BBDO New York/BBDO Detroit Chrysler/Dodge Ram http://ram.mekanism.com/Finalist Automotive
Chrysler found a new way to speak to an old audience that was well aware of the depressive state of the auto market. To inspire sales, they decided to personalize the Dodge Ram, a truck they wanted to be seen as the toughest truck on the road. To do this, they created a web-reality show with obstacle courses and racing competitions that gave people the chance to win the new truck. By doing this, the site gained 4.4 billion impressions, surpassing the target by nearly 1 billion.
BBDO New York: David Lubars, Bill Bruce, Chief Executive Officers; Brian DiLorenzo, Director of Integrated Production; Jeff Beverly, Nicholas Gaul, Agency Producers. BBDO Detroit: Rick Dennis, Executive Creative Director; Gary Pascoe, Creative Director; Steve Glinski, Art Director; Tim Thomas, Copywriter. RSA Films: Tony Scott, Director.
blacQube Mercedes-AMG http://www.mercedes-amg.com/Finalist Automotive
Mercedes AMG, the leader in the performance segment of luxury vehicles subscribes to the philosophy, "One man, one engine" to describe the digital experience consumers have when perusing their adrenaline-pumping website. The site showcases eighteen different furiously fast cars, and offers an all-encompassing hi-def experience from the graphics, all the way to the information readily provided to serious consumers, as well as Mercedes AMG enthusiasts.
blacQube: Scott Preacher, Client Partner; Michael Dural, Engagement Lead; Wade Forst, Creative Director; Moritz Bosselmann, Interactive Creative Director; Ash Warren, Flash Development Lead.
Firstborn & Wunderman Team Detroit Ford Motor Company http://focus.firstbornmultimedia.com/?ford_2010_mustang Finalist Automotive
Wunderman Team Detroit enlisted Firstborn to create a site for consumers who, unlike many others in its category, can border on zealots. The site, which is said to be like the Mustang ("exceptional design and tough attitude" and built in a modular way, ensuring content can be continually added) gives them plenty to poke around with. However, it's also a useful shopping tool. The site features a 360 section, a navigation system that allows for the user to view full-screen video, and a customizer unlike any of the many others (yes, everybody has one, but not like this one).
Wunderman Team Detroit: Stuart O'Neil, Sue Driscoll, Creative Director; James Robinson, Jennifer Powers, Associate Creative Directors; Suzanne Driscoll, Creative Director/Copywriter; Bill Peters, Amy Daneke, Program Manager; Melissa Behring, Account Executive; Damon Davis, Vice President Quality Assurance; Jennifer TooleWu, Strategist; Lendell Brown, Analytics; Maureen Honore, Information Architect; Joe Karle, Group Account Director; Chad Datillio, Tech Lead. Firstborn: JoonYong Park, Art Director; Dan LaCivita, Executive Director; Francis Turmel, Director of Interactive Development; Mathieu Badimon, Lead Flash Developer; Daniel Enstrom, Flash Developer; Ryan Jafari, Software Engineer; Wes Adams, Executive Producer; Chris Grey, Jackie Brito, Designer: Ralph Jenson, Benn Mendelsohn, Felix Hill, Producers; Andrew Jerez, JR Schmidt, Joey Byun, 3-D Artists.
Flightpath mySkin Inc. http://www.myskin.com Invite Code Box Login: rfriendFinalist Beauty & Cosmetics
Myskin.com is a community skincare site where users can search 150,000 products to find the ones that fit their "profiles" based on skin type, age, etc. The site makes it easy to organize your products through "my shelf" and "wishlist" features and also includes the "Just Like Me" rating system, that ranks the effectiveness of products (users as well as dermatologists contribute). The site is currently in BETA, but is fully operational.
Flightpath: Steven Louie, Creative Director; Jessica Want, User Experience Designer; Ryan Kitson, Designer; Alex Lindgren, Director of Technology.
Organic, Inc. Estee Lauder http://www.undergroundaward.com/omma_2009/estee_lauder/ Finalist Beauty & Cosmetics
The new esteelauder.com has a sophisticated appearance which is easy to navigate. The interactive features, "Skin Care Finder" and "Foundation Finder," are perfect for finding the right products for users' individual needs, and Get the Look offers more editorial insight by teaching consumers how to apply products, in addition to making items easy to purchase. Loyal customers who know exactly what they want will have no problem finding it.
Lead agency: Conor Brady, Vice President, Creative; Victoria Thorpe, Group Director; Tracy Parker, Account Director; Andrew Khor, Creative Director; Bill Brissette, Caroline Celis, Daniel Silva, Darci Manley, Elizabeth Rohtbart, Jasen Dickan, Jeff Wong, Design; Charles Zicari, Information Architect; David Albright, David Freedman, David Hohusen, Max Zabramny, Kenji Nakajima, Technology; Elise Moyse, Copy; Fang-Yu Lin, Information Architect; Hugh Elliott, James R. Bachalo, Flash Development; Karen Dahlstrom, Senior Copywriter; Betsy Marinaro, Account Manager; Stephen Tanguay, Todd Fraser, Flash Development.
Rosetta Juvederm® ULTRA
http://siteawards.rosetta.com/juvederm/index.html Finalist Beauty & Cosmetics
The Juvederm Ultra site is well organized and informative. The floating feather is a nice little graphic that appears throughout, while the physician finder helps interested users find a doctor in their area who uses Juvederm and, according to the company, was used by 35,000 users (it only searches England). The only "wrinkle" on the site is the "what is right for me?" tool which requires a special plug-in and is ultimately not worth the hassle.
Lead agency: Libby Hammerschlag, Account Director; Chelsea Sluck, Senior Account Executive; David Mihalovic, Associate Partner, Group Creative Director; Vincent Cerpa, User Experience Designer; Marty Leone, Art Director; Tom Newton, Martin Schmidt, Senior Interactive Developer; Zuzanna Dybka, Quality Assurance Associate; Frank Guzewicz, Technical Manager; Jennifer Tafe, Senior Healthcare Writer; Jim Halliday, Partner; Victoria Rafalovsky, Manager Analytics and Optimization.
HowStuffWorks.com HowStuffWorks.com http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/ Finalist Blogs
Blogging? There's a How Stuff Works page for that. The popular Web site inspired some of iTunes hottest podcasts in 2008 and 2009, but fans wanted more interaction with the site's experts. Blogging was the next logical step. The site introduced seven blogs this year, then quickly doubled the offering to 14. Popular blogs include Stuff You Should Know, whose podcast hit No. 1 on iTunes and is now in the Top 10. So if you want to know how a gunshot leaves powder burn, there's a blog post on that. With slow-motion video.
HowStuffWorks.com: Dawn Whaley, Executive Vice President, Marketing and Strategic Relations; Kathryn Kelly, Vice President, Media and Marketing.
Mint.com MintLife http://www.mint.com/blog/ Finalist Blogs
Mint.com started out as a friendly way to manage your money online, and now it's a friendly way to learn and talk about money, too, thanks to the multi-talented MintLife blog, launched in July. Under tags like "Student Life," "Frugal Living," and "Becoming Wealthy," experts write about little-known credit card perks, how to spend less and eat out more, and understanding Roth IRA conversions. Big names like Guy Kawasaki and Motley Fool bring weight and credibility. And in keeping with the Mint philosophy, the blog content is all free, which helps it attract more than 300,000 monthly visitors.
Mint: Aaron Patzer, CEO and Founder; Jason Putorti, Justin Maxwell, Designers.
MLB Advanced Media LP Major League Baseball http://www.mlb.com/blogs Finalist Blogs
It started in April 2005 with Tommy Lasorda's first-ever MLBlogs post at tommy.mlblogs.com, and today the site is packed with personal blogs from star players like Matt Holliday (mattholliday.mlblogs.com), and famous fans Alyssa Milano (Alyssa.mlblogs.com) and Keith Olbermann (keitholbermann. mlblogs.com). Those names aren't just for show, either - the blogs are updated regularly and attract a healthy amount of comments and ratings. Up against heavy hitters like ESPN, the site remains relevant with MLBlogs like Trade Deadline and Hot Stove, all the YES and SNY network blogs, and blogs from all 30 MLB.com beat reporters. In an industry that's as much about the trash talk as it is about baseball, MLB.com drives it home.
MLBAM: Bob Bowman, CEO; Dinn Mann, Executive Vice President, Content; Noah Garden, Executive Vice President, Sponsorship and Commerce.
Accenture Accenture http://www.accenture.com Finalist Business-to-Business
After discovering that some visitors had trouble locating contact information, Accenture revamped its Web site to make it easier for visitors to understand and navigate. The company revised all pages to make contact information more prominent and also made other tweaks, including renovating the design of its site's blogging platform and content pages. Since the overhaul, the company's current and potential clients have given the company positive feedback, rating the site highly for ease of finding information. Accenture also has seen an increase in the volume of potential business leads stemming from the site.
Accenture: Molly E. Spatara, Senior Director, Internet Marketing; Laura Bishop, Senior Manager, Internet Marketing; Patrick Carver, Senior Manager, Internet Marketing; Lorraine Shearing, Senior Manager, Internet Marketing.
BBDO New York Motorola http://www.motorola.com/secondnature Finalist Business-to-Business
Visit the Second Nature microsite, click on "threat surveillance," and you'll be whisked to a subway station where an unattended backpack has been caught on video. A dispatcher sends the video feed to an officer's PDA, who then apprehends a suspect. Another officer then arrives and, using Mobile AFIS, fingerprints the suspect for an on-the-spot identification. It's all part of a campaign that uses virtual reality imagery to promote Motorola's public safety offerings to police chiefs, fire chiefs and chief information officers of mid-to-large cities. The platform was built using CGI technology, flash and HTML.
BBDO New York: David Lubars, Bill Bruce, Chief Creative Officers; Mike Boulia, Creative Director, Art director; Brian Donovan, Creative Director, Copywriter; Alexis Bellow, Copywriter; Jon Rosenberg, Agency Producer.
New Media Consulting NMB Technologies Corporation http://www.nmbtc.com/ Finalist Business-to-Business
Miniature ball bearings, motors, and cooling fans might not be the sexiest products, but this highly organized Web site certainly makes them accessible. A section on bearing engineering explains everything from measurement methods to noise performance, while the section on fans includes white papers that discuss how to choose the most appropriate product. The site also includes interactive components like a fan measurement conversion tool, enabling visitors to easily convert from inches to millimeters or centimeters.
New Media Consulting: Scott Sizemore, Project Producer, Director; Connie Kelly, Lead Engineer; Brad Bauer, Creative Interface/Implementation; Jon Schneider, Creative Development. Barracuda Marketing: Sarah De Rosier
Bravo Media LLC Television Without Pity http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com Finalist Entertainment
Rejoice, television fanatics! The 10-year-old televisionwithoutpity.com has recently gone under the knife, and emerged all the better with a bright design and brand-new content. Factoid-dense pages dedicated to more than 50 television shows - from reality stalwarts like Big Brother to new critical darlings like Nurse Jackie - encompass the likes of message boards, video clips, and well-written, detailed episode recaps. Even better, the site prides itself on "the most literate fan forums anywhere" - no small achievement in the LOLZOMGZZZ111!!111 age. The site's shot in the arm has spurred year-over-year growth in monthly unique visitors and monthly page views every single month this year, and new advertisers and sponsors have been quick to notice.
Television Without Pity: Daniel Manu, Site Director; Angel Cohn, Senior Editor; Zach Oat, Editor; Mindy Monez, Assistant Editor. Bravo: Mari Katsunuma, Vice President, Online Media; Lisa Hsia, Senior Vice President, Digital Media; Jason Comis, Art Director.
Deadline ABC www.ajiraairways.com Finalist Entertainment
To put it (very) mildly, television's Lost boasts a dedicated following of Web savvy, hardcore superfans. And the show's helmers certainly know it, as evidenced by a Web site created for the fictional airline, Ajira Airways, featured in the show. Created to coincide with Lost's fifth season, the convincing airline site is littered with clues for crafty visitors. And if they cracked the code, visitors could "book a flight" and gain special access to videos and images that provided further hints about the new season. Breaking all conventions about how to promote a TV show online - the only overt reference to ABC lies in the copyright notice slugged at the bottom of the page - the site provided Lost fans with yet another gateway to its intricate mythology, and provided ABC with 3 million hits during its first week alone.
ABC: Victoria Chew; Executive Director of Marketing; Grace Yang, Project Manager; Amanda Grant, Director, Digital Strategy and Media Deadline; Eric Kahn, Creative Director, Interactive; Matthew Hockman, Interactive Producer, Strategy.
Schematic South Park http://www.southparkstudios.com/Finalist Entertainment
Speaking of fans -- super or otherwise -- South Park sure knows how to reward their loyalty. Launched last year and designed by Schematic, southparkstudios.com sets the bar for putting fans first, while simultaneously capturing the essence of the cartoon. A comprehensive collection of beginning-to-end episodes (Hulu who?), video clips, an episode guide, news updates, games, an avatar creator, and a "scene mixer" app all provide ample ways for today's unemployed masses to pass their time. (And gold star to whomever dreamed up the "Lemmiwinks!" intestinal game.)
South Park Digital Studios: Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Co-Creator; Anne Garefino, General Manager; Greg Kampanis, Senior Vice President; Christopher “Crispy” Brion, Creative Director; M. Halpin, Director of Software Engineering & Architecture; Todd Benson, Senior Producer; Brandon Levin, Art Director; Angus Perkerson, Junior Programmer; James Siciliano, Media Coordinator. Schematic: Andrew Solmssen, Executive Vice President; Jimmy Chen, Art Director; Emily Boisvert, Project Manager.
BabyCenter BabyCenter http://www.babycenter.com/ Finalist Family/Parenting/Women's Interest
BabyCenter is one of those can't-look-away sites - the lively message boards alone are captivating, whether you're still TTC (trying to conceive), looking for tricks to induce labor, or you're about to do the BD (the baby dance) in hopes of getting lucky. The site reaches more than 78 percent of new and expectant moms in the United States, and that's the secret to BabyCenter's success: It's one big community of women advising and supporting each other, even posting streams of support and updates during ER visits and miscarriage scares. It's as authentic as community gets.
BabyCenter: Tina Sharkey, Linda Murray, Scott Adler, Ann Crady, Brian Lee, Dave Weiss, Ken DeLong.
MediaVest Wal-Mart http://www.momtourage.com/ Finalist Family/Parenting/Women's Interest
When Wal-Mart saw the economy sending millions of first-time shoppers through its doors, it wanted to turn those visits into long-term relationships. So, it launched Momtourage, a multi-platform community built on the premise that no mom should have to do it alone. The site is packed with information and advice on issues like childcare and household work, and it's open to a mother's personal story. Wal-Mart saw 30 percent month-to-month traffic growth, surpassing 100 million unique visits per month. And the brand got the relationship-building it was after: 22 percent of Momtourage users visit Wal-Mart five or more times per month.
MediaVest: Susan Cho, Digital Associate Director; Roy Chung, Digital Associate; Amy Hanna, Digital Operations Junior Associate; Breta Kennedy, Digital Junior Associate; Tine Rhee, Jen Lieberman, Digital Associate; Anne Elkins, Senior Vice President, Activation Group Director; Douglas Roeser, Activation Associate Director; Fred Parachini, Nicole Elghanayan, Chris Owen, Eleni Bardis, Connections Associate Director.
Razorfish WWD / Women's Wear Daily http://www.razorfish.com/showcase/nycreative/wwd/index.html Finalist Family/Parenting/Women's Interest
Women's Wear Daily wanted to go from the fashion industry's print bible to online global news platform, and its online redesign succeeds. A dramatic new layout puts international news in easy reach, a clear priority on images gives users a front-seat view of the latest in fashion, and an image archive includes 15 years of WWD exclusive photos. The redesign also put a premium on improved ad opportunities and targeting. During launch week, unique visits were up 129 percent year-over-year. With the first two months of the launch, unique visitors were up 8.6 percent.
Razorfish: Holly Mason, Program Director; Cindy Beyer, Senior Functional Analyst; Bryan Hamilton, Experience Lead; Daniel Chen, Associate Creative Director; Michael Tagle, Creative Director; Jibi Scaria, Technology Director; Thomas Bailey, Senior Presentation Layer Architect; Eric Moore, Vice President Client Partner. WDD: Greg Remillard, General Manager; Leslie George, Product Manager; Amy DiTullio, Online Managing Editor.
About.com About.com Food & Drink http://www.about.com/food/ Finalist Food & Beverage
Offering recipes and articles (including videos) broken out and searchable every which way imaginable (by ingredient, stye, region, specialty diet, etc.) About's food site is nothing if not complete. A blog and newsletters keep things, er, fresh, and the specificity of the searches and content offer value to advertisers.
The About Group: Cella Ivine, CEO.
Foodbuzz Quaker http://www.foodbuzz.com/brands/producer/quaker+oats Finalist Food & Beverage
When Quaker Oats launched its True Delights granola bar it didn't just create a fan page on a social network or make a flashy microsite, no, the granola became ingrained in the site Foodbuzz. The site utilized its network of on site bloggers, created contests, and made a brand profile for Quaker that went beyond posting recipes to engage consumers in conversation, all of which created a genuine presence for the brand.
The Taunton Press Fine Cooking http://www.finecooking.com To view premium membership content, login with the following username: awards@taunton.com and password:Finalist Food & Beverage
Fine Cooking unveiled a new clean and easily navigable look this year. Not just slicker and easier though, the site also got better in significant ways, adding conversational tools that make it seem intimate. Users interact with bloggers, editors and each other, for a site experience that is framed in expert content, but never seems inaccessible — even if the name sounds snooty.
Demand Media LIVESTRONG.COM http://www.livestrong.com/ Finalist Health, Wellness
The race isn't about the bike the way Livestrong.com isn't about health: The site has the broader mission of living well, from nutrition and fitness, to family and relationships. Custom tools help members track their progress toward their goals, and members can become "guides" in topics they're passionate about. Livestrong.com contains health, fitness, and nutrition articles and videos, all original content produced by Demand Studios. Expert contributors include physicians, nutritionists, trainers, and, of course, Lance Armstrong. In one year, the site registered 1.5 million members and earned a spot among the Top 15 networks in comScore's Health Information category.
Demand Media: Richard Rosenblatt, CEO. Livestrong.com: Dan Brian, director.
HBO "The Alzheimer's Project" http://www.hbo.com/alzheimers/ Finalist Health, Wellness
HBO's groundbreaking documentary, "The Alzheimer's Project" merges together scientific information, support, and advice to people affected by the second most feared disease in America. The website for The Alzheimer's Project, which consists of video and the latest research, is a comprehensive, informative guide to people searching for some answers, or looking to reach out to others.
HBO.com: Sabrina Caluori, Director of Marketing and Promotions; Adam Dubov, Executive Producer; Carla Labianca, Supervising Producer; Jim Marsh, Marketing Manager; Chris Peditto, Producer; Kevin Pearce, Senior Editor.Behavior: Mimi Young, Principal, Client Services; Jeff Piazza, Principal, Creative Director.
Organic, Inc. Equinox/MYEQ http://www.undergroundaward.com/omma_2009/equinox_myeq/ Finalist Health, Wellness
Charged with creating a site experience for Equinox members that matched the one they get in the clubs, Organic developed a user-friendly suite of tools to track and manage one's workout regimen integrated with a feature that finds and books classes at any of the club's locations, as well as helps creates custom fitness programs online. Users can also synch MYEQ fitness with their personal calendars and Facebook. The new online programs also allow Equinox to create custom offers based on members' habits, while enhancing their overall experience.
Conor Brady, VP of Creative; Wai Fong, Art Director; Sebastien Monney, Associate Creative Director; Rey Peralta, Associate Creative; Director Dean McRobie, ED, Project Engineering; Gilbert Yeh, Sr. Contributor, Information Architecture; Rob Romano, Group Director of Engagement Management; Whitney Browne, Associate Creative Director; Max Zabramny, Interface Engineering Mgr.; James Kewageshig, Sr. Interface Developer; Daniel Silva, Senior Designer
LBi Spectracide http://www.spectracide.com/solutions/
Finalist House & Home
Spectracide's interactive microsite is truly an immersive web site experience. Between the eye-catching vivid colors and live-action graphics of bugs wriggling around under the mouse, it seems as though the visitor is doing something way more exciting than looking for a solution to their ant mound or Japanese Beetle conundrum. LBi created the microsite in order to increase brand penetration, and purchase intent. It did. There was a dramatic increase in sales, and the in-house off-the-shelf offers and coupon program also saw significant growth.
LBi: Thurston Yates, Executive Creative Director; Matt Daly, Associate Creative Director; Gina Jones, Account Manager; Chris Rebel, Senior Flash Developer; Alex Kurth, Senior Art Director.
Moxie Interactive Home Depot http://www6.homedepot.com/lightbulb/ Finalist House & Home
Pretty clueless in the light bulb department? No problem - Home Depot has it covered. The Home Depot Light Bulb Experience by Moxie Interactive takes all the guesswork out of searching for that just-right luminosity for a certain room. With an interactive bulb finder, and a 101 section for basic bulb information (who knew there was a light bulb called the Parabolic Aluminized Reflector?) the site helps to educate consumers, while inspiring them about how to implement certain fixtures in their home. Bulb finder is the most popular section of the site, with users spending up to three minutes on it.
Moxie Interactive: Heather Friedman, Account Director; Lindy Gross, ACD; Roy Kaufman, Art Director; Derek Lawler, Sr. Copy Writer; Thao Damiano, Senior Designer; Colin Howells, Designer; Troy Francois, Designer; Chet Verigan, Associate Director of Development; Debba White, Project Manager; Sharline Bramucci, Developer; Danny Muller, Information Architect.
The Taunton Press Fine Homebuilding http://www.finehomebuilding.com To access premium content, use the login: awards@taunton.com and password:
To access premium content, use the login: awards@taunton.com and password:
Fine Homebuilding's site, which is supported by 250,000 unique visitors per month and 23,000 members, seems to offer anything and everything a home-improvement fanatic could ever want. The site is crammed with general information, and entertainment for a receptive and engaged audience, who range from architects and designers to DIYers. Fine Homebuilding also has boasting-rights to The Inspector, a first-ever game for design and building enthusiasts that has had 80,000 people play it over 120,000 times. Better yet, the game is constantly adapted for specific products and advertising opportunities. Not too shabby.
The Taunton Press: Robyn Aitken, Producer; John Ross, Producer; Matt Berger, Executive Producer; Anatole Burkin, VP, Digital Content; Jason Revzon, VP, Interactive.
Boston.com Boston.com/Yourtown http://www.boston.com/yourtown /Finalist News
Boston.com launched the Your Town project to provide more timely, relevant, and targeted news, starting with the pilot site Boston.com/Newton. Today, there are 10 community sites, with plans to expand. Sites include calendars with key local activities and a way for residents to add events, a local school section, a sports section with coverage of community teams, and even a wiki-encyclopedia of all things related to the community. As a result, all traffic is growing, surpassing page-view goals each month, once by 218 percent. Half of the newest launched towns outperformed the original towns in their first month.
Boston.com: James Bodor, Director, Product Development; Daniel Garcia, Manager, Product; Dana Giuliana, Director, Design; David Dahl, Regional Editor; Teresa Hanafin, Editor; Angela Nelson, Senior Content Producer; Eric Bauer, Information Architect; Adam Salsman, Manager Technical Production; Jenny Long, Marketing Manager.
Dow Jones & Company The Wall Street Journal Digital Network, wsj.com http://www.wsj.com Finalist News
In the past year, The Wall Street Journal unveiled so many online features you could almost forget the stock market had tanked: It introduced Journal Community, small business how-to guides, a management section, and integrated content from MarketWatch and Dow Jones Newswires, for starters. Its mobile reader sends stories and market data to smartphones, and it launched an iPhone app in the spring. In the midst of it all, its coverage of the financial crisis (oh, that!) led to a three-part documentary-style series called "The End of Wall Street: An Oral Documentary," told by WSJ reporters and editors.
The Wall Street Journal Digital Network: Gordon McLeod, President; Daniel Bernard, Chief Product Officer. The Wall Street Journal: Alan Murray, Deputy Managing Editor and Executive Editor,Online. WSJ.com: Almar Latour, Managing Editor.
IAC The Daily Beast http://www.thedailybeast.com/ Finalist News
The Daily Beast calls its coverage "poly-partisan," and while its reach is broad, it keeps readers grounded with a neat and eye-catching front page, and just four cleverly defined sections: Cheat Sheet, The Big Fat Story, Buzz Board, and Blogs & Stories. Tina Brown's latest media project combines daily articles of original commentary and reporting with a tightly edited set of the latest "must-reads from all over." At just two months old, the Beast was breaking story after story in the Madoff scandal, and within 10 months of launch, it had grown to 2.8 million unique visitors per month.
The Daily Beast: Tina Brown, Editor-in-Chief; Edward Felsenthal, Executive Editor; Caroline Marks, General Manager.The Daily Beast: Tina Brown, Editor-in-Chief; Edward Felsenthal, Executive Editor; Caroline Marks, General Manager.
IAC The Daily Beast www.thedailybeast.com
Finalist Politics
Just five days after its launch, The Daily Beast defined itself as a political force when it published a story written by William F. Buckley Jr, titled, "I'm Sorry, Dad, I'm Voting For Obama." The site features viewpoints across the political spectrum, with regular contributors such as Buckley Jr., Megan McCain, and, of course, Tina Brown, herself.
The Daily Beast: Tina Brown, Editor-in-Chief; Edward Felsenthal, Executive Editor; Caroline Marks, General Manager.
Interlex Pan American Development Foundation http://www.itooamhaiti.org/ Finalist Politics
With a name inspired by Langston Hughes' poem "I, Too, Sing America," this Web site seeks to create awareness of, and put a stop to, human trafficking and abuse in Haiti. The site features children telling stories, in their own words, who have been exploited. In addition to the stories and a forum, the site provides community tools to enable anyone to take action.
Pan American Development Foundation: Michael Zamba, Senior Director; Jorge Téllez, Communications & Development Coordinator. Interlex: Rudy Ruiz, President and CEO; Interlex Heather Ruiz, Creative Director; Leslie Rodriguez, Senior Graphic Designer; Brittani Pena, Account Executive.
New Media Strategies C-SPAN http://dnc08.c-span.org/ http://rnc08.c-span.org/
The debate and convention hubs created by CSPAN to cover the 2008 presidential election included full video coverage (with live and archived video), blogger coverage and Twitter feeds all integrated with on-air coverage on the cable station. Twitter hashtags generated over 30,000 tweets, the Convention Hub inspired over 220 blog posts, and the 440 C-SPAN videos reached over 670,000 online viewers.
New Media Strategies: Leslie Bradshaw, Director, Engagement. Jess3: Jesse Thomas, CEO.
About.com About.com http://www.about.com/
Finalist Reference
About.com's home page is clean, simple and features a prominent "search" space. Users can also browse the site by "Channel" "Topic" and "What's Hot Now," to get access to the site's 800 expert Guides on more than 70,000 topics (making up more than 2 million articles). Based on your search term, the site makes useful suggestions for other topics and articles you might be interested in.
The About Group: Cella Irvine, CEO.
Demand Media eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/ Finalist Reference
Enter "how to cut a mango" in eHow.com and you will get several user friendly step-by-step instructions from some of the site's 45 million monthly viewers, rated by other users that can be easily printed or emailed, and their "other articles like this" and "more by this author" sidebars make for useful browsing. Users can also easily search by category, author type (member or professional), text or video, skill level and rating.
Demand Media: Richard Rosenblatt, CEO. eHow.com: Greg Boudewijn, General Manager.
HowStuffWorks.com HowStuffWorks.com http://www.howstuffworks.com/ Finalist Reference
HowStuffWorks.com is great for finding things you didn't know you were looking for. "The random zone" offers facts, image galleries, videos and quotes for the curious, and quizzes, puzzles and polls add an interactive element for the active. Search queries return a nice combination of pictures and text that is easy to navigate.
Catapult Action-Biased Marketing Mars Petcare, US / PEDIGREE® http://www.pedigree.com/03Adoption/superbowl/
Finalist Retail
It's no surprise that Catapult's Super Bowl promotion propelled Pedigree to its highest dollar sales and volume gains ever - every facet of the Web site spoke to dog lovers with just the right touch of game-day gaiety, while still harnessing the heart-tugging mission of its adoption drive. Whether it's the "meals donated" counter on the landing page, the user-generated mosaic ads, the excellent search and content features for those looking to adopt Mr. Goodbark, the iPhone app for your dog's bark, or the hilarious Super Bowl ads, all beautifully reinforce Pedigree's brand essence: Dogs rule.
Catapult: Heather Huffnagle, Management Supervisor; Rich Magalik, Creative Director; Rob Kurfehs, Senior Art Director; Brian Garofalo, Web Designer; Neil Needleman, Copywriter; Andrew Ganat, Designer Direct/Interactive Devices; Brandon Fitzpatrick, Interactive Developer; Justine Pujo, Senior Producer.
Firstborn & Droga5 Puma http://focus.firstbornmultimedia.com/?puma_liftFinalist Retail
Through a full-screen video interface, two people demonstrate the lightness of Puma's new athletic shoe by weighing the shoe on a fulcrum against some everyday (and some not-so everyday) objects. The site highlights the shoes features, while never being overly technical, and brings humor and a human touch to a sneaker launch, which makes sense for technical gear that has a fashion following.
Droga5: Duncan Marshall, Executive Creative Director; Scott Witt, Creative Director; Kenny Kim, Brennan Boblett, Art Director; Kevin Brady, Copywriter; David Ross, Agency Producer; Thomas Beug, Agency Producer. FirstBorn: Juan Delcan, Multimedia Director (Nola Pictures); Joon Park, Creative Director; Hannah Lee, Art Director; Jens Fischer, Lead Flash Developer; Dan LaCivita, Executive Director; Melissa Jarosz, Senior Producer; Will Russell, Lead 3-D Designer, Animation; Eric Eng, Studio Producer; Mike Kuzmich, Animation, Video Post Production; Andrew Jerez, 3-D Modeling.
Isobar Reebok http://www.reebok.com/US/#/womens?view=home Finalist Retail
Reebok uses its intriguing new Jukari workout - a trapeze-type exercise created in partnership with Cirque de Soleil - as a way to relaunch its women's apparel site. But even women who will never fly the air can watch how the apparel actually performs. There are viewing demonstration videos, as well as the ability for visitors to navigate around the instructors for a full range of views and motions after the thorough demo.
Isobar: Sasha Grujicic, Strategy Lead; Paul Pantzer, Program Lead; Scott Cleversey, Global Account Lead. Molecular: Al Divenuti, Technical Lead; Eniola Oluwole, User Experience Lead; Patrick Heath, Acting Tech Lead; Sam Bisbee, RDP Flash Integration Lead. Mindblossom: Dan Branco, Account Manager; Navinder Biln, Lead Flash Developer; Neil Onsdorff, Project Manager; Tomas Lin, Developer; Zain Rahman, Developer; Saqib Aleem, .Net Developer, Senior Architect; Bryan Fullerton, Hosting Lead. Carat: Eugene Buono, Creative Director; Giancarlo Pisani, Art Director; Katerina Martchouk, Copywriter; Tyler Bahl, Kit Casey, OLA; Ryan Duda, Designer/Producer; Michelle Grimaldi, Account Manager; Kim Ryan, Producer, Jukari Photo Shoot; Keith Lusby, Global Media Account Lead; Ted Roberts, Motion Director. Hypermedia: Diana Dubko, Magdalena Szczukiewicz, Localization Management.
BabyCenter BabyCenter http://community.babycenter.com/ Finalist Social Networking (Excluding Facebook, MySpace)
Having a baby is one of life's most important experiences — and a huge shopportunity. The year-old BabyCenter community sparks very intense and honest interactions among new moms and mothers-to-be. The community provides a more personalized entry to the venerable site's deep content and tools, while letting women get advice and tips from each other. The company claims that it's the fastest growing mom-centric social network site, with more than 100,000 daily visitors. It works for advertisers, too, with 71 percent of registered moms saying they want brands to interact with them within the community.
BabyCenter: Marcus Kazmierczak, Ann Crady , Sean Sitter, Shino Tanaka, Yael Valek, Sonia Pasquali, Rebecca Michals.
Lowe's Lowe's http://www.lowescreativeideas.com/Home.aspx Finalist Social Networking (Excluding Facebook, MySpace)
The home improvement center continues to revitalize its Creative Ideas brand with the addition of tools that let proud homeowners showcase their projects, from weird to semi-pro. The clean design and simple organization reinforce the brand message while helping consumers find the information they seek, or encouraging them to browse the galleries. Project journals highlight products available in the stores, providing valuable consumer recommendations, while professionally produced articles mingle with user-created stories to make customers feel part of the brand.
Lowe's: Sandy Culver, Director of Affinity and Education Program; Matt Mitchell, Digital Editorial Manager. Tribal DDB: Tiffany Dundon, Account Director; Heather VanStechelman, Account Supervisor; Jim Kim, Associate Creative Director; Matt Metropolis, Art Director; Sam Spicer, Senior User Experience Architect; Lee Reeves, Lead Developer; Paul Dain, Technology Director; Jacob Rice, Project Manager; Zulema Ortiz, Web Developer; Pluck Enterprise: Marc Medrano, Senior Engagement Manager; Hunter Sinclair, Senior Solutions Engineer; Erik Noble, Senior Solutions Engineer.
Meredith Corp. MixingBowl.com http://www.mixingbowl.comFinalist Social Networking (Excluding Facebook, MySpace)
Instead of repurposing magazine content - And possibly cannibalizing print sales - Meredith Corp. created a standalone social site to let home chefs shine by exchanging recipes and photos, planning parties, entering contests and communicating via message boards. On the back end, a matching algorithm recommends groups and recipes based on user-registration information and behavior, delivering a customized experience to each. Since its January 2009 launch, more than 16,000 recipes have been added, while the site gives advertisers and marketers unique opportunities to target consumers.
Meredith Corp.: Heather Morgan Shott, Interactive Senior Food Editor; Diane Starkey, Art Director; Marie Elizabeth Oliver, Associate Food Editor; Doug Crichton, Editorial Director, Special Interest Media.
CBSSports.com CBSSports.com http://www.cbssports.com/ Finalist Sports
More than just a portal for the TV network, CBSSports.com expands and enhances coverage for fans and fantasy league players, and has become a category leader in engagement. It's also broken ground with its exhaustive March Madness On Demand coverage of the NCAA basketball tournament. The site melds first-rate professional writing and breaking news, with community features and rich consumer-generated content.
CBSSports.com: Jason Kint, Senior Vice President, General Manager; Rich Calacci; Senior Vice President, Sales; Patrick Herde, Vice President, Production.
ESPN ESPN http://www.espn.com/ Finalist Sports
Serving as an online home for content from ESPN's various television stations, radio network and print magazine, as well as much Web-only content, ESPN.com has become a respected amalgam of its various parts. In addition to an enviable roster of regular writers and contributors, the site touts its video capabilities, reporting that videos watched on the ESPN site account for nearly half of all sports-related video viewed on the Web.
ESPN Digital Media: John Kosner, Senior Vice President, General Manager; John Zehr, Senior Vice President, Production & Product Development. ESPN.com: Rob King, Vice President, Editor-in-Chief; Patrick Stiegman, Vice President, Executive Editor.
MLB Advanced Media LP Major League Baseball http://www.mlb.comFinalist Sports
With real-time updates of all the baseball games being played on a given day, 150 news stories a day during the season, interactive (and constantly updated statistics), video highlights, and a subscription video service, MLB.com is a vibrant portal simple enough for casual fans but with depth to satisfy the seriously devoted. The innovation of the interactive Gameday Pitch-By-Pitch Application provides a Web-native mode for users to enjoy real-time updates on games, along with extraordinarily detailed game stats.
MLB AM: Bob Bowman, CEO; Dinn Mann, Executive Vice President, Content; Noah Garden, Executive Vice President, Sponsorship & Commerce.
iCrossing Vail Resorts, snow.com
http://www.snow.com/
Finalist Travel
In a site lousy with flash, but still navigable, Vail Resorts group destination snow.com is designed to give snow-junkies a jones. And it does so with Web cams of seemingly every gondola at every resort, edited snow-porn video shorts and constant conditions updates and maps.
iCrossing: Stephen Thompson, Executive VP, Creative.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex (KSCVC) KSCVC Web Site Redesign, KennedySpaceCenter.com
www.KennedySpaceCenter.com
Jammed into one of the most competitive tourism markets in the country near Orlando, Florida, The Kennedy Space Center needed some Mouse-like moves to create excitement about its museum. Not content to simply redesign the site, the Space Center built in a sense of fun with features like the Launch Countdown (which is a calendar of events) and social networking tools. The site is also a destination in of itself, telling the NASA story and incorporating museum content.
Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex: Matthew Slipkowsky, Advertising Manager; Ryan Harris, eCommerce Administrator. MarketNet: Jill Bach, Principal; Cristal Givens, Account Director; Elaine Bridges, Creative Designer.
Razorfish Starwood Hotels, "This is How It Should Feel"
http://www.starwoodhotels.com/promotions/promo_landing.html?category=WI_BRAND&EM=VTY_WI_SENSES
When Razorfish was charged with creating an Web site for Westin that would show potential guests how the hotel experience will feel, they created several fully immersive environments designed to do just that. Users can toss feathers, rustle tall grass, make bubbles, and touch the sky. Accompanying copy on each of the twelve scenes explains how the experience related to a stay at the hotels. Ultimately, results surpassed industry marks with more than 166,000 clicks, 4,000 bookings, and more than $2 million in total revenue.
Razorfish: Peter Knierim, Creative Director; John Antoniello, Associate Creative Director; Mark Anderson, Copywriter; JL Novosad, Art Director; Danny Adrain, Designer; Eric Mayville; Interactive Designer; Dominick Hoffman, Flash Developer/Animator; Chris McKenzie, Flash Developer/Animator; Joe Campbell, Flash Developer/Animator; John Wha, Animator; David Estis, Animator.
BabyCenter BabyCenter http://www.babycenter.com/2_inside-pregnancy-weeks-1-to-9_10302602.bc Finalist Video-Sharing
It's pretty much a given that pregnant women are hungry...for information, that is. Why not show them cool, animated 3-D videos depicting what the baby looks like at any and all stages of pregnancy? Then, under the "not for the squeamish" category, they can watch videos of moms giving birth. One of the most popular sites for moms, BabyCenter reaches 78 percent of new and expecting online moms in the U.S. and has seen traffic to its videos jump by 300 percent over the last year. Many of the videos are sold out when it comes to ads.
BabyCenter: Linda Murray, Jenny DesJarlais, Jonathan Ball, Ty Gerhardt.
Beet.TV Beet.TV "The Beet.TV Syndication Platform":http://www.beet.tv/the-beettv-syndication-platform.html "Finding Beet.TV on Influential Blogs and Tech Sites":http://www.beet.tv/finding-beettv-on-influential-blogs-and-tech-sites.html
Finalist Video-sharing (Excluding YouTube)
Beet.TV takes a new approach to giving visitors an inside look into the world of media. The platform launched in 2006 and combines the elements of news, television, and access. The site, which has syndication arrangements with TechCrunch, Thomson Reuters and the Huffington Post, posts videos (they're now up to about 1,100) and content daily with news, reports and interviews from players in media and new media.
Beet.TV: Andy Plesser, Executive Producer; Daisy Whitney, Senior Producer; David Kavanaugh, Director.
The Taunton Press Fine Woodworking http://www.FineWoodworking.com/videos To access premium content use the login: awards@taunton.com and the password: "password"Finalist Video-sharing (Excluding YouTube)
To access premium content use the login: awards@taunton.com and the password: "password"Finalist Video-sharing (Excluding YouTube)
If video is a key feature of your site, it better be easy to find. Check that as yes for Fine Woodworking, the woodworking enthusiast site dedicated to providing beginners and experts with info they need for projects by giving tips via text, photograps and video. The site draws more than 300,000 monthly unique visitors, counts 44,000 paying members and offers more than 500 how-to videos. Video content runs the gamut from tips to techniques - exactly what practitioners of the craft want.
Gina Eide, Producer; Matt Berger, Executive Producer; Anatole Burkin, Vice President, Digital Content; Jason Revzon, Vice President, Interactive.
