WSI Consultant Wins WMA’s Internet Advertising Competition

New Jersey...Bruce Dunnan, a WSI Consultant from New Jersey, USA, recently received the Web Marketing Association’s 2008 Internet Advertising Competition Award for Outstanding Micro-site/Landing Page for Big Apple Entertainment. (http://www.bigapple-sports.com) WSI developed two, one-page micro-sites to serve as engaging, interactive landing pages for the company’s online advertising campaigns. Operating in a fiercely competitive market, the Westfield, New Jersey based online ticket broker is seeing huge benefits from these micro-sites.

Jay Schuster, president and owner of Big Apple Entertainment, says, “It’s not easy competing in an industry dominated by enormous, online aggregators like TicketMaster. You’ve got to work really hard at being different, being better, and being seen online by your customers. WSI’s approach was really creative and made a lot of business sense. We don’t have the staff or budget to build or maintain a large-scale website, but we do need to connect with customers looking for tickets online and then get them to call us. That is what these WSI micro-sites accomplish for us and from there, we know exactly what we need to do for our clients.”

Big Apple specializes in providing the very best seats to theatre, sporting events and concerts. The company’s online advertising covers the entire New York metropolitan area, and targets individuals and businesses seeking exclusive, premium tickets from a trustworthy, established broker. WSI Consultant, Bruce Dunnan developed a simple Internet strategy consisting of focused, up-to-date landing pages and targeted online advertising aimed, specifically, at getting their phone to ring. This included re-branding the business with an updated Big Apple logo on tickets.

“You can’t turn Big Apple Entertainment into TicketMaster or TicketsNow, but you can certainly present them as the alternative”, says Dunnan. “The big, faceless ticket systems just don’t appeal to Jay’s clients. They want the personal attention, the seating choices, the special packages, and the speedy turnaround that the big names just can’t provide.” BigApple-Sports.com is updated frequently to reflect the latest events and encourages visitors to call and "ask for Jay," (the owner) and to make special requests via email or contact form. All the events are also linked to Big Apple’s current ticket inventory, so visitors can easily purchase tickets online, if they wish.

Bruce Dunnan’s WSI office in Westfield, New Jersey has now been honored with three awards: the 2006 WSI Web Awards - Best Industry Application, the 2007 WMA WebAwards - Standard of Excellence, and now the 2008 Internet Advertising Competition Award – Outstanding Micro-site. Ron McArthur, president, WSI says, “Awards like this will help to assure the small and medium sized businesses that we serve that WSI can deliver top-quality Internet marketing solutions (typically sold by high end advertising agencies) available at affordable prices.”

Schuster confirms this confidence in WSI - "I was highly skeptical of venturing into advertising on the big, bad Internet. However, WSI effortlessly and professionally guided me through the entire process. The resulting orders, customer inquiries, and ‘sign ups’ that Big Apple Entertainment has received through the new micro-sites have proven to be an excellent ‘bang for the buck.’ Not only have I been provided with a qualified e-mail database for future e-marketing possibilities, I have also achieved my goal of expanding our client base outside the ultra-competitive New York City area into outlying areas with regular visitors throughout the country.”

Dunnan concludes, “Winning an IAC Award and being listed among the most well-known, successful and talented ad agencies in the world is both rewarding and gratifying, but the real reward comes in helping clients like Big Apple Entertainment develop a workable Internet strategy and an affordable marketing system that makes them more successful. Through success, we gain their trust and confidence and, hopefully, a long-term client relationship.”