With its submission of AutoConX Systems, Farm Country Trader, Inc. of Inwood, Iowa - USA wins first ever ICMA (International Classified Media Association) 'Award for Innovation', from a total of 19 highly qualified submissions from 14 countries worldwide. First Runner up is PennySaverUSA.com, followed by second runner up, IPC Media from the United Kingdom.

The Innovations and companies were evaluated by the ICMA Committee and the submissions were evaluated from four different points of view:

Novelty: a) Something new or unusual, b) the quality or state of being novel; newness.

Creativity: Mental process involving the discovery of new ideas or concepts, or new associations of the existing ideas or concepts, fueled by the process of either conscious or unconscious insight.

Sustainability: Is the innovation a "one shot" or does it have a long term positive impact to the business.

Results: The results of the innovation or new corporate strategy so far. Growth of profit, revenue, number of customers and amount of content were taken into account.

The original idea of the ICMA Innovation Award was born after the ICMA General Meeting held in November 2009 in Budapest. There, a vice president of Marketing from a large publisher asked during a dinner conversation: "who are the innovative companies in the classified industry?" As there was no clear answer, it seemed better to let the industry players answer this together: thus, an award was born.

ICMA now has media members from more than 30 countries worldwide.

http://www.icmaonline.org