Aquent's Studio Smackdown 2 Goes Out with a Big Flash as Live Audience Proclaims a Winner

Aquent’s final round of Studio Smackdown 2, the second edition of the company’s popular interactive online talent competition, was met with an overwhelming decree — Melissa A. Phillips is the winner by a flash!  The four-week elimination contest ended October 18, 2005.  Results of the challenge, which pitted five motion graphic designers against each other, can be viewed at www.studiosmackdown.com. 
Besides scoring the grand prize of $5,000 and getting to keep the Adobe Creative Suite 2 and Canon MiniDV camcorder that were provided to each of the five challengers, Phillips says the second greatest thrill was the thought of so many people seeing her work.  “It’s like an instant international portfolio,” said the Milwaukee resident.  “The hardest part was meeting all the deadlines while still working a full schedule.”  Her favorite of all the challenges was the consumer product marketing.  “Duct tape can be pretty fascinating,” she quipped.
“This time,” says Erin Bloom, Studio Smackdown producer and marketing program manager based in Aquent’s Philadelphia office, “the design community was waiting for us.  We had instantaneous response from over 54,000 visitors, who maintained a constant presence throughout the contest … the voting was intense.  I was even more impressed by the power of the blog this time around.  People were really into it and we got great mentions and links on hot sites, such as www.graphicdefine.org, www.netdiver.net, www.moluv.com, www.adobe.com, www.osonice.com, www.e-creative.net, www.flashinto.com, www.msdn.com, www.planetoftheweb.com, www.dexigner.com, and more.  We can’t wait to work with the motion graphic designers who joined Aquent after hearing about the contest!”
Adobe, the exclusive sponsor of the contest, provided each of the contestants with copies of Adobe Creative Suite 2 to help them create their work. 
A pioneer in consulting, outsourcing, and staffing solutions for marketing and creative services organizations worldwide, Aquent is no stranger to innovative marketing strategies and frequently designs inventive recruitment campaigns that draw the best in creative and marketing talent. 
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 and creative 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, today Aquent helps thousands of companies make the most of their people, processes, and technology.  Aquent, www.aquent.com, is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.
About Adobe
Building on more than twenty years of innovation and leadership, Adobe helps people and organizations communicate better through its world-leading digital imaging, design, and document technology platforms for consumers, creative professionals, and enterprises.  Adobe Creative Suite 2 is the complete design environment for print, Web, and mobile publishing.  To learn more, visit www.adobe.com/creativesuite.