Acsys Brings Home the Gold – and Some Silver!

The winners of the 2008 W3 Awards were announced today by the International Academy of the Visual Arts. Judged against more than 3,000 entries, Acsys' work garnered one gold award, plus four silver awards, for interactive excellence on the web.

Demonstrating its versatility and multi-vertical market competency, Acsys took honors in several categories, including healthcare services, consumer electronics, financial services, and manufacturing. Acsys' strategic, creative and technical mastery behind the innovative Sikorsky Aircraft website earned gold medal recognition. Silver medals were awarded for exceptional interactive design and production of the Timex iControl, Halifax Health, Virginia Hospital Center, and Mennonite Mutual Aid websites.

"It's unusual for a company to be versatile enough to add strategic, creative, and technical value to client work in such disparate industries," remarks Stan Valencis, Acsys President and CTO. "Acsys prides itself in helping our clients differentiate themselves with targeted, interactive experiences - getting them the recognition and visibility they desire, regardless of industry affiliation."

The Sikorsky website stood out among manufacturing competitors for its rich media components. The site provides a dramatic presentation of Sikorsky's aircraft, offering a near-tactile experience, and giving a true sense of dimension that lets people feel as if they are almost standing next to the products. Flash and video feature prominently on the site and were used to elevate the experience for visitors and create a highly engaging, memorable first impression. Such strategic intentions have proven fruitful too - traffic to the website is up over 137 percent from launch, with the average visitor staying almost four times as long.

Acsys' work was lauded with silver in the healthcare services sector. For Halifax Health, Acsys was engaged for a complete website redesign, in tandem with this integrated delivery network's ambitious multimillion rebranding effort. To reflect the world-class organization into which Halifax wanted to evolve, Acsys developed and implemented a unique and user-friendly site with features like a Physician Finder portal and live surgery webcasts.

The creation of an innovative Physician's Directory was one of the reasons Acsys also was awarded a silver medal for the redesigned Virginia Hospital Center. Not only can patients now easily locate up-to-date biographical information for all doctors in the database, events, news and publications are all linked dynamically to the appropriate personality and conveyed to the user through Acsys' proprietary SiteManager product suite.

Following on the heels of a 2007 gold-medal win for another Timex product line website, Acsys took silver for the Timex iControl website. The Acsys designed and implemented site, which showcases a bold and interactive presence consistent with the Timex brand and highlights the Timex iControl's unique ability to communicate with an iPod for synchronous workout and musical accompaniment.

Acsys also was awarded a silver for the redesign and implementation of the Mennonite Financial Federal Credit Union website. Created with the objective of mirroring the overarching organization's branding and messaging, the new website meshed seamlessly with the extant Mennonite Mutual Aid online presence. And to support the integration of any future website changes, a content management system was customized by Acsys so the client could easily manipulate website content, keeping the information current and relevant for customers.

The W3 Awards honors outstanding websites, web marketing, and web video created by some of the best interactive agencies, designers, and creators worldwide. The W3 Awards are sanctioned and judged by the International Academy of the Visual Arts, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from a "Who's Who" of acclaimed media, advertising, and marketing firms.

"We were amazed at the caliber and quality of work received this year. Our winners continue to push the envelope of internet creativity and web design, and it is gratifying to see such great work from the smallest agencies to the biggest firms," said Linda Day, the directors of the IAVA. "On behalf of the International Academy of the Visual Arts, we are honored to recognize our winners as they continue to set a high standard of excellence for web development."

About Acsys Interactive

Acsys, Inc. (acsysinteractive.com) is an award-winning, full-service interactive agency providing strategy, branding, design, eMarketing, software development, and hosting services with an emphasis on client results. Acsys takes a technology agnostic approach with expertise in Web 2.0, rich media, intranet, extranet, ecommerce, portal and mobile delivery. Its 10+ years of experience span across the consumer, financial services, insurance, healthcare, manufacturing, education, and non-profit industries. Clients include Amica, Timex, ING, Prudential, Fujifilm, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island, Sikorsky, and NYU. Acsys is headquartered in Farmington, Connecticut, with an office in New York.