Prestige. Distinction. Acclaim.

The Élan Awards have their rewards...Do your cards deserve recognition?

CLICK HERE to download the 2010 Élan entry application

CLICK HERE to view the 2009 Élan Award Winners!

CLICK HERE to view the 2008 Élan Award Winners!

In the global arena of world-class cards, the ICMA Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence are the pinnacle of design innovation and technical achievement. Past recipients have included leading manufacturers from around the globe. Winners of this prestigious competition tap the power of industry recognition and promotional opportunity. A category also exists for vendors.

Share with the industry the card products you are most proud of. Bring recognition, status and high visibility to you and your customers. Be part of the most prestigious awards in the card industry.

The ICMA Élan Awards…presented by ICMA, the premier association for global card manufacturing.

ICMA is now accepting entries from members for the Annual Élan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence which will be presented at the ICMA EXPO Awards Dinner in Scottsdale, Arizona on Tuesday evening, May 4, 2010. Except for the People’s Choice, the awards will be judged by an independent panel of industry leaders. There will be one winner and two finalists for each category. Actual awards will be issued to manufacturers and their customers for the cards. The awards are open to ICMA members only. Note: Eligible cards must have been manufactured after February 27, 2009, the deadline for last year’s program.

Manufacturer Categories and Criteria:

1. Gift Card – Most creative, attractive or unique card based on aesthetics of printed surface design. Any type of gift card is eligible. Gift cards have a prepaid value usually initiated at checkout that are for use at a retail establishment and are given as gifts. Cards must be printed on card stock of 30 mil. or less.
2. Government Identification Card – Most creative, attractive or unique card used for identification and government services based on aesthetics of printed surface design as well as technical advances to meet application security standards and other government needs. Examples: drivers license, passport card, national identification and government health care cards. Cards may or may not have photo identification.
3. Loyalty & Promotional Card – Most creative, attractive or unique card used as a loyalty reward card; has no financial value and includes such cards as airline, hotel, car rental and grocery store loyalty programs. The purpose of these cards is to reward customer loyalty. Promotional cards include discount cards or event themed cards that are intended for promotion, discounts, prizes or awards.
4. Access Control & ID Card – Most useful, attractive or creative card used for access control such as hotel door keys, facility access badges, etc. The purpose of these cards are used for access/entry. Cards may or may not have photo identification.
5. Unique Innovation – Most innovative technical achievement in card functionality (multi-application, combi-card, biometric, optical card, alternative material card, environmentally friendly materials, innovative dual uses/features for cardholder, etc.) that demonstrates novel, unique or expanded functionality in response to customer application requirements.
6. Secure Financial Card – Most creative or unique card based on aesthetics of printed surface design within the parameters of Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, JCB and Diners Club. The card can be magnetic stripe, chip card or hybrid card; and credit, debit, prepaid or stored value, as long as it bears the logo of one of the above secure issuing organizations.
7. Other Secure Card – Most creative, attractive or unique card based on aesthetics of printed surface design. These cards are from the following segments; retail, oil/gas/petro, mobile phone, telephone, transportation and Pay TV. The card can be a magnetic stripe, chip or hybrid card.
   

Vendor Category and Criteria:

1. Best Vendor New Product, Equipment or Material – Suppliers, nominate your own new revolutionary product, equipment or material entered into the card manufacturing market this year.
   

Onsite Categories

1. Judges’ Choice – The Élan Judges will select their favorite card from all of the entries received in any of the categories.
2. People’s Choice (selected by ICMA EXPO delegates) – Attendees at the EXPO (exclusive of spouses or guests) will select their favorite card from all of the entries received in any of the above categories. These entries will be displayed face-up without identification of the entrant.

Note: ICMA reserves the right to re-categorize entries and review submissions to ensure they meet eligibility requirements.

Entry Rules:

Eligible cards must have been manufactured after February 27, 2009. Entrants must be current 2010 ICMA members. Cards may be entered by the manufacturer or issuer of the card. A separate application form MUST be completed for each entry. There is an entry fee of $100 (USD) per entry.

All cards become the property of ICMA unless security rules require them to be returned to the entrant. If so, please write on the back of the entry “return to entrant” and include a self addressed envelope for return. Note that card manufacturers are responsible for return shipping costs.

All entries must be received at the ICMA office by March 29, 2010, and should be mailed to:

ICMA Élan Awards, 191 Clarksville Road, Princeton Junction, NJ 08550 USA
Tel: 1-609-799-4900

Issuer Authorization

Authorization for submitting the cards is the responsibility of the card manufacturer entrant. Please use the sample letter below and type it onto your own letterhead with the card-specific information to obtain any necessary customer approval. Note: All cards become the property of ICMA unless security rules require them to be returned to the entrant. If so, please write on the back of the entry “return to entrant.” ICMA is not responsible for any action relating to any unauthorized duplication, copyright infringement, etc. that may arise from the award contest.

Sample Letter to Issuers

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The Elan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence were announced at the ICMA EXPO in San Juan, Puerto Rico on April 2, 2009. The winners and finalists are listed below.

Congratulations to these companies for their achievement.

Best Gift & Promotional Card

Winner: Toys Card
Manufactured by: CPI Card Group
For: Walgreens

Finalist: Ornament Girl Gift Card
Manufactured By: Jet
For:Target

Finalist: La Senza Prestige Card
Manufactured by: Quatro Card Technology
For: La Senza

Best Identification Card

Winner: Nunavut Driver’s License
Manufactured by: Canadian Bank Note Company Limited
For: Government of Nunavut



Finalist: U.S. Passport Card
Manufactured by: Arthur Blank & Company
For:L1 Identity Solutions on behalf of the U.S. State Department

Finalist: Guanajuato Driver’s License               
Manufactured by:CPI Card Group
For: Latin ID

Best Loyalty Card

Winner: Guess List Loyalty Card
Manufactured by: Arthur Blank & Company
For: Guess

Finalist: Student Price Card
Manufactured by:Keystone Manufacturing
For:Meteor Marketing

Finalist: Fairmont President’s Club Card   
Manufactured by: Keystone Manufacturing
For: Belanger & Associates

Best Access Control Card

Winner: Illinois River Energy Card
Manufactured by: Vanguard ID Systems
For: Illinois River Energy for CompuWeigh

Unique Innovation

Winner: Walmart Merry Christmas Velour Card
Manufactured by: Premier Card Solutions
For: First Data

Finalist: VSX Sport Card
Manufactured by: CPI Card Group
For: Limited Brands

Finalist: Metal Snowflake Card
Manufactured by:Jet
For: Target

Best Secure Financial Card Design

Winner: Sina Music Channel Co-Branded Credit Card
Manufactured by: Huangshi G&D Wanda Security Card Limited
For: China Everbright Bank

Finalist: Xelion Mastercard
Manufactured by: Future Card
For: Bank Pekad SA of Poland

Finalist: Elevate Card
Manufactured by: CPI Card Group
For: Virgin America/Barclays Bank

Best Other Secure Card Design

Winner: Crystal Card with Ox Motif of Chinese New Year
Manufactured by: Huangshi G&D Wanda Security Card Limited
For: Nanjing Public Utility IC Card Company Limited

Finalist: First Data Go-Tag Sticker
Manufactured by: CPI Card Group
For: First Data

Finalist: Norsk Tipping Spillerkort Card
Manufactured by: Card Data Management Limited
For: Buypass AS

Best Vendor New Product, Equipment or Material



Winner: Austria Card
For: LAKS Smart Transaction Watch 2

Finalist: Bayer MaterialScience
For: Laser Blocking Polycarbonate Film

Finalist: Bayer MaterialScience
For: Polycarbonate film for laser authentication technology

Judges’ Choice

Winner: MTV Co-branded Credit Card
Manufactured by: Huangshi G&D Wanda Security Card Limited
For: China Merchants Bank

The People’s Choice Award was selected by on-site delegates. The recipients are as follows:

People’s Choice



Winner (Tie): First Data Go-Tag Sticker
Manufactured by: CPI Card Group
For: First Data

Winner (Tie): U.S. Passport Card
Manufactured by: Arthur Blank & Company
For: L1 Identity Solutions on behalf of the U.S. State Department

Finalist: Illinois River Energy Card
Manufactured by: Vanguard ID Systems
For: Illinois River Energy for CompuWeigh

Finalist: Toys Card
Manufactured by: CPI Card Group
For: Walgreens

Also at the awards ceremony, the Best Exhibit Design was presented toQ-Card for their innovative and interactive booth design. Finalists Apollo Colours Canada and Burkle USA were also honored. ICMA also recognized theID Ideas Badge Designcontest winner Teraco, and finalists Giesecke & Devrient and VCT-NJ for their card submissions. The contest enables members to submit their EXPO themed badge design to be considered as the badge worn by all attendees. The Outstanding Member Service Award was given to two individuals this year; Terry Schindler of Q-Card and Merrill Martin of VCT-NJ for their support and dedication to the association.

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The Elan Awards for Card Manufacturing Excellence were announced at the ICMA EXPO in Orlando, Florida on April 8, 2008. The winners and finalists are listed below.

Congratulations to these companies for their achievement.

Best Non-Secure Card

Winner: Rogers Star Rewards Card
Manufactured by: Quatro Card Technology
For:  SVS/Comdata

Finalist: Bloomingdale’s Black Croc Card
Manufactured By: Travel Tags
For: Macy’s

Finalist: Dressbarn Preferred Card
Manufactured by: Versatile Card Technology
For: ADS

Best Secure Financial Card

Winner: ASE Credit Union
Manufactured by: Oberthur
For: Harland Clarke


Finalist: Diamonds Preferred Rewards
Manufactured by: VCT-NJ
For: Citibank


Finalist: Banco Popular Visa Indigo
Manufactured by: VCT-NJ
For: Banco Popular de Puerto Rico

Technical Achievement

Winner: BRIT Award Mastercard PayPass
Manufactured by: ID Data
For: The Brit Awards/MasterCard


Finalist: Target Flower Card
Manufactured by: Jet
For: Target


Finalist: Powered Blinking-Light Sears Gift Card
Manufactured by: Versatile Card Technology
For: Sears

Best Gift Card

Winner: Blockbuster Spiderman
Manufacturer by: Premier Card Solutions
For: Blockbuster


Finalist:Target Flower Card
Manufactured by: Jet
For: Target


Finalist: Gator Gift Card
Manufactured by: Premier Card Solutions
For: Target Corporation

Best ID Card

Winner: eID Card Design Matrix
Manufactured by: Bundesdruckerei
For: BIS International


Finalist: Ontario Driver’s License
Manufactured by: G&D Canada
For: Ontario Ministry of Transportation


Finalist: SOLEL Membership Card Ellis Island
Manufactured by: VCT-NJ
For: Com-Pak Services

Unique Innovation and Design

Winner: Speed Racer Jump Drive Gift Card
Manufactured by: Americhip
For: Target Financial Services


Finalist: Birthday Balloon Gift Card
Manufactured by: Americhip
For: Target Financial Services


Finalist: Puppy Playing Cards Gift Cards
Manufactured by: Americhip
For: Target Financial Services

Best “Free Form” Design

Winner: Apple iTunes Spring Gift Card
Manufactured by: Travel Tags/IGH Solutions
For: Apple


Finalist: Citic Student Key Ring Series Gift Card
Manufactured by: Gemalto Goldpac Secur-Card Ltd.
For: All Students


Finalist: Tag and Ribbon
Manufactured by: Premier Card Solutions
For: Target Corporation

Judges’ Choice

Winner: Woods Coffee Speedbean
Manufactured by: Vanguard ID Systems
For: Accelitec/The Woods Coffee


Finalist: Nighty Night Light Gift Card
Manufactured by: Americhip
For: Target Financial Services

The delegates on site selected the People’s Choice Award. The recipients are as follows.

People's Choice

Winner: Sprint Daytona 500 Series
Manufactured by: Plasticard Locktech International
For: Sprint

Finalist: AT&T Universal SpectraFlair Card
Manufactured by: Perfect Plastic Printing
For: Citibank

Finalist: Nordstrom Forrest Friends
Manufactured by: Travel Tags
For: Nordstrom

Best Vendor New Product, Process or Material

Winner: Q-Card
For: Card Durability Tester

Additionally, the Élan Award for Best Exhibit Design was presented to Crown Roll Leaf for their extraordinary booth design. This year ICMA recognized theID Ideas Badge Design contest winner Bristol ID Technologies, and finalists Versatile Card Technology and Placard for their card submissions.

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