Three Sydney companies were named as finalists for a NSW Government sponsored export award at the Australian Interactive Media Industry Association (AIMIA) awards on March 13.

Finalists for the "Best Export Achievement" award sponsored by the NSW Department of State and Regional Development were:

• Sydney interactive design agency and software house Gruden, which has established a base in China as part of its Asia Pacific expansion strategy
  
• Surry Hills interactive agency MassMedia Studios, which impressed the AIMIA judges with its "single customer view" and "multi-channel marketing measurement"


• Surry Hills digital services company TigerSpike, which opened four offices in a short period as part of its international expansion into the United Kingdom, United States and European markets and has demonstrated "good vision, good strategies and good client work."

TigerSpike was named winner of the award.

Minister for State Development Ian Macdonald congratulated the three companies for their export success.

"Each of these companies are headquartered in Sydney and employ over 40 staff both here and in global satellite offices in Europe and North America," Mr Macdonald said.

"AIMIA says they have also recorded outstanding average compound annual growth rates of between 38 and 143 per cent per annum."

The Department of State and Regional Development (DSRD) supported the 15th annual AIMIA awards in recognition of the importance of the digital media industry to our State's economy.

NSW is home to a disproportionately large share of the creative industry in Australia, with 37 per cent of total creative industry employment and 39 per cent of all creative industry businesses.

DSRD has produced a new directory profiling 51 NSW companies delivering innovative technology solutions in the digital media sector.

The NSW Government is also supporting AIMIA's employment of a part-time project manager to grow its mobile technology internship program to give young talent a chance to gain industry experience with innovative players including Yahoo7 and News Digital Media.

To find out more information about the winning entries of the 15th Annual AIMIA Awards, visit: www.aimia.com.au/awards