Parsippany, NJ (April 11, 2003) Interactive Media Associates, Inc. (IMA), a leading Internet service provider, today announced that it is a Gold and Silver winner in the 2004 Horizon Interactive Awards® competition. IMA was honored for its outstanding creative work for Balanchine 100, IATSE International, and Aquis Communications Web sites. The annual competition recognizes excellence in interactive media production among firms, individuals and in-house multi-media departments.
Len Muscarella, President of IMA, said: "It is a testament to the quality of IMA's team that we won awards in every category in which we contended. IMA has long been a leader in effectively melding business objectives, aesthetic design, and high end interactivity to create Web sites that perform for our clients on all levels."
Balanchine Wins Gold
IMA received a Gold Award in the Flash category for Balanchine 100, a mini-site developed in honor of the Balanchine Centenial celebrations now underway at George Balanchine's home company, New York City Ballet, and around the world. The mini-site can be launched from the New York City Ballet home page, at www.nycballet.com.
"The IMA team was inspired to create a premiere site on this occasion," said Len Muscarella, president of IMA. "We wanted the work to reflect upon Balanchine's legacy and the high quality of professionalism frequent visitors of New York City Ballet's Web site have come to expect from our designs and engineering acumen."
The mini-site includes stunning animation, a streaming music track of the symphonic work performed at Balanchine ballets, an interactive timeline of Balanchine's life and a quiz for ballet aficionados, and a listing of all events taking place at New York City Ballet. In addition, there is a search mechanism that allows Balanchine devotees look up what events and ballets are being held and performed world-wide throughout the centennial year, and a gallery of all ballets being performed in repertory this year, including commentary by Peter Martins, New York City Ballet Master.
IMA Takes Two Silver Awards
IMA also received two Silver Awards. The first was in the Public Service category for IATSE International ( www.iatse-intl.org ). The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes, Moving Picture Technicians, Artists and Allied Crafts of the United States, Its Territories and Canada was originally chartered by the American Federation of Labor as the National Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employes in 1893. The union has evolved over the course of 110 years of geographic and craft expansion as well as technological advancement, today encompassing the crafts of Animation / Computer Generated Imagery, Front of House, Laboratory, Make-up and Hair, Motion Picture and Television Production, Post Production, Projection and Audio-Visual, Scenic Artists, Stagehands, Television Broadcast, Trade Show/Exhibition, Treasurers and Ticket Sellers, and Wardrobe.
IMA redesigned the International's Web site to better reflect the quality and high production values so prized by the union. Site enhancements included an interactive timeline, an animated introductory sequence highlighting the versatility and longevity of the union, a major section on organizing, and an improved area on the union’s political action committee (PAC), including a links to an online contribution interface. Other areas that were updated include the publications area, the yellow card shows section that contains information about traveling performances, and new News & Events areas, including photo galleries, a member highlight page, and a calendar of events.
James B. Wood, General Secretary-Treasurer, IATSE, said: "On behalf of the IATSE, I offer my sincerest congratulations on this prestigious award, and many thanks for all of you hard work. The creative team at Interactive Media Associates constantly impresses us with their professionalism. We continue receiving positive feedback from our membership, our locals and affiliated unions on our newly-designed site. We are honored to be a part of this achievement."
The second Silver Award was in the business-to-business category, won for the Aquis Communications Web site ( www.aquiscommunications.com ). Aquis is the seventh largest wireless messaging carrier in the country, and a leading provider of one-way and two-way nationwide interactive messaging, as well as regional and local messaging services. IMA's site mirrored not only the company's new corporate identity, but highlighted their new mission of working together with educational institutions, municipal governments, security and emergency personnel, and healthcare providers, to provide prompt, coordinated responses to emergency medical and disaster situations.
Brian Bobeck, President and CEO of Aquis Communications, said: "We appreciate IMA's assistance and creativity in helping Aquis bring our vision and branding through in such a professional and personal manner."
More on the 2004 Horizon Interactive Awards
The 2004 competition received hundreds of entries from several countries including: The United States, Canada, Malaysia, United Kingdom, Germany, Hong Kong and New Zealand. Entry categories included: Business to Business, Consumer Information, Entertainment, Flash, Public Service, Sales / E-commerce and Self Promotion. A panel of judges evaluated several multi-media formats including web sites, Flash, CD-Roms, DVDs and streaming media webcasts. The 2004 panel of judges consisted of various industry professionals with diverse backgrounds including marketing, art and creative direction, multi-media production, and technical development.
"The quality and diversity of the works evaluated in this year’s competition was outstanding. Developers are continuing to push the envelope with blending beautiful aesthetics with effective functionality,” said Mike Sauce, president of the Horizon Interactive Awards. “Past competitions have shown us that developers were willing to experiment with new technologies and new concepts. This year’s competition showed us that developers are now effectively utilizing those new technologies in conjunction with solid design principles to create effective and creative interactive media solutions with purpose. The 2004 entry field has definitely raised the bar for future competitions.”
The Horizon Interactive Awards holds the annual competition in early spring of each year for works that were created the previous calendar year. For more information visit the Horizon Interactive Awards at www.horizoninteractiveawards.com.
More About Interactive Media Associates, Inc.
Interactive Media Associates, Inc. specializes in the planning, development and marketing of Internet services. The company provides expertise in areas including strategic consulting, business planning, service specifications, Web site design, applications development, database and eCommerce integration, and account management. And through its ReliaServe subsidiary, IMA also offers site hosting. IMA has client concentrations in the publishing, direct marketing, and entertainment fields, including companies such as IATSE International, Hackensack Medical Center, Getnick & Getnick, Editor & Publisher, New York City Ballet, The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Family Promise, Aquis Communications, the Casey Group and Chatham Systems Group. For additional information, call (973) 539-5255.
