4As is pleased to announce the partnership with New York based Webby Awards, the leading international award honouring excellence on the Internet. Established in 1996, 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.

This year, the Webby Awards have extended their focus to Interactive Advertising creating over 15 new categories. Reflecting the tremendous growth of the Internet as a tool for business and everyday lives, the 11th Annual Webby Awards expands the mission of the Webby by honouring excellence in over 100+ Website, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video, and Mobile categories.

At 4As, we believe in creative excellence and developing talents through supporting educational programs and international award shows. We also hope to further promote our industry as a leader in interactive services and strategies.

As Singapore’s agencies become more adept in interactive marketing solutions, the Webby Awards will provide an excellent platform to compete with the best of the best in the internet space.

We ask David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards and The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (The Academy) to share with us an insight of online advertising and the emerging trends of the internet.  

1. The web is now a critical tool of business and daily life and an established media vehicle. How important a role has the internet played in the evolution of interactive media, and what do you think are the emerging trends of the internet?
   
   The Internet has been by far the greatest catalyst for interactive media. Before the World Wide Web -- the Internet's first massively popular platform -- interactive media was a cottage industry. But today, with more than a billion people in the online worldwide, interactive media is the most important and fastest growing media and design discipline today.
   
   When it comes to emergence, I think it’s important to keep in mind that the Internet itself is still an emergent technology. It has only been around on a popular level for consumers for a little bit more than 10 years. To put that in perspective, chatting - which is one of most important ways younger people use the 'Net today - was still a pretty niche technology in 2000. Things like SecondLife or World of Warcraft, which combined have literally millions of people using them, were unheard of just a couple of years ago.
   
   I think we'll find that even more new platforms, most of which we haven't yet imagined, will become massively popular Internet applications in a relatively short amount of time.
   
2. What are the 3 strongest advantages of online advertising as compared to traditional media like TV and print?
   
   Creativity, Participation and Distribution.
   Online advertising puts a tremendous amount of creative resources at the disposal of its maker. Interactive designers have an opportunity to integrate so much into an online ad and it is so much easier to customize it to the viewer than anything that can be done in traditional venues. Even though it came out a few years ago, I think the work that The Barbarian Group did with Crispin, Porter + Bogusky on Burger King's Subservient Chicken Site is still a great example of what you can do with user participation and how much more real that can make a message or an ad. I mean, could you ever have such incredible direct user participation on TV or in print? Finally, its so much easier and cost effective to work online -- if its good, your work can be in front of millions of people in no time, and the cost of that distribution relative to print or TV is effectively nothing.
   
3. What are the obstacles to mass market adoption and acceptance of online advertising?
   
   Time. 
   There is always a cycle of adoption with innovation - there are always those that will come on board later, but I think we've past the point of there being any doubt within the creative industry of there being any future scenario where interactive doesn't play a dominant role for a long time to come.
   
4. The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. What characteristics are vital to have in order to enjoy a successful entry?
   
   The Webby Awards honor such a wide range of the type of work created on the Internet - from Web and Mobile Sites to Interactive Advertising and Online Film & Video - that is difficult to generalize. For Web and Mobile Sites, the work is evaluated on content, visual design, interactivity, functionality, structure and navigation and of course the overall experience. For Online Advertising we look at Creativity, Integration - which is how well it works online, and the overall experience. For Online Film & Video, we look at the concept and writing behind the work, the quality of the craft itself, and again integration and overall experience.

Related Links:

www.webbyawards.com