Winner: AICPA - Start Here, Go Places Web site
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If you’re looking to get students excited about accounting, why not take a page from the video gaming world? The American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) took aim at young people with a new website that mimics a video game world. The central feature—FutureMe—allows students to adopt the persona of a CPA, complete with salary, location and job perks. Based on the students’ preferences, the site builds a custom shortlist of best-suited fantasy jobs, but also builds a real-world profile. Beyond the game, the site offers stories of nearly 200 real-life CPAs. Since the launch in 2009, visits average more than five minutes each. And more than 17,270 students have created FutureMe personas. —Cathy Olson
Honorable Mentions:
Air Transport Association - airlines.org
The ATA found it could engage a variety of audiences and not blow its budget by redesigning its website with focus on six areas, including better search functionality, navigation, design and a richer social media platform. The site has thus received positive feedback and media coverage.
American Physical Therapy Association - moveforwardpt.com
The association realized a 73% increase in site visits and 60% increase in page views over the equivalent time period the prior year after it revamped its site to include short, consumer-friendly videos that convey its messages. The site is also generating information about 40 additional conditions through its Ask-A-PT feature.
American Society for Microbiology (ASM) – MicrobeWorld.org
ASM increased the number of unique visitors to its website by more than 87% from the previous year after it launched a community-oriented site that fosters an online community where members can regularly submit content. The site serves as hub for all Microbe’sWorld’s audio and video content.
Kent State University – May 4 Newsroom: Online Resource for 40th Anniversary of May 4, 1970, Shootings at Kent State University
With a goal of providing a hub for information about commemoration events, the Kent State team worked with relatively little time and resources to get an online newsroom up and running. The site, which gathered news about the historical event but the changes the university and city have undergone in the past 40 years, received almost 5,500 visitors between March and May, and fostered a spike in Kent State’s general website.
National Education Association - http:neatoday.org
NEA created an entirely new media tool through which it can disseminate association news to the media, legislators and the public with a site that funnels updates at least five times a week. In four months, the site tallied 106,873 page views, averaging 1,000 views daily.
National Screen Institute - Canada (NSI) - nsi-canada.ca
What better way to attract filmmakers and other industry professionals—and their content—to your site than to bring on a respected, hipster sponsor? A&E Television Networks came onboard to sponsor a website-based short film contest. The site now has 140 films in its online archive, 46,000-plus page views for its online film fest and 2,300 Twitter followers.
NYU Langone Medical Center - NYULMC²
NYU determined a website that would consolidate the news generated from its myriad departments would be the best way to keep staffers apprised of and excited about changes under way at Langone. The site, whose name is a play on Einstein’s theory, attracts hundreds to thousands of readers who check out success stories in the areas of patient care, cross-disciplinary work and academia.