Berndt Group Named Webby Award Honoree for Work on Arts Every Day Web Site
April 17, 2009
BALTIMORE, MD—The Berndt Group, www.berndtgroup.net, a Baltimore, Maryland-based full service interactive agency, announced that it has been named an 'Official Honoree' in the 13th Annual Webby Awards for its work on the Arts Every Day web site. This distinction is given to those sites and teams that have demonstrated a high standard of excellence. The Arts Every Day site took honors in the 'Education' category.
The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996 during the Web's infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 550-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities. The Academy is an intellectually diverse organization that includes members such as musicians Beck and David Bowie, Internet inventor Vint Cerf, political columnist Arianna Huffington, Real Networks CEO Rob Glaser, "The Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, R/GA Founder and Chairman Robert Greenberg, Virgin Atlantic Chairman and Founder Richard Branson, and The Weinstein Company Co-Founder Harvey Weinstein. Members also include writers and editors from publications such as The New York Times, Wired, Details, Fast Company, Elle, The Los Angeles Times, Vibe, and WallPaper.
As a result of the exceptional quality of submissions this year, the Academy recognized outstanding entries as Official Honorees. The Official Honoree distinction is awarded to the top 15% of all work entered that exhibits remarkable achievement. The 13th Annual Webby Awards received nearly 10,000 entries from over 60 countries and all 50 states and generated over 750 million media impressions worldwide - The Berndt Group and its work on the Arts Every Day web site was in the top 15% of those entries. The Berndt Group was recognized alongside top companies and agencies such as Nike, Disney Interactive Media Group, The George Lucas Educational Foundation, CNN, Rock the Vote and Duke - A Razorfish Company.
Berndt Group CEO, John Berndt, commented, "The Webbys are considered the 'Oscars of the Web' so we are thrilled to be recognized by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for our work on the Arts Every Day site. We consider the site to be a best practice site in the nonprofit and education sectors. We are honored by the recognition, and are very happy it was for our web work for such a vital organization. We are 100% behind Arts Every Day's mission of building relationships between the arts community and Baltimore City schools and parents. Arts education in schools is often an overlooked but vital part of a students' education and we think the Arts Every Day web site will help promote this important concept and provide resources and tools to educators, parents and students."
The Berndt Group partnered with Arts Every Day to build a site in conjunction with a new program that connects Baltimore students with arts. The new program and web site allows Baltimore City teachers to identify artists and cultural organizations that can supplement classroom education and provide cultural experiences. The Berndt Group worked with the organization from soup to nuts, developing the organization's branding, and guiding the client through a comprehensive web site strategy planning phase; we also focused on user experience, and the end result is a best practice, sustainable CMS implementation.
Overall goals for the The Arts Every Day web site included creating a comprehensive resource for parents seeking regional arts and cultural activities for their children; the organization’s database contains hundreds of events and programs from dozens of institutions. The web site also enables educators to access a comprehensive database of arts-related activities, cultural organizations, programs, and artists that provide arts and cultural education and experiences for young people. Additionally, classroom teachers and school administrators can also find easy-to-follow guides for how to integrate arts activities in the classroom. The site runs on the Ektron CMS.
Mark Hardardt, senior vice president of sales and business development at Ektron commented, "As an Ektron Premier Partner, The Berndt Group has demonstrated their commitment to developing web sites that deliver an exceptional customer experience using Ektron technology. The Arts Every Day web site is yet another example of The Berndt Group’s ability to deliver best practice web sites utilizing Ektron’s web content management platform to align directly with their customer’s business goals."
Joan Weber, Executive Director of Arts Every Day, concurs that the site is a best practice, saying, "The Berndt Group has been able to capture the practical energy of Arts Every Day and created a site that has rapidly become a national model. The site alone has contributed significantly to our growth by emulating a "business-to-business" model for arts education."
This is The Berndt Group’s third Webby Awards recognition. The Berndt Group received the 'People’s Voice' Award in the category of 'Cultural Institutions' for the National Aquarium in Baltimore web site in 2005 as well as an 'Official Honoree' distinction for work on the Maryland Science Center web site in 2006.
The Berndt Group wins an average of ten design awards per year.
Related article about the Arts Every Day Web site Launch
About the Webby Awards
The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence in Web design, creativity, usability and functionality. Established in 1996 during the Web's infancy, the Webbys are presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences, a 500-member body of leading Web experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities www.webbyawards.com.
About The Berndt Group
The Berndt Group has been a leading Web design, development and brand communications firm since 1991. The firm provides an integrated set of creative services, including strategic consulting, brand and application development, software implementation, web site design, and internet marketing. Based in Baltimore, MD, the firm services a diverse international and regional base of over fifty active clients, including: The National Aquarium, Maryland Science Center, Baltimore Museum of Art, Johns Hopkins Institutions, University of Maryland Institutions, SafeNet, Inc., Raytheon, U.S. Immigration, The Federal Aviation Administration, The U.S. Forest Service, The Abell Foundation, and many others. For more information, visit www.berndtgroup.net.
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