The Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), Donor Alliance and Colorado.gov announced today that their joint “Save Time, Renew Online” multimedia campaign utilizing the fictitious character Guy VROOM, was recognized with a Silver Communicator Award in the not-for-profit category by the International Academy of Visual Arts (IAVA) 2012 Communicator Awards. The campaign aims to educate Coloradans about the ability to renew their driver’s licenses online and register to be organ, eye and tissue donors.

The campaign was born out of the DMV’s need to increase online license renewals and reduce foot traffic to state driver’s license offices in time for 5- and 10-year licenses expiring at high rates in 2012 and 2013. The award-winning campaign is led by the character Guy VROOM, a comical, mullet-wearing “dude” stuck in the ‘80s. Guy VROOM encourages people to renew licenses online by skipping the lines at the DMV and to remain “youthful and fun” by keeping their old photo.

“Save Time, Renew Online” was introduced to Coloradans in 2011 with a direct mail campaign, a public service announcement featuring Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper and Guy VROOM, social media activities and DMV posters. In the communications, Guy VROOM, instructs Colorado residents to “Save Time, Renew Online” and also encourages them to register as organ, eye and tissue donors at the same time.

The campaign contributed to impressive gains in just one year:

• 109,204 Coloradoan’s renewed their driver’s license online in 2011, which was an increase from 87,000 the prior year.

• Online renewals are on pace to increase 34 percent this year. This will decrease wait times by reducing over 160,000 customers in DMV offices.

• More than 73 percent of Colorado drivers that renew online say “yes” to organ, eye and tissue donation. This is a six percent higher election rate than those renewing in DMV offices.

“Donor Alliance, Colorado.gov and the Colorado Department of Revenue Division of Motor Vehicles have an outstanding partnership dedicated to improving service to the citizens of our state. We are very excited about the Guy VROOM marketing campaign,” said Mike Dixon, Director of the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles. “Congratulations to the entire team who put this outstanding campaign together and for its recent recognition from the International Academy of Visual Arts for a “Silver” Communicator Award of Distinction. Well deserved!”

“We were eager to partner on the ‘Save Time, Renew Online’ campaign in order to heighten awareness for organ, eye and tissue donation. While Coloradans are online renewing their licenses, they also have the opportunity to give the gift of life by registering to be organ, eye and tissue donors,” said Sue Dunn, president and CEO of Donor Alliance, the non-profit organ procurement organization serving Colorado and Wyoming. “We are thrilled to see donor designation increase in those renewing licenses online as a result of this creative campaign and are proud to be a part of this tremendous partnership with the DMV and Colorado.gov.:”

The Communicators Awards receive more than 6,000 entries annually from all over the world. Every Communicator Award winner is selected by IAVA members, an invitation-only body consisting of top-tier professionals from acclaimed media, communications, advertising and marketing firms. The award winning Guy VROOM campaign can be seen at: http://www.colorado.gov/marketing/VROOM-promotions/index.html

About Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles

The Colorado Department of Revenue’s Division of Motor Vehicles is responsible for issuing driver’s licenses and identification cards; management of driver’s licensing records; provides operational support to the County Clerks and Recorders for the titling and registration of vehicles; regulates third party operated Commercial Driving Schools, Commercial Driver’s License Testing Units, and Emission Testing Centers; and oversees and supports numerous motor vehicle related programs to include supporting organ and tissue donor awareness via document transaction activities and partnering with Donor Alliance. The Driver’s Licensing program produces over one million driver and identity documents each year through a network of 56 State and County licensing offices. The program assures that applicants meet all statutory requirements to hold a driver’s license or identification card and can demonstrate sufficient skill and knowledge to safely operate a motor vehicle. Services range from providing service delivery and information to the public, administering written and road skills tests, verifying applicant credentials and source documents, and overseeing driver education and third-party testing,

About Donor Alliance

Donor Alliance is the federally-designated, non-profit organ procurement organization and an American Association of Tissue Banks (AATB) accredited tissue bank serving Colorado and most of Wyoming. As a recognized leader in facilitating the donation and recovery of transplantable organs and tissues, Donor Alliance’s mission is to save lives through organ and tissue donation and transplantation. To achieve this mission, Donor Alliance employs effective family approach and recovery programs in more than 100 hospitals. Donor Alliance also inspires the public to register as organ and tissue donors through community partnerships, public outreach and education campaigns throughout its donation service area. For more information visit the Donor Alliance website, or the Donate Life Colorado or Donate Life Wyoming Facebook pages.

About Colorado.gov

Colorado.gov is the official website of the State of Colorado (http://www.colorado.gov) and is overseen by the Statewide Internet Portal Authority. The Colorado.gov team helps State and local government entities Web-enable their services and is operated without tax funds through a public-private partnership between the state and Colorado Interactive, LLC. Colorado Interactive builds, operates, maintains, and markets Colorado.gov and is part of eGovernment firm NIC’s (NASDAQ: EGOV) family of companies.