Motiv startup team (From left to right) Ara Soudjian, Diran Yanikian, and Anthony Wiktor
HOLLYWOOD, Calif.””At this year’s Webby Awards”” the Academy Awards for website design ”” a team of up-and-comers is taking on the corporate giants. Motiv, a San Francisco-based venture that makes an award-winning smart ring, received a nomination in the Advertising, Media & PR Products and Services category. Their competitors in this category are Adidas, Uber, Google, and Project Muze (a collaboration between Google and fashion retailer Zolando).
What makes this nomination even more atypical is that Motiv’s website was not produced by a large agency, but by a tight-knit coalition of up-and-coming creative professionals and boutique shops. The team includes Marketing Strategist David Sperry, independent Creative Director Anthony Wiktor, web development team Dirango led by Diran Yanikian, and video production studio Friendly Filmworks led by Ara Soudjian. Operating out of a converted studio in the Hollywood Media District, the team set out to “capture Motiv’s combination of fashion and technology in a responsive interactive site,” says Wiktor. “It took a lot of sleepless nights, but we created a digital experience with the same feel and polish that the big agencies deliver,” says Yanikian.
David Sperry, principal of marketing consultancy, Mutant Unicorn, the agency responsible for selecting the trio of shops, noted that he originally reached out to Wiktor and his team because of their “visionary, modern aesthetic. I trusted them with bringing the Motiv brand from idea to reality and it paid off.” Sperry notes that the team’s work was singled out as one of the five best in the world in its category (and among the top 9% of all work entered).
As a nominee, Motiv is also eligible to win a Webby People’s Voice Award, which is voted online by fans across the globe. From now until April 20th, Motiv fans can cast their votes at voteformotiv.com “We enjoy working with companies like Motiv that are trying to challenge the status quo because that’s part of our DNA too. We’re looking forward to earning the votes from all those who like supporting the underdog,”
