We introduce the work of the finalists in the 2007 ISMS Practice Prize Competition, representing the best examples of rigor plus relevance that our profession produces. The winner, describing a collaboration between National Academies Press and a team based at the University of Maryland, involves a sequenced program of research to calibrate price sensitivity of digital media. The other two finalists address a model to optimize the distribution of used cars geographically depending on local conditions, and a model to use price and distribution strategies to improve product profitability of P&G's heavy-duty detergent brands in India.