Awards co-presenter Bonnie Fuller
TechWeb's Internet Evolution team (photos by Yumiko Tsukada)
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Winner: Condé Nast Digital for Style.com – iPhone Application
The iPhone 3G and its new iPhone App Store effectively changed the model for mobile media distribution by giving content providers direct access to audiences in a rich, multimedia format. But to get users’ attention in this increasingly crowded marketplace of widgets and games, any content provider has to offer special value. Condé Nast Digital was among the very first publishers to occupy the App Store last summer, and its iPhone app remains one of the best extensions of a brand onto phones. The white-on-black design wraps all content in Style’s haute couture sensibility. The focus on fashion shows lets the brand make the most of the oversized screen, with lush, large images the user flicks through tirelessly. Users can zoom into any portion of the design or tap an icon to read the review. Beneath the simple interface is a deep trove of designers, as Condé Nast Digital lets uses drill into and surface a remarkable catalog of fashion no one ever dreamed of pouring onto a device. For advertisers like Guess, H&M and Bulgari, Style.com showed that the magazine experience could indeed be recreated on a handset with full-page inserts after every tenth runway image. The publisher not only respected the unique properties of the phone but at the same time expanded what we might expect from a familiar, portable device.
Honorable Mentions:
Jobson Medical Information LLC for VMail Extra Mobile: The beautifully designed twice-weekly e-newsletter from VisionMonday is aligned with the way its members access e-letters on mobile devices. This mobile version is specifically designed for handhelds and so retains the design sense and advertising placement that readers identify with the brand.
InStyle.com for Instyle.com Mobile: By cherry-picking the elements of the brand that make most sense on a phone, the new InStyle.com free mobile Web site gives users drive-by access to celebrity fashion, last night’s parties, a beauty tip and the latest shopping deal while waiting for the morning mocha at Starbucks. Both lush and mobile-savvy.
TheStreet.com/Polar Mobile for TheStreet.com Mobile: TheStreet.com is among the only media brands to marry its identity to a device so intimately. Real-time stock news maps perfectly onto the push technology of the BlackBerry, and TheStreet gives these mobile users full-length articles and updates from the content provider. Rushed traders don’t like waiting for downloads, and this brand services that need.
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