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This news from comes from Media Life Magazine:
For all we have to thank the internet for, somewhere up near the top is the opportunity for businesses to break out of their pin-striped mindsets and indulge in a bit of creativity. We see more and more of that creativity every day when we surf around the web…
 ÂÂThe most-nominated site, BMW’s miniusa.com, took home awards in two of the three categories it was nominated in, best branding and design and best automotive.ÂÂ
The site helped launch the Mini Cooper in the U.S. and encouraged more than 75 percent of owners to register on the site, in addition to generating 15,000 sales leads.
The International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, which also awards the Webbys, recognized a total of 18 winners in 19 categories, with the Mini site the only double winner.
Kudos to MINIUSA.com and Euro RSCG Circle, the creators of the site. As a web designer myself I am constantly amazed at the overall quality of everything that is done on MINIUSA.com. Simply put it's the best Auto company site on the web.
<p>thanks Steve for the link.</p>
<p>Mr. Bridger, I'm going to disagree with you on this one.</p>
<p>MiniUSA is not really a user-friendly site. They use far too many _blank targets, and there are far too many windows opening. They also use too many gimmics.</p>
<p>For my money, they could keep the overall good design while using less “flashy” tricks. The content doesn't need all that extra stuff – it is strong enough to stand on it's own.</p>
<p>Having said that, I'm glad to see MiniUSA constantly in the public eye.</p>
<p>If it were anything other than brochure-ware I'd agree with you. Certainly anyone who knows my design sense knows I'm no real fan of Flash. But MINIUSA does such an incredible job of extending the brand with the site that I have to overlook that. Sure I'd like parts of the site to be html based rather than flash. But the fact remains that the majority of users out there want more “extra stuff” and enjoy the level interactivity that the current site gives you.</p>
<p>I knon grown adults that have become mesermised by the whole things and spent hours on it foor days. You just won't get that from a place like vw.com</p>
<p>Well, the site is greate but there's 2 things to keep in mind:
1)You really need a broad band for it to load. It took me 15 minutes just to load configurator on my parent's dial-up! (was almost instantly on my cable)
2)Why in the h*ll it need to open a site in a new window??</p>
<p>yeah the whole extra window pisses me off</p>
<p>I used to be able to go to the apparel section and the custom paint section but can't anymore. Don't know if it's an Safari thing or what. Used internet explorer and got all. I love the site but some of the flash stuff gets old after 10th plus time. Still a very kool site.</p>
<p>I guess I should get a life.</p>
<p>miniusa.com is great if you have ten minutes to kill,
with no purpose in mind.</p>
<p>However, if you have already been exposed to the product (the cars)
and want to drill down more info, it's all but hopeless,
and you wait for windows to pop up, animations to load
and play, and you must explore a minefield of
(click here).</p>
<p>If want to drill down and het some real info, it's hopeless.</p>
<p>eg,
1. there's an EML light on the speedo, what does it mean ?
2. what does an r84 wheel look like, and how much does it weigh ?
3. do the sport and sport plus suspension have the same
springs ?</p>
<p>Build me a web site where I can answer three such questions in under a minute,
and I'll be satisfied.</p>
<p>I'm not surprized the MINI site
won an award from fellow
marketing webheads though.</p>
<p>gimmick is spelled with a k</p>