FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts:
Patrick Kowalczyk: patrick@pkpr.com
Gita Chandra: gita@pkpr.com
PKPR, 212.627.8098
For social media: @thewebbyawards seeking year’s best interactive advertising at www.webbyawards.com. Early deadline is 10.30.09.
Embed: “What will be your 5-word speech?” 60-second video clip at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0BTmdv6C3E
14th ANNUAL WEBBY AWARDS KICK OFF CALL FOR ENTRIES
FOR YEAR’S BEST INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING;
LAUNCHES NEW CATEGORIES HONORING ONLINE MEDIA STRATEGY
Entrants vie for chance to deliver Webbys’ famous five-word speech
New York, NY (September 15, 2009)- What will be your five word speech if you win a Webby Award?
Giving interactive advertising leaders a chance to deliver one of its famous five-word speeches, The Webby Awards today kicked off its 14th annual call for entries at www.webbyawards.com. Agencies can enter work in categories honoring achievement in interactive advertising, Websites, online film and video, and the mobile web. The early entry deadline is October 30, 2009.
Organizers also announced the debut of the Webby Awards’ first-ever categories honoring media planning strategy. The two new categories — Best Use of Online Media and Best Use of Social Media — will honor brands that combine exceptional creative with sophisticated media planning strategy to reach online audiences in the most effective, innovative ways.
“With online ad spending continuing to grow, we’re seeing brands use online media and social media in increasingly innovative and sophisticated ways,” said David-Michel Davies, executive director of The Webby Awards. “We’re looking forward to honoring the leaders who are reshaping the future of advertising.”
Winners will join Webby winners as Jimmy Fallon (“Thank God Conan got promoted.”), Twitter co-founder Biz Stone (“Creativity is a renewable resource.”), and R/GA’s Bob Greenberg (“Agency for the digital age.”) in broadcasting their speech worldwide via the official Webby Awards YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/webby), which has received almost 1.5 million video views to date.
[Embed: “What will be your five-word speech?” 60-second video clip featuring Fallon, Berners-Lee, Stone, and more at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0BTmdv6C3E].
The 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries. Winners included R/GA, recipient of the first-ever Agency of the Year Award, Achtung’s “Volkswagen Innovations” (Banner Campaign), Wieden + Kennedy’s “Coraline Website” (Animation and Motion Graphics), 42 Entertainment’s “Why So Serious? The Dark Knight Alternate Reality Game” (Integrated Campaign), and R/GA’s “Nike SPARQ” (Rich Media B to C). The awards season was capped by a star-studded June gala hosted by Saturday Night Live’s Seth Meyers.
The Webby Awards is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 650-person judging academy whose members include Vinton Cerf, Arianna Huffington, Alex Bogusky of Crispin, Porter + Bogusky, Matt Freeman and Harvey Weinstein.
Nominees for the 14th Annual Webby Awards will be announced in April 2010, and winners will be honored at a ceremony in New York City on June 14, 2010.
About The Webby Awards
Hailed as the “Internet’s highest honor” by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Microsoft Silverlight; The Creative Group; .ORG; YouTube; Getty Images; Wieden + Kennedy; The Barbarian Group; The New York Times Company; Behance; Limelight Networks; IDG; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image.