New DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena Websites Snag Two Addy® Awards

With more than 270 entries received by the American Advertising Federation of West Michigan, DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena were recognized as introducing some of the best websites this year at the 2012 Addy Awards last night.

The DeVos Place website, www.devosplace.org, won a Silver Addy in the B-to-B (Business-to-Business) Website category and the Van Andel Arena website, www.vanandelarena.com, won a Silver Addy in the Consumer Website category.

"The websites for DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena were designed with the user in mind. The goal was to create an exciting experience with relevant information at the fingertips,” said Steve Harney, Principal of Full Circle, the firm that SMG partnered with to develop the sites. “We made it easy to find upcoming shows and events, venue related information and other things to do in Grand Rapids."

The Addy Awards are the advertising industry's largest and most representative competition, attracting over 60,000 entries every year in local Addy competitions. The mission of the Addy competition is to recognize and reward creative excellence in the art of advertising.

“Working with Full Circle to develop three new websites was an exciting process. From discovery of our business needs to going ‘Live,’ it was an incredible journey,” said Lynne Ike, SMG Marketing Director for DeVos Place and Van Andel Arena. “DeVosPlace.org is an entirely different business model than selling tickets for DeVos Performance Hall or Van Andel Arena. We needed a CMS that was robust enough to handle exhibitor needs and inform the general public on all the events happening. Van Andel Arena and DeVos Performance Hall not only needed to get the word out on all upcoming shows, but answer the patrons’ questions about parking, downtown restaurants and lodging. Full Circle listened to our challenges and exceeded our expectations. The Addy Awards are just the icing on the cake!”