Category: Web Marketing Association

We would like to apologize for the delays in getting awards to people who ordered them from our online Recognition Center. We recently changed printers and experienced problems in getting the correct certificates to those who ordered them – not once but twice.

This problem has been corrected and the certificates are once again being sent out to their rightful owners.

Thank you for your understanding in this matter.

The end of the year is often a good time to take a look back on the major trends of 2006 in website development and look ahead for 2007 and beyond.

The Web Marketing Association will be releasing its 2007 Internet Standards Assessment Report, an industry by industry assessment of current standards of excellence, in February, in the mean time, I thought it would be a value to our readers to give a heads up for what to expect.

At the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association summit, a few months ago, I discussed the concept of Total User Experience. This is how I best sum up what made some Websites stand out above the rest in the 10th annual WebAward Competition for Website development.

I define total user experience as a Web site that combines text, sound, animation and video within its pages to deliver an informative and entertaining experience. Today a website should not require users to download a plug in, or click a link to have a video player pop up. Rather today’s award winning sites are integrating video and audio and graphics directly into the page. Users do not want to be interrupted; they want a seamless integrated experience. A Web page is more than just text and graphics, it needs to come alive to compete with the other media outlets available to consumers today. A good example of this is the 2006 WebAward Best of Show winning Website “TBS: Department of Humor Analysis” at www.tbshumorstudy.com, which also won Best TV Website. This flash based Website creates a total user experience to highlight the funny TV shows on TBS.

In the ISAR study, we will be releasing specific data relating to a decade of Website evaluations. If you are interested in receiving a free copy when it is published and download a copy of the 2006 report, add your name to the ISAR Study page.

Happy holidays to all and a very merry new year!

Bill Rice
President
Web Marketing Association

Do you have an award winning IR Web site? Prove it! Enter the 2006 Interactive Investor Relations Awards competition.

Have your Web site evaluated by those who matter most: individual and institutional investors, financial advisors, financial media, IR professionals and Web developers. The Interactive Investor Relations Awards recognize excellence in online investor relations in 60 industry categories, providing valuable feedback and recognition for the IR professional.

Both large and small companies were among the 2005 IIR Award winners, including Colgate-Palmolive (Best of Show 2005), The Bank of Montreal , Coca-Cola, CVS, eBay, Mattel and GM.

Complete details, entry form and the list of past winners can be found on the competition Web site at www.iiraward.org. The deadline for entry is October 31, 2006.

The IIR Awards are produced by the Web Marketing Association. The WMA, founded in Boston in 1997, is dedicated to increasing the professional standards of excellence in Web development. Since its inception, the WMA has set the standard of excellence for overall Web site development with the annual WebAward Competition the premier annual event for Web developers and marketers now it its eighth year.

Rice to Address Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association (MIMA) Summit Attendees outlining the future of award-winning websites and how MIMA members- and their companies – can push the envelope of top website

Web Marketing Association, host of the WebAward, the leading Internet award competition, has announced that its President, William Rice, will deliver the keynote speech at the 2006 Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association’s (MIMA) Summit Showcase.

Founded in 1998, MIMA is a networking and professional development forum for interactive marketing professionals. MIMA connects educational partners with members and guests to elevate the quality of interactive marketing in Minnesota. The MIMA Summit brings together the latest concepts, strategies, technologies, and thought leaders shaping the interactive marketing community.

“I’m honored to be part of the 2006 MIMA Summit,” said Rice. “WebAward has ten years of top website design data to share with MIMA members to help them elevate the design of their company websites.”

Details for the Minnesota Interactive Marketing Association 2006 Summit

When: Wednesday, October 04, 2006 – 7:45 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Where: The Depot,  225 Third Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55401

Cost: Members $195, Non-members $395, Students $65

Media attendance at the event is free.

“MIMA is an excellent forum for leaders in the interactive marketing community to share cutting-edge concepts and strategies that are at the forefront of the marketing industry,” said Rice.

About WebAwards

The WebAward Competition, produced by the Web Marketing Association, is now in its tenth year. WebAwards is the premier annual web site award competition that names the best Web sites in 96 industries while setting the standard of excellence for all website development.

The Web Marketing Association was founded in 1997 to help set a high standard for Internet marketing and web development on the World Wide Web. Staffed by volunteers, this organization is made up of Internet marketing, online advertising, PR, and web site design professionals who share an interest in improving the quality of online advertising, internet marketing, and website promotion.

The Web Marketing Association is pleased to announce the call for judges for its 10^th 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. Judges will consist of a select group of Internet professionals who have direct experience designing and managing Web sites, including members of the media, interactive creative directors, site designers, content providers and webmasters – with an in-depth understanding of the current state-of-the-art in Web site development and technology.

To nominate yourself or another Internet Professional, please use our Judges Nomination Form.

“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. “For 10 years, industry professionals have provided the backbone of our award program and helped thousands of Web sites get the recognition they deserve. As a WebAward judge, you are helping to set the standard of excellence for all web site development. Judging challenges you by having you visit and review web sites that you normally would not visit. Being a judge helps develop a critical eye to the many facets of leading-edge web development.”

Judging for the 2006 WebAwards will take place in June through August, with winners announced in September. 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.

2006 Call For Entry Still Underway

The Web Marketing Association is now accepting entries for the 10^th annual WebAward competition. The WebAwards evaluate Web sites in 96 industries and defines benchmarks based on the seven essential criteria of successful Website development. The deadline for entry is May 31, 2006.

Your Web site will be judged on seven criteria: design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use. Each WebAward entry is judged against other entries in its industry category and then against an overall standard of excellence. WebAward Judges consist of a select group of Internet professionals with an in-depth understanding of the current state-of-the-art in Website development and technology.

All entrants receive valuable feedback from the judging panel as well as a report detailing their performance compared to their industry average. If you win a WebAward, you also have an outstanding marketing opportunity to publicize and drive traffic to your site.

A complete list of past winners and this year’s entry form can be found at www.webaward.org.

WebMaster Radio provided outstanding on site coverage of
Ad:tech San Francisco. They stopped by the Web Marketing Association
booth at ad:tech and interviewed Bill Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association
and here is a link to the an audio file of the interview.

WebmasterWorld’s PubCon is an educational conference and industry trade show programmed specifically for web
professionals and website site owners to be held April 18-20, 2006 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston.

The Web Marketing Association is giving away a full conference pass for this show. To enter, send your name and contact info to webmasterworld@webaward.org by Thursday, April 13th at 5:00 EDT. We’ll contact the winner then.

The keynote for the conference is Mr. Malcolm Gladwell, the super star author of The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can Make A Big Difference and Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking.
Malcolm will also do a special book signing after his talk!

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.

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 like to call themselves the Oscars of the Internet while the Web Marketing Association’s WebAwards are likened to the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval. Major advertising festivals like the Clio Awards and Cannes Lion also now include interactive categories. What these awards all have in common is the desire to recognize great Web sites. It’s how the “Best Web site” 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 10^th annual international WebAward competition. The deadline for entry is May 31^st 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 10^th 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.