ClickZ Marketing Excellence Awards

The ClickZ Marketing Excellence Awards recognize the technologies and companies that made a positive difference in the online marketing industry in 2008, moving the industry forward by providing brilliant examples of what can be accomplished.

Once again, we thank you, our readers, for nominating your favorites in
all categories. And we thank our judges for choosing the winners.

And the Winners are...

Ad Management: DART for Advertisers

Judge's comment:
"DFA remains the industry gold standard for ad serving and ad management. This is the technology that's behind the majority of the more notable and impressive campaigns we see and a sure bet for any advertiser on the fence about which company can offer the most seamless, streamlined campaign solutions."

Finalists:
Atlas Solutions
Open AdStream by 24/7 Real Media

Analytics Platform: Omniture SiteCatalyst

Judge's comment:
"Hands down the most innovative, ever-expanding platform in the space. Omniture has done an excellent job listening to the customers' needs and building the functionality to serve such. Additionally, the ability to integrate with other CRM and testing platforms has been a boon to all that rely on analytics to drive better marketing decisions."

Finalists:
Google Analytics
WebTrends Analytics

E-mail Marketing Tool: Responsys

Judge's comment:
"A full-service solution, Responsys has been the market leader for over a year. Their products work, with a superior work flow interface. One of the important criteria for many of the people I spoke with is the ability of Responsys to easily integrate with other best-of-breed solutions."

Finalists:
Lyris HQ EmailLabs
MailChimp
MailerMailer

Mobile Marketing Tool: DoubleClick Mobile

Judge's comment:
"It is critically important for the mobile advertising (buyable off-the-shelf solutions) to have a standard serving and reporting platform. The DoubleClick mobile product enables digital buyers and planners to have consistency in reporting and publishers the ability to sell through integrated mobile packages."

Finalists:
BluFi from TELiBrahma

Search Ad Management: Marin Software

Judge's comment:
"Ease of implementation and flexibility are key in today's fast paced search world, and Marin seems to excel in both areas. Often the software can be up and running in a day, and you aren't tied down to year-long contracts. The fact that 90 percent of those that trial the software end up using it speaks for itself. One of the strengths of this offering is for those companies that also want to keep control of their search expertise in house."

Finalists:
Acronym Media
Clickable

Social Media Marketing Platform or Tool: Bazaarvoice Ask & Answer

Judge's comment:
"User-generated content is the killer app for all Web sites, and Bazaarvoice is the hands-down leader in driving innovation in this space. Social networking is only viable for the few. Rating, reviews, and comments are there for all to capitalize on, and Bazaarvoice has made it easy for all to get in the game."

Finalists:
Clearspring Technologies
NetworkSense Mapping by iCrossing
Vovici Community Builder

Video Ad Format or Platform: DoubleClick HD Video

Judge's comment:
"You want the creative and content you develop for your brands to look great. But, unfortunately, video placements in general have suffered from low-bandwidth specifications and site-publisher limitations. So any media partner that can make your content look its best, and that won't degrade your original vision, is a partner worth having."

"The new DoubleClick HD looks great. And if your content already has a compelling idea and creative execution behind it, HD quality is really the icing on top!"