Web Marketing Association Names Best Investor Relations Web Sites

June 8, 2005 -- The Web Marketing Association, in partnership with the Wealth Management News Service, is pleased to announce the winners of the second annual Interactive Investor Relations Awards Competition (IIR Awards) for investor relations Web site development. Entries competed with peers within more than 50 industry categories as well as against an overall standard of excellence.

“ This year’s winners demonstrate that it takes more than just a flashy design to have an effective investor Web site ”

Sites were judged on design, navigation, ease of use and use of technology to enhance the investor’s experience as well as specific content criteria relating to investor and financial communication.

"This year’s winners demonstrate that it takes more than just a flashy design to have an effective investor Web site," said William Rice, President of the Web Marketing Association. "IIR Award winners are judged not only on design, but with a strong emphasis on content, combined with a high level of functionality and usability for their target audience. Participating in the competition provides management with valuable feedback from expert judges and gives companies an opportunity to measure the effectiveness of their online investor relations efforts.”

The 2005 Best of Show IIR Award is presented to Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE: CL) at http://investor.colgate.com for their outstanding investor Web site. In the opinion of the competition judges, the site went beyond all others entered in the IIR Awards to provide investors and the financial community access to critical information in a user friendly format. Particularly, effective use of Flash and video presentations were sited as contributing to the sites success.

A complete list of the winning sites can be found at the interactive Investor Relations Award Web site at http://www.iiraward.org.

Other companies recognized for their industry leading investor relations Web sites are:

Site (Exchange:Ticker) - Award

AdStar (NASDAQ:ADST) - Best Advertising/Marketing Services IR Site
Advanced Communications Technologies, Inc. (ADVC) - Best Diversified Business IR Site
Air Products (NYSE:APD) - Best Chemicals IR Site
ARC Energy Trust (AET.UN) - Best Oil and Gas IR Site
Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO) - Best Banking IR Site
Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD) - Best Gaming IR Site
Brookfield Properties (NYSE:BPO) - Best Real Estate IR Site
Clayton Williams Energy (NASDAQ:CWEI) - Best Natural Resources IR Site
Cleveland Cliffs (NYSE:CLF) - Best Metals and Mining IR Site
Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL) - Best Consumer Goods IR Site
Consolidated Graphics (NYSE:CGX) - Best Publishing IR Site
Dave & Buster's (NYSE:DAB) - Best Restaurant IR Site
Duke Energy (NYSE:DUK) - Best Energy IR Site
EDAP TMS (NASDAQ:EDAP) - Best Medical IR Site
Emmis Communications (NASDA:EMMS) - Best Media IR Site
Farmstead Telephone Group (AMEX:FTG) - Best Office Equipment IR Site
First Data Corporation (NYSE:FDC) - Best Financial Services IR Site
General Motors (NYSE:GM) - Best Automotive IR Site
Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE) - Best Health Care Products IR Site
Healthstream, Inc. (NASDAQ:HSTM) - Best Health Care Service IR Site
IMS Health, Inc. (NYSE:RX) - Best Information Services IR Site
INVESTools Inc. (AMEX:IED) -Best Education IR Site
Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX) - Best Technology IR Site
Legacy Hotels REIT (TSX:LGY.UN) - Best Hotel and Lodging IR Site
Marine Products Corporation (AMEX:MPX) - Best Leisure IR Site
NetSol Technologies, Inc. (NASDAQ:NTWK) - Best Consulting IR Site
NIC (NASDAQ:egov) - Best Interactive Services/e-Commerce IR Site
Nortech Systems (NASDAQ:NSYS) - Best Aerospace and Defense IR Site
Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) - Best Personal Care Products IR Site
SAP AG (NYSE:SAP) - Best Computer Software IR Site
Schering-Plough Corporation (NYSE:SGP) - Best Pharmaceuticals IR Site
Smart and Final (NYSE:SMF) - Best Food Industry IR Site
Southwest Airlines (NYSE:LUV) - Best Airline IR Site
Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) - Best Retail IR Site
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO) - Best Beverage IR Site
The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) - Best Insurance IR Site
The Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS) - Best Entertainment IR Site
VaxGen (VXGN) - Best Biotechnology IR Site
W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW)- Best Industrial Services IR Site
WCI Communities, Inc. (NYSE:WCI) - Best Home Builders/Building Products IR Site

An additional 23 sites were also recognized as Outstanding Websites. They are: AdAl Group (ADGR), Altair Nanotechnologies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ALTI), AVANIR Pharmaceuticals (AMEX: AVN), Beckman Coulter, Inc. (NYSE: BEC), Bowne & Co., Inc.(NYSE: BNE), Chubb Group of Insurance Companies (NYSE: CB), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSCO), CVS Corporation (NYSE: CVS), Devon Energy Corporation (NYSE: DVN), eBay Inc. (NASDAQ: EBAY), Fortune Brands, Inc. (NYSE: FO), ISCO International (AMEX: ISO), McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD), Pinnacle West Capital Corporation (NYSE: PNW), RPC, Inc.(NYSE:RES), Southern Company (NYSE: SO), Sun Microsystems (NASDAQ: SUNW), Team Industrial Services, Inc. (AMEX: TMI), Toll Brothers, Inc. (NYSE:TOL), Tyler Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: TYL), Union State Bank (NYSE:UBH), Unisys (NYSE: UIS), and Vestel (VESTL).

Special recognition is also given to b2i Technologies, Inc. (http://www.b2itech.com) of Richardson Texas. B2i won 21 awards in the 2005 IIR Awards for their clients, including 14 Best of Industry Awards and 7 Outstanding IR Website Awards.

The interactive Investor Relations Awards are judged by individual and institutional investors, financial advisors, financial media, IR professionals and Web developers. Each site is judged on 35 different criteria, earning a score between 0 and 100 points.

The highest score in a given category wins Best of Industry for that category. Remaining entries receiving a score of 80 points or greater receive the Outstanding Web site Award. All entries receive judges’ comments and feedback to help participants understand how their entry is viewed and to facilitate improvement.

Sponsors of the 2005 interactive Investor Relations Awards include Barron's and The Wall Street Journal Online, Burrelle's Luce, NewsUSA, O'Dwyer's PR Daily, Small Army Creative Services and PRWeb.

The Wealth Management News Services (WMNS) provides expert commentary and ideas to the financial media. WMNS content is also featured on wealthadvisor.com, a Web site available to high-net-worth financial advisors. Corporate members of the Wealth Management News Service include highly regarded asset management firms and financial advisors.

The Web Marketing Association (WMA) was founded in Boston in 1997 as an organization dedicated to upholding professional standards of excellence in Web development. Members are advertising, marketing, public relations and Web professionals who share an interest in improving the quality of Web communications. Since its inception, the WMA has set the standard of excellence for overall Web site development with the annual WebAward Competition, a premier annual event for Web developers and marketers.