30 INMA Award winners unveiled, VG campaign takes top prize

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Thirty of the world’s best news media sales and marketing initiatives were rewarded Tuesday, May 13, by the International News Media Association (INMA), punctuated by Norway’s VG taking home the coveted “Best In Show.”

The INMA Awards were presented at the concluding dinner of the 84th Annual INMA World Congress at the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco before nearly 300 media executives.

Highlights from the evening:

  • Multi-winners: Six companies won two first-place awards: Aftenposten, Dainik Jagran, mX, The New York Times, South China Morning Post, and VG.

Founded in 1935, the INMA Awards competition is the news media industry’s premier barometer for marketing and sales excellence designed to grow audience, revenue, and brand across platforms.

Overall, 30 first place awards in 15 categories across two audience groups were presented to 24 media companies. The competition garnered 560 entries from 149 market-leading news media companies in 37 countries.

Best in Show

The VG initiative that won “Best in Show” sought to build awareness for Norway's little-known chess prodigy, Magnus Carlsson, who was taking part in the World Chess Championships in India and whom VG was sponsoring. The challenge was to create buzz among the general public and get them to follow the progress of the championships on VG.

Yet how could VG achieve this when the company didn’t have the broadcast rights? The solution was to create “Chess For the People,” which saw the launch of a new digital service, VG Direct. A mixture of humourous and expert commentaries were streamed live on VG Direct, and dialogue with the audience was created via social media.

 

Six out of 10 Norwegians tuned in to VG Direct to follow the Chess Championships, which was more than the national broadcaster achieved.

Judges called the VG Chess World Championship 2013 campaign a “true cross-media and innovative effort,” a “reference model of multi-media campaigns,” an example of how to make “minor” events “transcend,” and an “inspiring” initiative that “got the average Joe interested.”

Second place for “Best in Show” was presented to the South China Morning Post for “Celebrating Hong Kong,” a campaign that celebrated the company’s 110th anniversary with a hugely ambitious brand awareness campaign that celebrated everything for which Hong Kong residents should be proud.

Third place for “Best in Show” went to the London Evening Standard for “Ladder for London,” a campaign that not only set out to raise awareness of youth unemployment and social engagement, but to take action and help prepare non-graduates for apprenticeships as well as encourage businesses to offer apprenticeships.

About this year’s entries

“The winning entries this year clearly show that this isn’t your father's newspaper or magazine anymore,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. “The common theme was engagement on new platforms and developing a relationship with consumers across multiple platforms. For advertisers, there are so many more audience and platforms options, and challenge for media companies is syncing needs with options. The creativity was fantastic.”

The INMA Awards 2014 competition was judged by an international panel of 28 executives in the media and advertising communities from 13 countries: Australia, Brazil, El Salvador, Finland, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, United Kingdom, and United States. Judging was based on concept, creativity, copy, design, production, effectiveness, and results.

About INMA

The International News Media Association (INMA) is the leading provider of global best practices to grow revenue, audience, and brand for news media companies. With nearly 7,000 members in 80+ countries, INMA provides media executives with unparalleled access to ideas and peers to help grow their business in transformational times. Headquartered in Dallas, INMA has offices in Antwerp, New Delhi, San Salvador, and São Paulo.

INMA Awards 2014 First Place Recipients

Editor’s Note: Group 1 below is regional/local publications under 300,000 print circulation or with an online audience of under 3 million unique visitors per month. Group 2 is regional/local publications over 300,000 print circulation or with an online audience of more than 3 million unique visitors per month and national/international publications of all sizes. Click on the entry name to view the campaign itself.

Category 1: Best Brand Awareness Campaign Across Platforms

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Category 2: Best Public Relations or Community Service Campaign

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Category 3: Best Use of an Event to Build News Brand

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Category 4: Best New Print Product

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Category 5: Best New Mobile App or Website

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Category 6: Best New Mobile Service

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Category 7: Best Launch of a Brand or Product to Create a New Audience Segment

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Category 8: Best Idea to Encourage Print Readership or Engagement

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Category 9: Best Idea to Grow Digital Audience or Engagement

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Category 10: Best Use of Social Media

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Category 11: Best Idea to Grow Subscription Sales

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Category 12: Best Idea to Grow Single Copy Sales

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Category 13: Best Idea to Grow Advertising Sales or Retain Advertising Clients

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Category 14: Best Marketing Solution for an Advertising Client

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Category 15: Best Idea or Innovation to Create New Profit Centers

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