New York, New York(June 2, 2008)—With a transformation in judging procedures it labeled “unprecedented,” the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) today issued a call for entries to its annual MIXX Awards celebrating interactive advertising excellence. The big change this year: The digital advertising campaigns now will be evaluated by senior executives from agencies, publishers, and marketing organizations deliberating together.
“To our knowledge, this is the first time agencies, publishers and marketers have come together to referee a major advertising awards program,” said Randall Rothenberg, president and CEO of the IAB, the trade association for interactive media in the United States. “This unprecedented assembly of media and marketing professionals reflects our belief that success in interactive advertising is about the entire ecosystem collaborating to drive growth.”
Winners of the IAB’s 2008 MIXX Awards will be announced at a ceremony in New York City on Sept. 23, near the start of Advertising Week, a gathering of the media and marketing industries that typically draws 10,000 professionals to conferences, seminars, recruiting events, and parties celebrating advertising and its evolution.
Agencies, marketers and publishers are invited to submit entries in any of the 18 MIXX Awards categories from today through June 20.
In addition to the traditional categories—which include Brand Awareness and Positioning, Product Launch, Search Marketing and Digital Video, among others—the IAB called for entries to three new categories this year: Social Marketing, Widget Marketing and Brand Destination Site, reflecting the steady stream of innovation that has been a hallmark of the growth of interactive media.
The MIXX Awards are open to marketers and advertising agencies that have run any media, marketing or advertising campaign that was carried out during the qualifying period: April 1, 2007 through March 31, 2008. Full details and entry forms are available at www.iab.net.
Founded in 2005 to honor creativity and effectiveness in interactive advertising, the IAB’s MIXX Awards have grown into the premier honor in digital marketing. Last year’s MIXX Award winners included many of the most prominent brand marketers in the United States, including Anheuser Busch, American Airlines, The Coca-Cola Company, BMW, Royal Caribbean, Showtime and Unilever, as well as leading agencies such as Universal McCann, Ogilvy, McKinney, Digitas, BBDO and Mindshare. In 2007, the gala’s ultimate honor, Best in Show, went to Goodby, Silverstein, and Partners, San Francisco, for its super-rich media campaign for Hewlett-Packard, “The Computer is Personal Again.”
From the beginning, the MIXX Award judging panel was composed solely of executives from consumer marketing organizations. But with the guidance of its MIXX Awards Advisory Board, the IAB changed the panel’s composition to include agency and publisher executives, as well.
“Case studies increasingly show that digital marketing excellence requires marketing strategy, media channel and advertising content work intimately together,” Mr. Rothenberg said, “so having judges who represent these different spheres simply made sense.”
The 2008 MIXX Awards Judging Panel: Marketers:
– Carole Irgang – SVP, Integrated Marketing Communications, Kraft Foods
– David Roman – VP, WW Marketing Communications, Personal Systems Group, Hewlett-Packard Company
– Debbie Jo Severin – VP, Marketing, Covad Communications Group, Inc.
– Joseph Eibert – Executive Director, Interactive Marketing, Warner Home Video
– Cheryl Guerin – VP, Promotions & Interactive, MasterCard Worldwide
– Carol Kruse – VP, Global Interactive Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company
– Arjen Linders – VP of Marketing, Philips DAP N.A.
– Tim Murphy – Senior Director Digital Marketing, Anheuser-Busch
– Jenny Howell – Manager of Interactive Marketing, American Honda Motor Co., Inc.
Agencies:
– Jean-Philippe Maheu – Chief Digital Officer, Ogilvy North America
– Alan Schulman – SVP, Executive Creative Director, Executive Director of User Experience, imc2
– Marty Cooke – Chief Creative Officer, SS+K
– Hans Neubert – Executive Creative Director, Avenue A | Razorfish
– Michael Prieve – Chief Creative Officer, Doremus New York
– Baba Shetty – EVP Chief Media Officer, Hill, Holiday Advertising
Publishers:
– Suzie Reider – Director of Advertising, YouTube
– Lauren Wiener – SVP, Meredith Interactive Media
– Mark D’Arcy – Chief Creative Officer, Time Warner Global Media Group
– Jane Grenier – VP, CondéNet
– Heidi Browning – SVP, Client Solutions, FOX Interactive Media
– Wonya Lucas – EVP & Chief Marketing Officer, Discovery Communications
– David Sturman – Chief Technology Officer for Massive (A Microsoft Company)
Other:
– Todd Wasserman – Editor, Brandweek
To view the complete gallery of the 2007 MIXX Finalists, please visit: www.mixx-awards.com/gallery
About the IAB:
Founded in 1996, the Interactive Advertising Bureau (www.iab.net) represents over 375 leading interactive companies that actively engage in and support the sale of interactive advertising. IAB members are responsible for selling over 86% of online advertising in the United States. On behalf of its members, the IAB is dedicated to the continuing growth of the interactive advertising marketplace, of interactive’s share of total marketing spend, and of its members’ share of total marketing spend. The IAB evaluates and recommends standards and practices, fields interactive effectiveness research, and educates marketers, agencies, and media companies, as well as the wider business community, about the value of interactive advertising
IAB Media Contact:
Marla Nitke
Director, Marketing Communications
212.380.4714
[email protected]
