebAward Competition for Web site development. More than 2,400 sites from 40 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.

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

Best of Show

The 2007 Best of Show WebAward is presented to Walt Disney Internet Group, for their exceptional work on Disney XD. The site was also awarded Best Design WebAward. Disney XD is an online entertainment experience that’s designed for how kids want to use the Internet. It’s broadband entertainment taken to the next level and was created with safety in mind. Disney.com guests can register and publish their own channels, personalized with favorite Disney videos, music, games, trivia, avatars, and more. Disney XD gives Disney.com guests an enhanced, interactive entertainment experience with engaging video, music and games and chatting with friends, all at the same time in a uniquely immersive environment. The Disney organization took home a total of 14 sites recognized with WebAwards in the 2007 competition.

Best of Show runner Up

Best of show runner up submitted by Atlanta-based IQ Interactive is UPS Whiteboard. Seamlessly integrating with the TV campaign, visitors to the site are treated with the ability to interact with Andy Azula, the actor from the ‘Whiteboard’ commercials. Andy extends the same creative look and feel from the TV spots and walks the user through the experience helping to drill down the user’s needs matching UPS solutions to their specific business challenges. The site includes 3D animated, line art (matching the designs on the Whiteboard) Web shows that highlight UPS products and a -Create Your Own Whiteboard- viral component. IQ Interactive developed the robust technology that allows the user to send someone a personalized message that Andy himself writes on a whiteboard when the recipient opens the email.

Top Agency

Biggs/Gilmore was named Top Agency at the 2007 WebAward Competition, with 20 websites taking home awards. The Top Agency Award given to recognize the consistently outstanding development going on at interactive firms. Biggs/Gilmore is headquartered in Kalamazoo, MI and took home Best Food Website, Best Pharmaceutical Website and 8 Outstanding WebAwards and 11 Standard of Excellence WebAwards.

Agencies or companies winning five or more sites willing WebAwards in 2007 include:

Agency – # of award-winning sites
Biggs/Gilmore – 20
Avenue A / Razorfish – 17
Risdall Advertising – 17
VML – 14
Disney – 14
Arc Worldwide – 13
Arnold Worldwide – 13
Bridge Worldwide – 13
Ogilvy – 12
Aristotle Interactive – 11
E-site Marketing – 9
JWT – 9
TravelCLICK – 9
180 Interactive – 8
Summit Projects – 8
TribalDDB – 8
Agenda H.K. Limited – 7
Airfoil Public Relations – 7
bbdigital – 7
BrowserMedia – 7
Extractable – 7
Organic – 7
POP – 7
Slingshot – 7
Studiocom – 7
Agency.com – 6
BGT Partners – 6
Hitchcock Fleming & Assoc – 6
Hospitality eBusiness – 6
Rare Method – 6
Teehan+Lax – 6
Tellus – 6
Weber Shandwick – 6
Agence Braque – 5
Amer. Academy of Dermatology – 5
dotglu – 5
Fry, Inc. – 5
Hearst Digital Media – 5

Competition format

The competition was judged by a team of independent Internet professionals representing a variety of relevant disciplines of Web site development. Judges included members of the media, advertising executives, site designers, creative directors, corporate marketing executives, content providers and webmasters.

The WebAward competition format allows Web sites to compete head to head with other sites within their industry to win the Best of Industry awards. Entries also compete against a standard of excellence to win Outstanding Website and Standard of Excellence WebAwards. Each site is judged on seven different criteria and earns a score between 0 and 70 points. The highest score in a given category wins Best of Industry for that category. If the remaining entries received a score of 60 or greater, they received the Outstanding Web site award. Entries that scored higher than their industry average and below 59.9 receive the Standard of Excellence.

The 2007 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: Burst Media, PRWeb, Misukanis & Odden, Small Army, SimpleFeed, ExactTarget, ad:tech conferences, NewsUSA, eComXpo, MediaPost’s OMMA conference, TopRank Online Marketing, Creative Chocolate Printing Company, OTOlabs, Internet World UK, Search Engine Strategies, Webmaster Radio, Rovion’s InPerson, AllBusiness.com and eMarketer. The Web Marketing Association thanks all of its sponsors for helping to make this annual competition possible.

About the Web Marketing Association

The Web Marketing Association is 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 Website development and marketing on the Internet. Since 1997, the Web Marketing Association’s annual WebAward Competition has been helping interactive professionals promote themselves, their companies, and their best work to the outside world. Now in its 11th year, the WebAward Competition has become the premier award event for Web developers and marketers worldwide.

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Online Market World

October 3-5, 2007
Moscone Center, San Francisco, California
Online Market World is the first event to address the entire e-commerce lifecycle as well as integrate and include all functional areas of the organization. Online Market World is an ecommerce event that provides an unprecedented opportunity to learn about and discuss the critical issues and trends that are suddenly changing global online markets.

Join brand name retailers, mid-market and small sellers, associations, vendors, service providers, entrepreneurs and subject matter experts as they debate and cooperatively define the “Best-Practices” for the future of e-commerce and online selling.

At Online Market World You’ll Learn More in Less Time About How to Stay Competitive. Learn more and register at http://www.onlinemarketworld.com/

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Today is the 2007 WebAward Final Deadline

I guess the title says it all.

If you have entered the WebAwards this year, please check your nominator account before Friday to see if your entry fees have been paid and all of your edits are complete. After Friday, the sites are off to the judges and editing will be turned off.

If you did not enter yet, what are you waiting for? You only have a few more days submit your web site to be recognized and earn itself a great marketing opportunity (it won’t hurt your reputation either!). To create a nominator account and enter for the first time, go to our new account form.

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Web Awards: More Than Just Fame and Glory

William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association was asked to contribute an article to iMedia Connection,

His article Web Awards: More Than Just Fame and Glory appeared the June 13th issue. It discussed how web site awards, like the WebAwards, are newsworthy events that can parlay into website recognition as well as outstanding marketing opportunities.

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Web Marketing Association at SES Canada

Today the Web Marketing Association is exhibiting at the Search Engine Strategies Conference in Toronto Canada. There are a lot of Canadian Internet professionals here to keep up with the latest developments in SEO and PPC to help their marketing efforts.

Unfortunately, a case of WebAward brochures went AWOL while crossing the boarder. Other than that, it’s a great conference. The WMA booth is right next door to N49, a new Canadian business search engine and online community at www.N49.ca They seem to be drawing the biggest crowds by giving away tee shirts customized with your personal URL on their site.

I was also video taped for The Daily Web Marketing Show on Web Marketing Watch for a video posting that should be live tomorrow. If I find it, I will pass it along.

Search Engine Strategies, Toronto
Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Toronto, Canada