More honours for Tourism Sault Ste. Marie

NEWS RELEASE

TOURISM SAULT STE. MARIE

************************* Tourism Sault Ste. Marie wins international website award SAULT STE. MARIE, ON, October 17, 2007 - Winners of the 2007 W3 Awards have been announced by the International Academy of the Visual Arts.

Receiving over 2,700 entries, the W3 Awards honour outstanding websites, web marketing and web video created by some of the best interactive agencies, designers and creators worldwide.

"We were incredibly impressed by the quality and creativity of this year’s entries. W3 winners continue to raise the bar in web development and design, push the limits of web advertising creative and pioneer the use of web video. We are thrilled to award such a diverse and respected pool of work," said Linda Day, the director of the IAVA. "On behalf of the entire academy, we applaud our winners as they continue to advance Internet creativity and greatly contribute to the burgeoning online world."

Tourism Sault Ste. Marie’s "Outdoors Program" website won the highest recognition, the “Best in Show” award for tourism.

“Best in Show” selections represent the very highest mark of distinction.

Judges award “Best in Show” honours to only the top 1 percent of all work entered.

Other “Best in Show” winners include websites for world-class businesses like Gucci, Sony Pictures and Sunlight Laundry. Developed by Sault Ste. Marie’s Lucidia Studios, the site features video, interactive mapping and web 2.0 functions and is an integral part of an overall "Outdoors Program" developed with Tourism Sault Ste. Marie.

The fulfillment booklet for the outdoors program, The Explorer’s Handbook, also won “Best Print Publication” at the Economic Development Association of Canada (EDAC) awards held last month in Saskatoon.

Sault Ste. Marie placed ahead of entries from the major cities like Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal for the award.

“First it was national recognition at the EDAC awards and now it’s international praise: It’s terrific to see our program and website place with the biggest names in the advertising world,” says Ian McMillan, director of Tourism Sault Ste. Marie.

The W3 Awards are sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts.

For more information about the W³ Awards, please visit this website or e-mail the W³ Awards or call (606) 326-9326.

Lucidia is a marketing communications agency based in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario that provides world-class business solutions for its clients.

To know more about Lucidia, check out this website or call Jeff Elgie at 1.866.LUCIDIA.

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