NonProfit PR Awards: Web Site

Campaign: National Beer Wholesalers Association—www.nbwa.org

Winner: National Beer Wholesalers Association & NJI Media Group

From January to July 2009, the National Beer Wholesalers Association tasked NJI Media Group to do an overhaul of its Web site. The objectives were to produce an advocacy tool that would raise awareness of the National Beer Wholesalers Association, while creating a user-friendly site that would educate key audiences, such as elected officials, regulators, media and the public about America’s beer distribution and the system of state alcohol regulation.

To explain the critical function of beer distributors and improve the site’s visual aesthetics, the NJI incorporated a rotating Flash player at the top of the homepage to grab a visitor’s attention; also, multimedia videos depicting the many functions of America’s beer distributors were prominently featured on the homepage. A daily news update was also included as well as a link to a special microsite showcasing beer distributor responsibility and environmental sustainability initiatives across the country.

Since the unveiling of the newly redesigned www.nbwa.org site, unique visitors have increased from less than 200 per day to nearly 420; 30% of visitors now spend between two to 15 minutes on the site compared to an average of 57 seconds spent by a visitor on the site before the redesign.

Honorable Mentions:

Defense Media Activity: Wounded Warriors Diaries—The Department of Defense created a Web site that allows wounded, ill and injured veterans from Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom to share their stories with the military and public. Since its launch, the diaries have received more than 100,000 page feeds and 64,000 feed requests from iTunes.

King County Library System: Look to Your Library—The King County Libraries in Washington State offer many resources for the unemployed. The “Look to Your Library” campaign’s Web site guides patrons directly to the resources they need, and has garnered praise from many users.

November 9, 2009