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Best Financial Services Websites to be Named by Web Marketing Association



The Web Marketing Association is looking for the best legal websites in the world as part of their 17th annual international WebAward Competition for Web site development at www.webaward.org. The WebAwards is the standards-defining competition that sets benchmarks for 96 industries, including bank, credit union, insurance, investment, mutual funds and financial services websites, based on the seven criteria of a successful web site. The deadline for Financial Services web sites to enter to be judged is May 31, 2013.

  
Websites are judged on seven criteria including design, innovation, content, technology, interactivity, copy writing and ease of use. Each WebAward entry in the Financial Services category is judged against other financial services entries and then against an overall standard of excellence.
All financial services entrants benefit from receiving valuable feedback in terms of their specific criteria scores compared against the average scores for their industry. They also may receive specific comments from the WebAward’s professional judging panel on their Web site development efforts.

Winners of a WebAward in the financial services categories will also receive:
·         Handsome statue or certificate of achievement
·         Increased visibility for their company
·         Marketing opportunity to promote the company website to the media
·         Links to your site from the highly ranked WebAward site to help SEO
·         A highlight for your resume.
·         Admiration of peers, friends and co-workers
Each year, the Web Marketing Association names the Best of Industry for the various financial services categories based on the score they receive from the WebAward judges.
 
Recent winners of the Best Financial Services Website include:
§  2012 – InvestLab & Comrade forInvestLab Tradepop Branding & Design
§  2011 – Brightworks Interactive Marketing & RBC for RBC Better Student Life
§  2010 – Standard Chartered Bank and TBWATEQUILAHong Kong for The Standard Chartered Bank Homepage
§  2009 Standard Chartered Bank and TBWATEQUILAHong Kong for The Standard Chartered Private Bank Global Website
§  2008 Organic Inc for Bank of America Fees & Processes
§  2007 John Hancock Funds, LLC for Financial Professional Website
§  2006 T3 (The Think Tank) for Chase Card with Blink
§  2005 Merrill Lynch for Merrill Lynch Gateway Website
§  2004 Moving Minds, LLC for Trancentrix Corporate Payment Solutions Website
§  2003 Weber Shandwick Worldwide for CNBC on MSN Money
Recent winners of the Best Bank Website include:

§  2012 – Cleartag SAL for Audi Card Artist Website
§  2011 – Finn Digital on behalf of Johnson Financial Group for Johnson Bank Website Redesign
§  2010 – Standard Chartered Bank and TBWATEQUILAHong Kong for The Standard Chartered Bank Homepage
§  2009 – Organic, Inc. for Bank of America – Morris on Campus (2009 Best of Show Winner)
§  2008 – TBWATEQUILA HK for Standard Chartered Bank/People in Action
§  2007 – Organic, Inc. for Bank of America No Fee Mortgage Plus
§  2006 – Carat Fusion for Wachovia Championship 17
§  2005 – Agency.com for Sainsburysbank.co.uk
§  2004 – Ion Global Limited for HSBC Card Services HK
Recent winners of the Best Credit Union Website include:

§  2012 – Boston Interactive for IC Federal Credit Union
§  2011 – Extractable for Security Service Federal Credit Union
§  2010 – Extractable for Citizen’s Equity
§  2009 – America First Credit Union for www.americafirst.com
§  2008 – Delta Community for CU Delta Community Credit Union
§  2007 – Extractable for SAFE credit union
§  2006 – Webnbeyond for Union America Mortgage
§  2005 – America First Credit Union for www.americafirst.com
§  2004 – Imirage, Inc for APCI Federal Credit Union
Recent winners of the Best Insurance Web site include:

·         2012 – The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies for The Progressive Group of Insurance Companies, Agency
·         2011 – American Family Insurance for www.amfam.com
·         2010 – Liberty Mutual, Hill Holiday, and RED Interactive Agency for 2099 Online Racing Game, Presented by Liberty Mutual
·         2009 – AXA Equitable for www.axa-equitable.com
·         2008 – Blue Shield of California for blueshieldcachatbox.com
·         2007 – Progressive Insurance for Progressive Corp.
·         2006 – Blue Shield of California
·         2005 – Internet Communications for Medical Mutual – Ohio’s Get-Well Card TM
·         2004 – Graficalnter.active for Horizon Empire Blue Cross BlueShield
·         2003 – Empire BlueCross BlueShield for Empire BlueCross BlueShield web site
·         2002 – Progressive Insurance for progressive.com

Recent winners of the Best Investment Web site include:
·         2012 – Extractable for Motif Investing Website Redesign
·         2011 – John Hancock Funds, LLC for John Hancock Funds Financial Professional Website
·         2010 – Lending Club Corporation for Lending Club
·         2009 – Razorfish for Investor’s Business Daily
·         2008 – John Hancock Annuities for  jhannuities.com
·         2007 – Frank Worldwide Inc. for 55 West Wacker- Cape Horn Group
·         2006 – i33 communications LLC for BetterInvesting web site redesign
·         2005 – BusinessWeek Online for BusinessWeek Online web site
·         2004 – Alliet Capital Corporation for Allied Capital Corporation web site
·         2003 – Summit Partners for Summit Partners web site
·         2002 – Frank Russell Company for Russell.com

Recent winners of the Best Mutual Fund Web site include:
·         2012 – John Hancock Funds, LLC for John Hancock Funds Public Website
·         2011 – John Hancock Funds, LLC for John Hancock Funds Financial Professional Website
·         2010 – John Hancock Funds, LLC for Mutual Fund Financial Professional Website
·         2009 – John Hancock Funds, LLC for John Hancock Funds Financial Professional Website
·         2008 – John Hancock Funds John for Hancock Funds Public Website
·         2007 – John Hancock Funds, LLC for John Hancock Funds Financial Professional Website
·         2006 – Cohen & Steers for Cohen & Steers website
·         2005 – Cohen & Steers for Cohen & Steers website
·         2004 – bbdigital/SEI Investments for HighMark Funds web site
·         2003 – Barclays Global Investors for iShares.com
·         2002 – Pioneer Investments for pioneerfunds.com

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Best Websites in 96 Industries To Be Named By Web Marketing Association


The Web Marketing Association is looking for the best websites to compete in its 17thannual international WebAward competition.  The WebAwards are 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 all over the world who create and maintain outstanding Web sites.  The deadline for entry for the 2013 WebAwards is May 31, 2013.  A complete list of past winners and this year’s entry form can be found at www.webaward.org.
The Web Marketing Association would like to thank BGT Partners, who crafted a redesigned look and feel to the WebAward.org website. The insightfulness and expertise of the team at BGT Partners has created an exceptional design for our website.

This year’s top awards will include:

·         A “Best of Industry” WebAward will be given in each of the 96 industry categories, including financial services, medical, small business, travel, advertising, transportation and government.  
·         The competition’s highest honor, the 2013 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 UrbanDaddy for their work on “UrbanDaddy + Herradura Mixology Battle Royale” website.  The site was also recognized as Best Marketing Website.
·         The Web Marketing Association will also recognize the interactive agency winning the most awards in the competition with the “Top Interactive Agency” WebAward. For the third time, the Top Agency award was awarded to Biggs|Gilmore taking home 39 WebAwards. 
·         Interactive and advertising agencies that win a 2013 WebAward will automatically be included in the Award Winning Agency Database with a free premium listing.

The WebAward Top Agency Award recognizes consistency of effort and is given to the interactive agency that wins the most WebAwards in a given year. All locations and offices of a specific agency will be consolidated for the purpose of determining the winner of this award. In a change from prior years, each entrant will be awarded points based on the level of award for each award received. A Best of Show will be worth 10 points, Best of Industry 5 points and each Outstanding award 3 points and a Standard of Excellence 1 point. The agency with the most points will be awarded the Top Agency Award for 2013.

Each year, many agencies and some corporations win multiple awards and deserve additional recognition. This year, we will recognize each organization that wins 6 or more WebAwards with an Outstanding Interactive Developer trophy. In 2012, there were 19 agencies recognized with this prestigious award.

Websites 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. 

Judging for the 2013 WebAwards will take place in June through August and winners will be announced in September. 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. Past judges have included top executives from leading organizations such as A&E Television Networks, BGT Partners, Blattner Brunner, Bridge Worldwide, The Cincinnati Enquirer, Comedy Central, Disney, Euro RSCG, Ion Global, VML, J. Walter Thompson, John Deere Company, New York Post Interactive, Organic, Inc., Refinery, R/GA, Saatchi & Saatchi, SAP, Starwood Hotels, Sun Microsystems, Warner Bros. Online, Xerox and Website Magazine.
Check out our Web Marketing Association Facebook Pageand be sure to like us as we will be providing hints and tips on how to improve your chances on winning a top award though out the award program entry period.
The 2013 WebAwards are sponsored by the following leading organizations: BGT Partners, PR Newswire, Burst Media, EContent Magazine, ExactTarget, ad:tech conferences, Internet World UK, SES Conferences, Webmaster Radio, and Website Magazine. The Web Marketing Association thanks these companies for their commitment to the entire online marketing community.
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2012 Outstanding Website Developer Awards

Last year, 19 agencies and companies were also recognized as Outstanding Website Developers for winning six or more awards in the 2012 WebAward Competition. They are:

AGENCY
AWARDS
Sabre Hospitality Solutions
29
Risdall Marketing Group
28
Extractable
25
TRAVELCLICK
20
TMP Worldwide
17
Blenderbox Inc
12
SapientNitro
11
Atlantic BT
10
CareTech Solutions
9
Possible Worldwide
8
VML
7
BGT Partners
7
Euroweb Internet GmbH
7
Cuker Interactive
7
Duo Consulting
7
Mineral, LLC
7
Sherpa Web Studios
6
WSI
6
HeBS Digital
6

Biggs|Gilmore was named Top Agency at the 2012 WebAward Competition, taking home 39 WebAwards. This is the third time Biggs|Gilmore has won the Top Agency WebAward. The Top Agency Award is given to recognize the consistently outstanding development going on at interactive firms.

In the 2013 WebAwards competition, agencies and companies will again compete not only for the Top Agency Award, but also for the Outstanding Website Developer Award.

Enter today and win the recognition you deserve.

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Win a Free Pass to ad:tech!

Web Marketing Association is giving-a-away a free full-conference pass to ad:tech Conference in San Francisco April 9-10 2013. 

ad:tech is the most important event for digital marketing professionals to stay up to day on what’s next and what’s valuable. Interactive marketers from all scopes of the industry come together to network, see cutting-edge products and services from top speakers and exhibitors. 

To enter, go to the WMA Contest Page on Facebook and enter your name, job title, company. We’ll select one lucky winner at the end of the day on March 22th. 


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IAC Award Judging Now Complete

The Web Marketing Association is pleased to report that the judging for the 2013 Internet Advertising Competition is now complete. We have enough scores for each entry and will now tabulate those results and announce the winners on Tuesday, March 26th.

We would like to particularly thank all of the IAC judges for volunteering their valuable time and expertise to this worthwhile cause that benefits the entire online marketing community.
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Today is the Final Day to Enter the 2013 IAC Awards

Today, February 15, 2013, is the absolute final day to enter the Web Marketing Association’s 11th annual Internet Advertising Competition Awards.

Today is also the final day to edit any entries already submitted. The Nominator accounts will be closed beginning tomorrow and the judging will begin shortly thereafter.

You can enter or log in at http://www.iacaward.org/iac/nominator_default.asp.

We wish everyone who is participating in the 2013 IAC Awards the best of luck and we will announce when the winners will be released in a few weeks.

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Today is the Internet Advertising Competition Deadline to Enter

This is a final reminder that today is the deadline to enter the 11th annual Web Marketing Association's Internet Advertising Competition Awards. All forms of online advertising are included.

Entering is easy, but if you don't enter, no one will know how really great your work really is!

To enter, go to http://www.iacaward.org/iac/nominator_default.asp and log in to your Nominator Account or create a new one. Fill out the entry form and your in.

Get it done today or be sure to go home empty handed when the award winners are announced!
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Online Marketing Summit Drawing Winner Announced

Congrats to Madeline Goldberg of RED Interactive Agency. She won a full conference pass to the Online Marketing Summit in San Diego, February 11-13! It will be three days of 70+ conference sessions and workshops across eight tracks and discover the latest insights on analytics & big data, content marketing, demand generation, email, mobile, search, social, and strategy.

There is still time to register to attend. Go to http://www.onlinemarketingsummit.com/sandiego/ for complete information.

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IAC Award Deadline Two Weeks Away

There are only two more weeks to enter the Web Marketing’s 11th annual Internet Advertising Competition Awards. The IAC Awards are the oldest industry-based advertising award competition dedicated exclusively to online advertising. The Competition Web site is located at www.iacaward.org and the deadline for entry is January 31, 2013.

Awards will be presented within 86 industry categories and advertising formats including:
Banner ads, Online newsletters, Email Campaigns, Websites, Social Media, Online Video, Mobile Apps and Integrated ad campaigns.

Don’t wait until the last minute! Enter today!

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Award Winning Interactive Agency Database Launched by Web Marketing Association


Finding an “award winning” interactive agency has just gotten easier. The Web Marketing Association has just launched a new website that has brought together top advertising agencies and top interactive agencies who have won recognition in major award programs.  This new searchable database of award winning interactive agencies is found at www.AwardWinningInteractiveAgencies.com.

“Each year, we are contacted by individuals looking for a reputable interactive agency to help with website development, online advertising or other forms of internet marketing . Now they have a single source to find the right interactive agency for them,” said William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association. “One of the major reasons advertising agencies enter award programs is to standout from the rest of the field and receive third party endorsement by independent experts for their work. Entering takes time and money, but the rewards when they win are worth the effort. The Web Marketing Association has created the AWAdb as a service to the online marketing community and to help bring together brand marketers and qualified interactive agencies.”
The Award Winning Agency Database, or AWAdb, allows users to search thousands of full service advertising agencies and interactive agencies that been recognized by major award programs for their outstanding interactive work. The AWAdb can be searched by several fields that are cumulative, helping to narrow your search quickly. Visitors can search by:
Agency Name – Enter the agency name to find that agency
Location – Search by country and/or state to find agencies close to you.
Languages – Need a specific language skills. Narrow your search to 10 different languages including English, Spanish, Turkish, German and Chinese. Additional languages will be added at a later date.
Specialty – Finding the right agency also means finding someone who is an expert in your specific need. 53 specialties can be selected in areas include web development, online marketing, mobile, social media and public relations.
The site also offers an InteractiveAgency Map that allows the user to click on the geographic area they are interested in and drill down to see the exact locations of various award winning agencies.
To have great award winning interactive agencies, you need to have great interactive award programs to be entered and won. AWAdb draws upon some of the major award programs that the online marketing community recognizes as significant awards for interactive marketers.  They include: Web Marketing Association WebAwards, Internet Advertising Competition and MobileWebAwards, Clio Awards, Cannes Cyber Lions, Ad Club of New York Andy Awards, Effie Awards, American Advertising Federation Addy Awards, The One Show Interactive, D&AD Pencil Awards, DMA Echo Awards, SXSW Interactive Awards IAB Mixx Awards, PRSA Silver Anvils, BIMA Awards, Webby Awards, and the Stevie Awards to name a few. These are not all of the award programs out there, only some of the best. Many of these are awards are categories of long-standing advertising award programs. Others have been started specifically to recognize outstanding interactive advertising and great websites.”
Participation in the Award Winning Agency Database is free to all full service advertising agencies and interactive agencies who have won recognition in a recognized interactive award program. If your agency is not already listed and you’ve won awards, please add your agency to the AWAdb.

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, InternetAdvertising Competition and MobileWebAwardaward programs  have been helping interactive professionals promote themselves, their companies, and their best work to the outside world. Now in its 17th year, the WebAward Competition has become the premier award event for Web developers and marketers worldwide.