Today, we’re excited to announce that our work with Empower Retirement and the American Kennel Club (Link AKC) are finalists for the 21st Annual MITX Awards in three different categories. Our Empower Retirement Apple Watch App is a finalist in the Financial and Insurance Marketing category, while the Link AKC connected dog collar and accompanying mobile app is up for two awards: Best Tech Innovation of the Year and Best B2C Tech.
Since 1996, the MITX Awards have grown to become the largest and most prestigious tech awards competition in the country, showcasing the best creative and innovative accomplishments in the greater Boston area. This year over 100 senior leaders from Boston businesses judged entries for the MITX award categories.
“For 21 years, MITX has been celebrating the people, ideas, and companies that fuel this thriving technology and innovation hub,” said MITX President Amy Quigley. “This year’s finalists are incredibly impressive. We are thrilled to honor their achievements!”
The projects selected as finalists reflect a trend toward connected products and wearable technology; two focus areas for Cantina this past year. Cantina’s wealth of knowledge in the connected product space is helping clients like Empower Retirement and American Kennel Club make their first leap into the market with confidence.
Cantina’s work with Empower Retirement is being considered in the Financial and Insurance Marketing category of this year’s MITX Awards. The category highlights efforts created for companies that market or sell financial products or services. Empower is the second-largest retirement services provider in the country, with over 8 million participants on its platform.
Cantina and Empower Retirement collaborated to design and develop a first-of-its-kind retirement app for the Apple Watch for Empower Retirement. The app allows users to view their progress toward retirement income goals, real-time balances and investment values; and features simple notifications that users can respond to from the Apple Watch. The interactive, engaging features of the app fit Empower’s mission to keep people actively involved in their retirement accounts.
The Link AKC connected dog collar is up for Best B2C Technology and Best Tech Innovation of the Year for Small- to Mid-size Businesses.
Smart Pet Technologies, a startup within the American Kennel Club (AKC), came to Cantina for help on designing and developing a mobile experience for a new connected product they wanted to launch to reach a younger demographic. The product helps to strengthen the bond between dog and owner while making dog ownership easier to manage. Combined with the best of design and technology, Cantina worked diligently with partners AndPlus and Bluefin Technology to bring the connected collar to market.
