On Monday night, BT and Tate Online were honoured with a 2006 CIPR Excellence Award – the public relations industry’s highest accolade – in the ‘best website’ category. The award is testament to the instrumental part BT has played, as Tate’s online partner, in growing Tate Online to the UK’s number one arts website.
The award was entered by Harrison Cowley, the PR consultancy which has used PR almost exclusively to promote BT’s partnership with Tate since it began in 2001 and to showcase BT’s use of broadband technologies.
A rigorous judging process included a written submission, a short-listing process and an interview by a panel of judges. BT and Tate Online came out top in the judges’ eyes as the website which most successfully reflected its aims, objectives, and culture, and demonstrated strong interaction with its stakeholders.
The judges, in their praise of the website, said: “A huge effort has been made by BT and Tate to ensure the site benefits all those who visit, especially through the interactive tour assistance and the great education resource. The site is colourful, engaging and easy to navigate. The creative content, such as the artist video clips, means that the engagement experience is both longer and more fulfilling than other art sites.”
BT has been the online partner of Tate since 2001, and has offered creative design services and technical expertise, to help Tate Online achieve its aim of making art more accessible to all via the internet. The work is delivered in-house by BT which has worked closely with Tate to develop ground breaking initiatives, which use the possibilities of broadband to create highly innovative designs, interfaces and interactive videos for Tate. Since the partnership began, unique visitor figures to Tate Online have increased from just under 100,000 per month recorded in 2001 to nearly 1 million in 2006.
Paul Simon, Head of Sponsorship and Partner Marketing at BT said: “We are delighted that our creative design services and technical support of Tate Online have widened access to the arts and engaged new audiences. To win the CIPR Excellence Award for best website is justifiable recognition for the teams at Tate, BT and Harrison Cowley whose commitment and creativity have helped make this partnership such an outstanding success.”
CIPR Director General Colin Farrington said:
“he number of entries received this year was unprecedented. The standard of the winners and the finalists demonstrate the good work being done in the industry and the contribution PR makes to business and society. The Excellence Awards judging process is tough and competition is strong, so winning an award is a great achievement. It is confirmation that the Harrison Cowley campaign for BT and Tate Online is amongst the best in Britain.
The winners were announced at the Excellence Awards Summer Ball at The Honourable Artillery Company Gardens in London on Monday 3 July. The host for the evening was CIPR President-Elect Lionel Zetter FCIPR, and the compère for the Awards ceremony was Sian Lloyd, BBC television presenter.
Case studies from all the winning entries and a list of winners can be viewed on the CIPR website.