Category: WebAward

The Web
Marketing Association has announced that the deadline for entering its 10^th
annual WebAward Competition (www.webaward.org) has been extended until
June 15th to allow final entries to be submitted and existing entries to be
edited if needed. The WebAwards are the Internet’s premier award competition that judges website development against an
ever increasing Internet standard of excellence and against peer sites within
an industry.

A complete list of past winners and the entry form for
companies who wish to compete for 2006 honors can be found at www.webaward.org.

Web sites are judged on design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, navigation and
ease of use. Each WebAward entry is judged against other entries in its industry
category and then against an overall standard of excellence. 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
Healthcare Providers, Medical Equipment, Fashion and Technology.

1) A Best of Industry award means your the best and you can prove it!

2) Your mom would be proud of you.

3) You will receive important benchmark data for your entire
industry and where your site ranks in each of the seven judging
criteria.

4) Think of the PR opportunities – industry publications,
blogs, websites, by-lined articles, podcasts, press releases,
interviews – the sky is the limit.

5) A best of industry plaque containing your award winning site will look great in your office.

6) The WebAward logo on your site is like receiving the "Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval" for Web development.

7) Your clients and customers will be impressed at your industry recognition and so will your potential clients.

8) A link to webaward.org will help your site’s search engine
rankings because you will be linked to a site with a high Google
PageRank.

9) If you wait until after may 31st, you’ll have to pay a late fee.

10) If you don’t win, we won’t tell anyone – and you still get the feedback.

Recognition and feedback , that is what
you will receive when you enter the 2006 WebAward Competition for
Website development. Winning accolades in the 2006 WebAwards – the
Internet’s premier award recognition program, is a great way to stand
out from others in your industry. You will also receive valuable
feedback from our judges and benchmarks for your industry. But you
won’t get anything if you don’t enter!

The 10th Annual WebAward competition deadline for entry is May 31st, only one week away, and you can submit your site for review at www.webaward.org.  Avoid a late fee by completing your Web site entries before the deadline.

WebAward – The award for your award-winning Web site.

Every year we get emails from past judges half way through the competition telling us their email address has changed or filters stopped the messages from getting through.

If you are a past WebAward judge and have not received our emails inviting you to participate in the 2006 WebAwards, please contact us ASAP as we are finalizing the judging panel.

Please contact us through www.webaward.org

We need your help to spread the word about the WebAward competition. As the premier recognition program for Web site development, we have grown each year because Internet professionals, like yourself, have gotten the word out to other Internet professionals by email, in blogs and even face to face.

The Web Marketing Association
is a volunteer organization and it’s through efforts like these that the
WebAwards can set the standard of excellence for Web sites in 96 industries.
However, this year, we have made it even more advantageous to tell your friends
and co-workers about the WebAwards.

WebAward Referral Program

To reward those who tell others about the WebAwards, this year we are offering a $20 referral bonus per referral for each person who gets someone new to enter the WebAwards. It’s our way of rewarding those who help us the most.

To qualify you simply need a WebAward nominator account from WebAward.org. Give the email address associated
with this account to everyone who you recommend the WebAwards to and when they
enter and include your email address, you’ll receive a check from the Web
Marketing Association as our way to say thank you.

WebAward.org has complete details,
so tell a friend and log in to your nominator account and watch your referral
bonuses add up.

Call for WebAward Judges

Another way you can help
support the WebAwards is to nominate yourself as a judge. We are looking for experienced Internet professionals – interactive creative directors, graphic designers, marketing managers,
webmasters, heads of agencies, among others – to help adjudicate the entries
for the 2006 WebAwards.

While most of the volunteer
judges return each year because of the valuable insights that can be obtained
by judging, the growth of entries requires us to add new judges each year. Judges are assigned a number of entries to review within a three week time frame beginning June 17^th.

If you or someone you know
are interested in participating as a WebAward judge, please use the judges
nomination form on WebAward.org

Conference season

At WebMaster World in Boston we gave-a-way a video iPod to Daniel Bourgeois interactive marketing manager of Wynn Resorts. The following week, David
Mullings of Random Media won another video iPod ad ad:tech San Francisco. Congratulations
to all of our prize winners and to the conference sponsors for putting on
outstanding industry conferences.

On my way to ad:tech in San Francisco, I read MarketingSherpa’s brand-new E-commerce Benchmark Guide. I am a big fan of MarketingSherpa’s work and try to get everything they publish on Web development. We were able to get a 22-page executive summary of MarketingSherpa’s E-commerce Benchmark Guide for the readers of Interactive Briefing. You can read more about it in the “For Our readers” section of our newsletter.

The annual WebAward program
is shaping up to be both a great way to gain visibility for your self and your
Web site, but also valuable feedback to help guide future development and
benchmark your progress. We hope everyone takes advantage of this program.

And remember to tell your
friends about it too.

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.

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.

 

 

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.