The NEWS’s 2009 Dealer Design Award (DDA) product microsite has officially launched, and the focus of every online feature is an HVACR product. Covering 14 different categories, each product entered into the competition has a place in the site’s main attraction - the Dealer Design Product Collection.

This graphic gallery holds product photos, descriptions, and manufacturer contact information. Users can choose a product from a thumbnail lineup and instantly learn about it in the viewer. Enhancing the product-only coverage, each week a random selection of products will be highlighted in the Collection Showcase.

Seeing photos and reading descriptions provides a valuable resource, but watching live videos on DesignVision helps explain product applications even more clearly and in greater detail. Contractors will find manufacturer videos on the microsite that cover many topics, including training and applications. Along with the single video displayed on the DDA homepage, there is a complete video archive of all videos available to the site.

This site is not just about supplying users with information. It’s a place for contractors to ask questions and interact with manufacturers about different products. In the Design Blog, manufacturers have submitted blog entries discussing their product and its applications. More importantly, they want to hear from contractors. New solutions, challenges, and general questions are all fair game in this open forum.

The Drawing Board is a place to see the manufacturers’ products in action. Accompanied by an application photo, these case studies supply a new look at how creativity, coupled with well-designed products, can benefit the contractor and the end user.

The Design Library is a collection of informational materials about all of the products entered into the competition. There are manuals, brochures, whitepapers, schematics, etc., all available in one place. Listed alphabetically by manufacturer, this resource makes for a convenient collection of useful reference materials.

Of course, the site features a list of the winners and a link to the digital edition that provides full coverage of the 2009 DDA competition. “This site is the place to find products, information, and interaction,” said Angela Harris, news and legislation editor for The NEWS and DDA microsite administrator. “It is a multifaceted platform designed specifically to meet the product information needs of contractors.”

To keep products fresh, the DDA microsite will be an active entity until January 2010. It will then remain as an archived resource.

Visit the new microsite at www.achrnews.com/2009dealerdesign and let The NEWS know what you think!

For more information, contact Angela Harris at angelaharris@achrnews.com.

Publication date: 08/03/2009