ARC Awards Press Releases

ARC Awards: Excellence in Annual Reports













Video scenes from the ARC Gala 2008!
Dial-up Broadband

MerComm Home

ARC 2009 AWARDS
ANNOUNCES ANNUAL REPORT WINNERS

> CALIFORNIA WATER SERVICE GROUP <
WINS
BEST OF SHOW

NEW YORK, NY - September 17, 2009 - The 23^rd Annual International ARC Awards - the world's largest annual report competition - were presented this evening at a gala ceremony in the Astor Ballroom of The HOTEL INTERCONTINENTAL. The winners were deemed the best out of over eighteen hundred entries from 25 countries.

This year's BEST OF SHOW trophy was captured by California Water Service Group, Torrance, California. This year's theme was captured in the title This Is Not a Widget. The judges commented that it was an excellent annual report, taking full advantage of the products elemental nature. The annual report scored near perfect ten's throughout the Preliminary Judging Rounds and earned the absolute highest score rating given by the distinguished judges at the Final Judge Session.

The PLATINUM ACHIEVEMENT Award, honoring the design agency which places the most wins for its clients, went to HGB Hamburger Geschäftsberichte, Hamburg, GERMANY.

The ARC Awards presented the TITANIUM ACHIEVEMENT Award, honoring the agency with the highest percentage of wins to iONE Financial Press Limited, HONG KONG.

Charles Payne, financial reporter for FOX Business Network and author of the much acclaimed book, Be Smart Act Fast Get Rich. Your Game Plan for Getting It Right in the Stock Market, served as Master of Ceremonies. He presented 39 Grand Awards to the individuals whose work demonstrated the highest degree of achievement in annual reports.

Grand Award Winners
In their respective categories, the 2009 BEST OF CLASS Grand Winners were:

COVER DESIGN Graphics &Text	Mensalia/Büro X Wien for WIENERBERGER AG (Austria)
COVER DESIGN People & Portraits	Novartis International AG (Switzerland)
COVER DESIGN Special Treatments	Rosebud, Inc. for DEPARTURE WIRTSCHAFT, KUNST UND KULTUR GMBH (Austria)
COVER DESIGN Various	Euroclear SA/NV (Belgium)
CHAIRMAN'S LETTER USA	California Water Service Group
CHAIRMAN'S LETTER International	Smart Media (Pvt) Ltd. for DIESEL & MOTOR ENGINEERING PLC (Sri Lanka)
INTERIOR DESIGN Creative Format	Smart Media (Pvt) Ltd. for NATIONAL SAVINGS BANK (Sri Lanka)
INTERIOR DESIGN Eastern Hemisphere	The Thirdage for LOTTE SHOPPING CO., LTD. (South Korea)
INTERIOR DESIGN Europe	Ringzwei for RTL GROUP (Luxembourg)
WRITTEN TEXT USA	California Water Service Group
WRITTEN TEXT International	Centerra Gold Inc. (Canada)
INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY USA	New Jersey Resources
INTERIOR PHOTOGRAPHY International	Mind(21) Factory for SPARDA BANK BADEN-WÜRTTEMBERG EG (Germany)
ILLUSTRATIONS	Marquard & Bahls AG (Germany)
FINANCIAL DATA	Mensalia/ Büro X Wien for WIENERBERGER AG (Austria)
ANNUAL REPORTS WITH 10-K	Mike Klodnicki & Associates for WEYERHAUSER
OFF-CALENDAR ACCOUNTING ANNUAL REPORTS	Nesnadny + Schwartz for THE GEORGE GUND FOUNDATION
NON-ENGLISH ANNUAL REPORTS	Büro4 - Gestaltung und Kommunikation for SCHWEIZER FERNSEHEN (SWISS TELEVISION) (Switzerland)
NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS	Object 9 for BATON ROUGE AREA CHAMBER (BRAC)
NON-TRADITIONAL ANNUAL REPORTS USA	VSA Partners, Inc. for HARLEY DAVIDSON, INC.
NON-TRADITIONAL ANNUAL REPORTS International	Greater Toronto Airports Authority (Canada)
ON-LINE ANNUAL REPORTS	Thomson Reuters
ON-LINE ANNUAL REPORTS International	Addison Corporate Marketing for WPP (United Kingdom)
PRINTING & PRODUCTION	Rahofer Werbeagentur for PALFINGER AG (Austria)
SOCIAL AND PUBLIC RESPONSIBILITY REPORTS	Greater Toronto Airports Authority (Canada)
SUMMARY ANNUAL REVIEWS	Thomson Reuters
BEST OF AUSTRIA	Mensalia/ Büro X Wien for WIENERBERGER AG
BEST OF CANADA	Greater Toronto Airports Authority
BEST OF GERMANY Distinctive Format	3st kommunikation for SCHOTT
BEST OF GERMANY Traditional Format - Under 200 pages	3st kommunikation for STIHL
BEST OF GERMANY Traditional Format - Over 200 pages	Burda Yukom Publishing GmbH for AUDI AG
BEST OF HONG KONG Creative Format	iONE (Regional) Financial Press Limited for CHINA TELECOM CORPORATION LIMITED
BEST OF HONG KONG Traditional Format	Yellow Creative (HK) Limited for TRANSPORT INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED
BEST OF KOREA	S/O Project for SK TELECOM
BEST OF MEXICO	Pilar Muñoz X_Design S.C. for GRUPO MODELO, S.A.B. DE C.V.
BEST OF SINGAPORE	Coal Creative Consultants Pte. Ltd. for COMPETITION COMMISSION OF SINGAPORE
BEST OF USA Creative Approach	Addison for NEENAH PAPER, INC.
BEST OF USA Traditional	Unboundary for FEDEX CORPORATION
BEST OF INTERNATIONAL	Euroclear SA/NV (Belgium)

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.

Preliminary and final judges represent top level investor relations executives, financial executives, writers, designers, and photographers from over 90 different agencies and corporations in the United States, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Korea, Mexico, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and the United Kingdom.

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.

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.

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.

BACK TO TOP