A leading Cardiff-based web development company fought off UK competition from nine other organisations to win a national industry award.
Imaginet, based in Cardiff city-centre, was awarded ‘Best Website’ in the Communicators in Business (CIB) awards for its work on Chiltern Railways website.
The British Association of Communicators in Business (CIB) is the UK's leading professional body for in-house, freelance and agency staff involved in internal and corporate communications. The awards are the UK’s biggest and most prestigious business communication awards.
Imaginet beat competition from websites designed for Arriva plc, British Red Cross, Scottish Widows and Visit Britain.
The trophy was presented by BBC TV newsreader Huw Edwards at a gala dinner event in Brighton on 23 May, and the judging panel was made up of industry experts who commented that the website "meets the needs of a range of passengers extremely well."
Paula Dauncey, marketing manager at Imaginet, said, “We are absolutely delighted to have won this award, particularly as we were in such good company in the category, with many excellent websites being shortlisted.
"Chiltern Railways is always keen to push the boundaries with its on-line communications and combined with our first rate technical and design skills, we've created a website that sets the benchmark in the sector."
The website contains innovative features including text alerts for passengers to notify them of any updates to their journey and a car share section. Visitors can personalise content in a 'My Station' section to include a live departure board, a Google map of the area, local weather from the MET office and local news alerts taken from a third party supplier.
Adrian Shooter, chairman of Chiltern Railways said,
"We want to make it as easy as possible for people to access our services, so we made sure our website is easy to use and full of the information that passengers want.
"Imaginet has created separate sections for commuters, leisure and business travel, passengers can be sure that the information they get is relevant.
"As well as an online ticket booking section, the website contains lots of exciting features too. Passengers can register with our car share scheme, check the latest news about their train and even get a weather forecast for the Chiltern station of their choice."
Imaginet has also become the first Welsh agency to be short-listed for the New Media Age Effectiveness awards for its work on the Chiltern Railways website.
Paula continued,
"We're very excited about being short-listed for the New Media Age Effectiveness awards, which are considered to be one of the industry's most-coveted awards.
"To even reach the shortlist is a real coup for Imaginet, but to win the award would be a milestone in the company’s history. The Chiltern Railways website is one of our larger projects and we're really proud of the work we've done. To gain further industry recognition for this would be the icing on the cake, so fingers crossed for a double win."
Winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 26 June 2008 at the Grosvenor House Hotel in London. The judging panel comprises CEOs and directors of large organisations including Microsoft, Abbey National plc, Centaur, Endemol, Google, General Motors, VideoJug Corporation Limited, NSPCC as well as industry consultants.
