Over 56,000 creative audience members logged in to www.studiosmackdown.com over the last four weeks to determine the outcome of Aquent’s unique online design competition, Studio Smackdown. The weekly elimination contest, which debuted January 18, 2005, pitted five outstanding graphic designers against each other to wrestle for creative supremacy in this online public forum. The final votes have been tallied and the winner by creative knockout is Toni Greaves. A native Australian and Portland, Oregon resident, Greaves is a graphic designer and photographer whose work not only embodies print and interactive media, but clearly inspires thousands to smack her opponents out and vote her queen of the canvas.
“The funniest things happen on the way to the Internet,” says Erin Bloom, marketing program manager in Aquent’s Philadelphia office and the competition’s producer. “News of the contest spread quickly across the Internet. Response was immediate and soon Studio Smackdown was everywhere. Web hotspots such as creativepro.com, designinteract.com, moluv.com, linkdup.com, and e-creative.net quickly posted links to the contest. Suddenly, Studio Smackdown was part of something much larger than the creative community we had targeted.”
Originally designed to demonstrate what great lengths Aquent’s marketing services group will go not only to boost their creative talent, but to demonstrate to clients just how creative their talent is, Studio Smackdown proved to be the ultimate showcase. “The program’s success surpassed even my wildest estimates,” says Bloom. “It was like we had opened a floodgate in the global design community and it unleashed a creative frenzy in everyone … competitors and visitors alike. We’re very pleased with whole process and particularly the enthusiastic response we received.” As for a sequel, “It’s gonna be a rumble to remember,” she adds, tongue-in-cheek. “And I’m not just talking smack! See you at ringside.”
About Aquent
For nearly twenty years, Aquent has led the way in helping businesses master the ability to generate marketing and communications from within. From its inception in 1986, this marketing services company has pioneered consulting, outsourcing and staffing solutions that enable clients to build their internal marketing and communications capabilities. Providing unmatched resources and expertise through its network of nearly seventy branches worldwide, Aquent today helps thousands of companies make the most of their people, processes and technology. Aquent, www.Aquent.com, is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
This article was last modified on March 19, 2022
This article was first published on February 26, 2005
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