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ARC 2006 AWARDS
ANNOUNCES ANNUAL REPORT WINNERS

>> NOVARTIS <<
WINS BEST OF SHOW

NEW YORK, NY – September 14, 2006 -- The 20th Annual International ARC Awards -- the world’s largest annual report competition - were presented this evening at a gala ceremony in the Lincoln Ballroom of THE UNION LEAGUE CLUB.   The winners were deemed the best out of a record number 1,900 + entries, and represent the best work in the year 2005.   ARC Award nominations increased 4% over last year's record total.

This year's BEST OF SHOW trophy was captured by Novartis , which was nominated by Com. factory AG , Basel, Switzerland.   This year's theme was captured in the title Caring and Curing.   The judges commented that it was a memorable annual report, succeeding in its goal to communicate both visually and verbally the theme of the report.   “This pharmaceutical company took a dramatic approach, making the reader understand the business, mission, and vision of Novartis.”   The photography was deemed “masterful” and “displayed great skill.”

The PLATINUM ACHIEVEMENT Award, honoring the design agency which places the most wins for its clients, was presented to Curran & Connors, Hauppauge, New York.

The ARC Awards presented the TITANIUM ACHIEVEMENT Award, honoring the agency with the highest percentage of wins to Addison Corporate Marketing , London, England.

Erin Burnett , co-anchor of CNBC's “ Squawk on the Street ” served as Master of Ceremonies.   She presented 33 Grand Awards to the individuals whose work demonstrated the highest degree of achievement in annual reports.

Grand Award Winners
In their respective categories, the 2006 Grand Award Winners were:

BEST OF SHOW

Com. factory for
NOVARTIS (Switzerland)

TITANIUM ACHIEVEMENT

Addison Corporate Marketing (U.K.)
The Greatest Percentage (80%) of Wins on Behalf of their Clients

PLATINUM ACHIEVEMENT

Curran & Connors, Inc. for 40 Awards
The Greatest Percentage of Wins on Behalf of their Clients

COVER DESIGN
Graphic/Abstract

BCN Communications for
CN (Canada)

COVER DESIGN     
Photography

VSA Partners, Inc. for
Harley-Davidson, Inc.

COVER DESIGN
Special Treatment

METAL for
CAMDEN

CHAIRMAN’S LETTER

BCN Communications for
General Motors Corporation

INTERIOR DESIGN
Traditional Format - USA

Smith for
Jones Lang LaSalle

INTERIOR DESIGN
Traditional Format - International

Image & Imagination for
SK Corporation (Korea)

INTERIOR DESIGN
Distinctive Format - International

antwerpes ag for
DocCheck AG (Germany)

WRITTEN TEXT
U.S.A.

Smith for
Jones Lang LaSalle

WRITTEN TEXT
International

Mensalia/Büro X Wien for
Wienerberger (Austria)

INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY
U.S.A.

Mutual of America

INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY
International

COM. Factory for
Novartis (Switzerland)

Marquard & Bahls AG
(Germany)

FINANCIAL DATA

Mensalia/Büro X Wien for
WIENERBERGER AG (Austria)

SUMMARY ANNUAL REVIEW

VSA Partners, Inc. for
SVB Financial Group

ANNUAL REPORT WITH 10-K
Under 22 Pages

Froeter Design Company for
General Cable

ANNUAL REPORT WITH 10-K
Over 24 Pages

Curran & Connors, Inc. for
Thoratec Corporation

OFF-CALENDAR ACCOUNTING
Traditional

Nesnadny + Schwartz for
The George Gund Foundation

OFF-CALENDAR ACCOUNTING
Non-Traditional

Bruketa & Zinic for
Podravka d.d.

ON-LINE ANNUAL REPORTS

The Thomson Corporation

NON-TRADITIONAL ANNUAL REPORT

VSA Partners, Inc. for
IBM Corporation

NOT-FOR-PROFIT
Health & Human Svcs.

Pivot Design, Inc. for
Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago

NOT-FOR-PROFIT
Various

Designworks Enterprise for
Camp Quality (Australia)

OVERALL PRESENTATION
Traditional Format

BCN Communications for
HNI Corporation

OVERALL PRESENTATION
Special Size

Addison for
iStar Financial

OVERALL PRESENTATION
Digest Size

Paragraphs Design for
ALLSCRIPTS Inc.

OVERALL PRESENTATION
Special Production Techniques - U.S.A.

see see eye for
Neenah Paper, Inc.

OVERALL PRESENTATION
Special Production Techniques - International

Universal Corporate Comm. Inc. for
Hankook Tire (Korea)

CANADA

The Works for
Aber Diamond Corporation

GERMAN SPEAKING
COUNTRIES

Kirchhoff Consult for
Nobel Biocare Holding AG (Switzerland)

HONG KONG

Yellow Creative (HK) Ltd. for
TOM Group Limited

KOREA

Inca Film & Communications for
Samsung Corporation

MEXICO

Signi Design for
América Móvil

INTERNATIONAL

Insight Creative Limited for
Lion Nathan Limited (Australia)

The ARC Awards , established by MerComm, Inc. in 1987, were created to honor overall excellence in annual reports, and to encourage noteworthy and vital writing, as well as imaginative and original design.

This year, over 1,900 entries in 12 major categories were submitted by some 800 different companies from 26 countries representing over 200 industries.   During a three-week period, the distinguished international panels of judges read and evaluated the annual reports.

Judges ranked the annual reports with a score between one and one hundred.   The top 25% scoring annual reports won Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honors Awards.   Entries with average scores above 92 received Gold Awards.   Only 6% of entries were classified   as Golds.   These Gold Award annual reports were then passed on to the Final Round of Judging, who selected the BEST OF CATEGORY Winners.

Criteria used to choose winners included Cover Design, Chairman's Letter, Writing, Interior Design, Financial Presentation, and Overall, how well the spirit of the company is reflected in the annual report.

Preliminary and final judges represent top level investor relations executives, financial executives, writers, designers, and photographers from over 70 different agencies and corporations in the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Mexico, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.

In accordance with the global stature of the ARC Awards , all winners will be exhibited at the Museum fur Kunst und Gewerbe (Museum of Art and Commerce) in Hamburg, Germany, opening October 23rd.

The ARC Awards is sponsored by MERCOMM, INC., the world's only independent awards organization, founded with the mission to advance the standards of excellence in the fields of corporate communications.   The MerComm Awards Programs are free from advertising, membership dues, or outside sponsorships.   Entrants may review the judges' evaluations, and are guaranteed fairness and impartiality.   As such, the ARC Awards is considered the most highly respected and prestigious competition in the industry.