Smart Media, the annual report company with business in six countries including Bahrain, has been named the winner of the Platinum Achievement Award for annual reports worldwide at this year's ARC Awards in New York.

Smart Media clinched a total of 67 awards including 22 Gold Awards and three Grand Awards at this event that is popularly dubbed the "Academy Awards of Annual Reports".

This comes on the heels of a previous best in winning the Platinum for the Asia Pacific Agency for the Year and the Gold Worldwide at the League of American Communications Professionals Vision Awards 2011 announced about two months ago.

It is the second time that Smart Media has bagged the Platinum Award at the ARC Awards.

The ARC Awards honours overall excellence in annual reports and encourages noteworthy and vital writing, as well as imaginative and original design.

The awards were presented at the exclusive Grand Award Winners gala dinner at the New York Palace Hotel.

"Competing with a record-breaking 2,200 entries from 32 countries was a daunting challenge, and we are positively elated by the outcome," remarked Smart Media chairman Dr Vijith Kannangara.

"Our clients come from very diverse sectors and countries," he stated.

The international exposure they receive at such forums reinforces their commitment to exemplary corporate communications, which in turn furthers stakeholder relations and business opportunities, said the official.

"For example, Ithmaar Bank of Bahrain posed a challenging communications task, being an institution that had just undergone a major reorganisation. Working closely with the Ithmaar team, we found ways to present the story in a candid manner, devoid of jargon and cliches, including an essay on Islamic finance," he noted.

"The measurement and voluntary disclosure of the bank's carbon footprint for 2011 was probably a first for the Middle East," said Dr Kannangara.

"Given the huge potential for providing value-added services in the region and beyond, we are now looking at niche markets globally for mutually beneficial partnerships," said Smart Media chief process development officer Raja Senanayake.-TradeArabia News Service