Phoenix— The long-standing annual competition dedicated to the world’s top content marketing efforts—the Magnum Opus Awards conducted by ContentWise in conjunction with the University of Missouri School of Journalism—has unveiled the winners for 2010 in 217 categories, including the 21 Grand Magnum Opus Award and Special Recognition Award winners.

“In alignment with recent data collected by ContentWise on the content marketing industry, which showed that 51 percent of marketers plan to increase usage of video in the next year, this year’s Magnum Opus Awards had the highest number of digital entries, with a strong inclination toward video,” says Program Coordinator Jenny Babich. “The 2010 winners showcase the amazing evolution of the content marketing industry and prove why companies dedicated 32 percent of their overall marketing, advertising and communications budgets to content marketing in the past year.”

Grand, Special Recognition, Gold, Silver, Bronze and Honorable Mentions awards were bestowed upon brands and companies such as Nissan, Sara Lee Food & Beverage, DirectTV, Costco Wholesale, The Walt Disney Company and Lexus, and a list of the Grand Magnum Opus Award and Special Recognition Award winners is below.

Grand Magnum Opus Award Winners:

• Print Magazine - External Audience: Mariner, Story Worldwide for Holland America Line
• Print Magazine - Internal Audience: Connect, Fox Chase Cancer Center
• Other Print Publication - Internal audience:  Graybar History Book, Graybar
• Print Annual Report: Where Solutions Start: 2008 Annual Report, PATH
• Web-based or Other Electronic Annual Report: EPB 2009 Annual Report, EPB
• Video - Internal Audience: Jimmy Dean’s Jimmy D Sales Video, Launch Creative Marketing for Sara Lee Food & Beverage
• Video Series - External Audience: Meet the Masters: Videos,  Rodale Custom Publishing for Nissan
• Best Integration of Social Media: My Ad Council, Meredith Integrated Marketing for Ad Council

Special Recognition Awards:

• Print Magazine - External Audience: enRoute, Spafax Canada Inc
• Print Magazine - External Audience: Lexus Magazine, Story Worldwide for Lexus
• Print Magazine - Internal Audience: EMC.now Magazine, EMC Corporation
• Print Magazine - Internal Audience: Graybar Outlook, Graybar
• Print Newsletter - External audience: Invest It’s Your Future, Custom Solutions from SmartMoney for Hewitt
• Print Newsletter - External audience: Saving Today, Custom Solutions from SmartMoney for The Hartford
• Print Newsletter - Internal audience: Advisor News, Pace Communications for Wells Fargo Advisors
• Other Print Publication - External audience: NAIC Update, Deloitte LLP
• Web-based or Other Electronic Publication - External Audience: Saudi Aramco World, Saudi Aramco World
• Video - External Audience: DebitFacts.org Video Series, PULSE
• Video - Internal Audience: Cash America 25th Anniversary, Cash America International
• Video Series - External Audience: 50th Anniversary Gala Preview, Art Van Furniture
• Video Series - External Audience: Fluid Therapy Videos, Advanstar Communications

Professors from the Missouri School of Journalism and leading content marketing professionals who specialize in particular content or design areas, judge the awards based on a defined set of criteria specific to each of the categories. Using a 0-to-50 scale for each criterion, judges consider such elements as informational and entertainment value, quality of writing and display copy, creative use of imagery and typography and consistency of color palette and style.

The Magnum Opus Awards were launched as a component of ContentWise, a free newsletter published nine times a year that has been the leading source of content marketing information, news and data for the industry since 1998. Industry research is conducted three times annually under the same brand. Like the newsletter, the awards program quickly has become a valued tool for organizations across the globe engaging in content marketing. Sign up for ContentWise at becontentwise.com.

The Magnum Opus Awards and ContentWise are properties of McMurry, a world-leader itself in content marketing. McMurry has won more than 1,350 awards for content marketing and other activities, although none of the awards come from this competition.

Click here to view the full list of 2010 Magnum Opus Award winners.

About McMurry
McMurry, with three offices in Arizona and New York, offers a complete line of marketing communications services to a variety of clientele, including The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Co., CBS, Aon, Deloitte, HP, Verizon, UPS, Thomson Reuters and Amtrak, as well as resources to thousands of corporate professionals. The company has specialized practices in healthcare, finance and insurance, and best-in-class content marketing, interactive and video production services. One of the largest independent marketing communications companies in the U.S., McMurry is on the Inc. 5000 Fastest Growing Companies list and is recognized by the Great Place to Work Institute and the Society for Human Resource Management as one of the top five “Best Small Companies to Work For” in the U.S.