UC Irvine Extension Receives Multiple Honors at the 2011 IMA Awards

The Internet Marketing Association Presents Prestigious Awards for Excellence in Educational Content

IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The University of California, Irvine Extension has been awarded for Best Internet Marketing Academic Program, Best Website Overall Content and Best Webinar Content at the Internet Marketing Association’s IMA Awards. The event was held on Sept. 22, 2011, at the Mandarin Oriental in Las Vegas. The IMA Awards recognize outstanding organizations for their expertise and effectiveness in Internet marketing.

“Given the incredible number of submissions, having our top-notch programs and content recognized for being the best academic program, website content and webinar content by the IMA is truly an honor”

"Given the incredible number of submissions, having our top-notch programs and content recognized for being the best academic program, website content and webinar content by the IMA is truly an honor," said Gary Matkin, dean of Continuing Education, Distance Learning and Summer Session at UC Irvine. “These awards reflect our commitment to providing marketing professionals with the most up-to-date business strategies in the industry.”

For the Best Internet Marketing Academic Program award, UC Irvine Extension was honored for its exceptional Internet Marketing Certificate Program, which provides marketing professionals with a comprehensive examination of tactics and strategies in social media, mobile marketing, online analytics and search engine marketing.

The Best Website Overall Content award recognized the school for its outstanding OpenCourseWare portal. As part of the OpenCourseWare movement, the portal plays a significant role in creating an equal and openly accessible high quality educational platform for educators, students and self-learners worldwide.

In addition, the webinar titled, “The Power of Transmedia Storytelling: Persuasive Communications Across Emerging Technologies,” was awarded for overall Best Webinar Content by the IMA. The webinar content was recognized in particular for its ability to highlight the multi-faceted storytelling concepts that bridge narrative, branding, persuasion, and media psychology with emerging and traditional media technologies. A new session of the webinar is open for registration and will take place on Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. PDT.

“IMA serves as a unique venue for top Internet marketing professionals to share best practices, develop new mediums and generate business opportunities,” said IMA Chairman Sinan Kanatsiz. “IMA has grown to over 413,000 members from around the world representing every business sector and SIC code. It embodies the vital characteristics that we believe reflect the dynamic nature of the industry it serves.”

The Internet Marketing Association is one of the fastest growing professional organizations in the world and encompasses a wide spectrum of educated professionals in sales, marketing, business ownership, programming, creative development and related fields.

UC Irvine Extension’s Internet Marketing Certificate Program builds effective online marketing strategies for customer acquisition, conversion and retention. Participants learn how to integrate new tactics and strategies with traditional marketing tools that capture new customers, build loyalty, develop new products and provide superior customer service.

For more information on UC Irvine Extension’s Internet Marketing Certificate Program, visit: www.extension.uci.edu/im or call [phone]. To register for the “Power of Transmedia Storytelling: Persuasive Communications Across Emerging Technologies” webinar, please visit: http://unex.uci.edu/services/events/#00620.

About the Internet Marketing Association: The Internet Marketing Association (IMA) is a professional organization that, since its inception in 2001, has accrued more than 410,000 members in various fields including sales, marketing, business ownership, programming and creative development. Sinan Kanatsiz, Chairman and Founder, started IMA with four key values as a foundation for success in today’s highly competitive business environment: integrity, communication, professionalism and education. IMA is one of the fastest growing Internet marketing groups in the world. It is underwritten by corporate partners to provide members an opportunity to learn, engage and define Internet marketing best practices without making a financial commitment. The IMA mission is to provide a knowledge-sharing platform for business professionals where proven Internet marketing strategies are demonstrated and shared in an effort to increase each member’s value to their organization.

About UC Irvine Extension: University of California, Irvine Extension is the continuing education arm of UC Irvine. Through thousands of courses and programs offered on campus, online and on site, UC Irvine Extension helps adult learners reach their career advancement and personal enrichment goals —and is celebrating 50 years of providing universally accessible, university-level learning to local, regional, and global communities. Learn more at extension.uci.edu, or join us on Facebook at facebook.com/uciextension.

About the University of California, Irvine: Founded in 1965, UCI is a top-ranked university dedicated to research, scholarship and community service. Led by Chancellor Michael Drake since 2005, UCI is among the most dynamic campuses in the University of California system, with nearly 28,000 undergraduate and graduate students, 1,100 faculty and 9,000 staff. Orange County’s largest employer, UCI contributes an annual economic impact of $4.2 billion. For more UCI news, visit www.today.uci.edu.