The news media industry’s most innovative initiatives to grow audience, revenue, and brand in the emerging multi-platform ecosystem were honoured tonight in New York by the International News Media Association (INMA).

Forty initiatives by media companies worldwide were presented Global Media Awards by INMA, punctuated by Norway’s Aftenposten taking home the competition’s top prize.

The Global Media Awards were presented by INMA President Mark Challinor at the closing dinner of the 87th Annual INMA World Congress of News Media at the Harvard Club of New York City before more than 300 media executives.

The 2017 competition generated 655 entries from 196 news brands in 36 countries. The competition was judged in in the first quarter by an international jury of 44 executives from 17 countries representing the worlds of media and marketing. The 40 first-place awards came from 115 finalists selected by judges and announced in March.

The competition rewards six activities key to commercial and brand success at media companies:

• Energising brands.
• Creating new products.
• Growing, engaging, and monetising audiences.
• Growing advertising revenue.
• Developing customer insights.
• Instilling innovation.

The Global Media Awards competition is the news media industry’s premier barometer for growing audience, revenue, and brand across platforms. Overall, 40 first place awards in 20 categories across two audience groups were presented to 34 news media companies. INMA has presented industry awards for excellence since 1935.

“The winning entries in this year’s Global Media Awards show a media industry growing comfortable with new ways of telling stories for readers and advertisers,” said Earl J. Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA. “We have transitioned from the surprise of transformation to breakthrough creativity in the new ecosystems. INMA is privileged to play a role in surfacing these best practices from media companies worldwide.”

The “Best In Show” award, signifying the top initiative among the 655 entries in the INMA Global Media Awards 2017 competition, went to Schibsted-owned Norwegian media company Aftenposten for “#DearMark: How Aftenposten Stood Up Against Facebook.” Aftenposten’s well-chronicled clash with Facebook over the late Nick Uts’ picture from the Vietnam War became one of the most important social media events of the year. As one judge remarked, “Aftenposten influenced the world beyond Oslo in a powerful way by simply doing good journalism. This campaign was also deploring today’s confusion between news and fake news, between news provider and content provider.”

Meanwhile, judges picked top entries in six world regions:

• Best in Africa: Independent Media, South Africa, “Racism Stops With Me”
• Best in Asia/Pacific: News Regional Media, Australia, “Hey Mumma and OMO”
• Best in Europe: Aftenposten, Norway, “#DearMark: How Aftenposten Stood Up Against Facebook”
• Best in Latin America: Zero Hora, Brazil, “Zero Hora Social Networks”
• Best in North America: NBC News Digital, United States, “Virtual Democracy Plaza”
• Best in South Asia: Jagran Prakashan, India, “The Gamification of Advertising Sales for Revenue Growth”

From these regional winners, judges selected Aftenposten’s campaign for the global “Best In Show.”

Six companies won multiple first-place awards: Aftenposten, Fairfax Media, Financial Times, News Corp Australia, News Regional Media, and Schibsted.

All finalists and winners are highlighted in the Best Practices archive at INMA.org.

About INMA

The International News Media Association (INMA) is a global community of market-leading news media companies reinventing how they engage audiences and grow revenue in a multi-media environment. The INMA community consists of 8,000 executives at 600+ media companies in 80+ countries. Headquartered in Dallas, INMA has offices in Antwerp, New Delhi and San Salvador.

 

First Place Recipients

Editor's note: Group 1 below represents regional/local brands. Group 2 represents global/national brands.

 

Category 1: Best Brand Awareness Campaign

Group 1

• First Place: Berliner Morgenpost, Berlin, Germany, “Brand Campaign for the Launch of Berliner Morgenpost Compact”
• Second Place: Winnipeg Free Press, Canada, “The Value of Local Journalism”
• Third Place: Toronto Star, Canada, “Toronto Star Touch”

Group 2

• First Place: Financial Times, United States, “Facts. Truths.”
• Second Place: Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore, “A Micro Film Entitled Pa's Expressions”
• Third Place: WeltN24, Berlin, Germany, “WELT Campaign”

 

Category 2: Best Public Relations or Community Service Campaign

Group 1

• First Place: El Colombiano, Envigado, Colombia, “Plebiscite on the Scale: Casting a Conscientious Vote”
• Second Place: The Dallas Morning News, United States, “The Dallas Morning News Charities Campaign”
• Third Place: Kasturi & Sons, Chennai, India, “The Hindu Tamil – Tamil Nadu Election Campaign 2016”

Group 2

• First Place: Independent Media, Cape Town, South Africa, “Racism Stops With Me”
• Second Place: KSF Media, Helsingfors, Finland, “HBL Launching the Mobile Service Recommend a Refugee – A Small Step for a Greater Good”
• Third Place: 24sata, Zagreb, Croatia, “Better Education for Better Croatia”

 

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

Group 1

• First Place: HT Media, Mumbai, India, “HT No TV Day”
• Second Place: Leader Community News, Melbourne, Australia, “Snap Melbourne”
• Third Place: ABP, Kolkata, India, “The Telegraph SHE Awards”

Group 2

• First Place: NBC News Digital, New York, United States, “Virtual Democracy Plaza”
• Second Place: The Economist, London, United Kingdom, “The Economist's Pride & Prejudice Event and Campaign”
• Third Place: Jagran Prakashan, New Delhi, India, “The Road to India’s ‘Epic’ Issue”

 

Category 4: Best New Print Product

Group 1

• First Place: NewsLocal, Surry Hills, Australia, “Summer Time Magazine”
• Second Place: Independent Media, Cape Town, South Africa, “Home Property Magazine Kwa-Zulu Natal”
• Third Place: LNP Media Group, Lancaster, United States, “Sunday Magazine: For People Who Love Lancaster County”

Group 2

• First Place: Blank Spot Project, Stockholm, Sweden, “Blankspot #0”
• Second Place: The Economist, London, United Kingdom, “The Economist’s 1843 Magazine”
• Third Place: South China Morning Post, New Territories – Hong Kong, “This Week in Asia“

 

Category 5: Best Use of Mobile

Group 1

• First Place: Correio, Salvador, Brazil, “Segmented WhatsApp Groups”
• Second Place: Toronto Star, Canada, “thestar.com, Toronto Star, SMG Digital”
• Third Place: Newsday, Melville, United States, “Newsday Sports App”

Group 2

• First Place: Grupa Onet-RAS Polska, Warsaw, Poland, “Onet 4.0”
• Second Place: O Estado de São Paulo, Brazil, “Songs of Violence”
• Third Place: Wall Street Journal, New York, United States, “WSJ VR for Daydream”

 

Category 6: Best Use of Video

Group 1

• First Place: Domain, Pyrmont, Australia, “Domain Satirical Video Series: Avalon Now”
• Second Place: KIT, Stockholm, Sweden, “Doing Something Different – How KIT Video Changed Social Video in Sweden”
• Third Place: Calgary Herald, Canada, “Without Limits: Kids with Special Needs”

Group 2

• First Place: The Guardian, London, United Kingdom, “Dab – Shareable Videos from The Guardian”
• Second Place: Independent Media MOJO, Cape Town, South Africa, “Don't Look Away: 16 Days of Activism”
• Third Place: Hürriyet, Istanbul, Turkey, “Hürriyet – Kilis 360”

 

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

Group 1

• First Place: News Corp, Surry Hills, Australia, “delicious.100 – Catering to a New Audience”
• Second Place: Berliner Morgenpost, Berlin, Germany, “Brand Campaign for the Launch of Berliner Morgenpost Compact”
• Third Place: Austin American-Statesman, United States, “Austin360 Live Video Concert Series”

Group 2

• First Place: NZME, Auckland, New Zealand, “NZ Herald Focus”
• Second Place: Financial Times, London, United Kingdom, “FT.com New Website”
• Third Place: De Persgroep, Kobbegem, Belgium, “Topics”

 

Category 8: Best Use of New Technology to Generate Revenue and Engage

Group 1

• First Place: MittMedia, Gävle, Sweden, “Local MittMedia Takes the Lead on Live News Video in Sweden”
• Second Place: Advertiser Newspapers, Adelaide, Australia, “News Corp Australia's Digital Retail Impulse Stands”
• Third Place: Albuquerque Journal, United States, “Print in Motion/Classifieds”

Group 2

• First Place: Financial Times, London, United Kingdom, “FT.com: The Fastest Publisher Site Worldwide”
• Second Place: Multipass, Paris, France, “Multipass”
• Third Place: O Estado de São Paulo, Brazil, “Songs of Violence”

 

Category 9: Best Idea to Encourage Print Readership or Engagement

Group 1

• First Place: BZV Medienhaus, Braunschweig, Germany, “Citizen's Newspaper – Die Bürgerzeitung”
• Second Place: Advertiser Newspapers, Adelaide, Australia, “News Corp Australia's Digital Retail Impulse Stands”
• Third Place: Berliner Morgenpost, Berlin, Germany, “Brand Campaign for the Launch of Berliner Morgenpost Compact”

Group 2

• First Place: Schibsted, Oslo, Norway, “360° Campaign Print and Digital”
• Second Place: Agora, Warsaw, Poland, “Writers’ Newspaper”
• Third Place: Jagran Prakashan, New Delhi, India, “When a Newspaper Decided to Become the Nation’s Teacher”

 

Category 10: Best Idea to Grow Digital Readership or Engagement

Group 1

• First Place: Newsday, Melville, United States, “Newsday’s Battle of the Bands”
• Second Place: Bergens Tidende & Schibsted, Oslo, Norway, “BT Junior”
• Third Place: Winnipeg Free Press, Canada, “The Winnipeg Free Press Insiders Program”

Group 2

• First Place: Stuff - Fairfax, Wellington, New Zealand, “Civil Society”
• Second Place: Schibsted, Oslo, Norway, “Good Taste – Good Reading”
• Third Place: USA Today Network, McLean, United States, “Voting Because”

 

Category 11: Best Use of Social Media

Group 1

• First Place: Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brazil, “Zero Hora Social Networks”
• Second Place: News Corp Australia, Surry Hills, Australia, “SnapAustralia”
• Third Place: Brilio.net, Jakarta Selatan, Indonesia, “Instagram Competition – 29-Day Challenge”

Group 2

• First Place: Aftenposten, Oslo, Norway, “#DearMark: How Aftenposten Stood Up Against Facebook”
• Second Place: Kvällstidningen Expressen, Stockholm, Sweden, “Magda Gad – World-Class War Coverage and Interaction on Facebook”
• Third Place: NBC News Digital, New York, United States, “NBCNews Social Media: Election 2016”

 

Category 12: Best New Paid Content or Subscription Initiative

Group 1

• First Place: Herald Sun, Southbank, Australia, “Data-Driven Subscription Audience Growth”
• Second Place: News Regional Media, Fortitude Valley, Australia, “Free NutriBullet or Fitbit”

Group 2

• First Place: Fairfax Media, Sydney, Australia, “Fairfax Media – Instant Access to Premium Content for Australian Businesses”
• Second Place: 15min, Vilnius, Lithuania, “Stop Selling – Start Telling: 15min's Paywall Initiative Against Ad-Blockers”
• Third Place: De Persgroep, Kobbegem, Belgium, ”Topics for Subscribers of Newsbrands”

 

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

Group 1

• First Place: The Oklahoman Media Company, United States, “New Business Acquisition Campaign”
• Second Place: Australian Community Media, Fairfax Media, Nowra, Australia, “Connect With Classifieds”
• Third Place: Russmedia, Schwarzach, Austria, “VN – Brand Initiative for SMBs”

Group 2

• First Place: Jagran Prakashan, New Delhi, India, “The Gamification of Advertising Sales for Revenue Growth”
• Second Place: Ekstra Bladet, Copenhagen, Denmark, “Programmatic Print – Revolutionizing the Trading of Print”
• Third Place: Bonnier News, Stockholm, Sweden, “Bonnier News Brand Studio Full Service Integrated Marketing Solutions – The Mazda Case”

 

Category 14: Best Marketing Solution for an Advertising Client

Group 1

• First Place: News Regional Media, Fortitude Valley, Australia, “Hey Mumma and OMO”
• Second Place: Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore, “Courts BrandInsider”
• Third Place: Adtaxi, Denver, United States, “Driving the Metrics that Matter with Magellan”

Group 2

• First Place: Fairfax Media, Australia, “The Podcast that Turned a Brand into a Storyteller”
• Second Place: NZME, Auckland, New Zealand, “Brand USA 2016 Road Trip”
• Third Place: The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland, “The Irish Times and VHI – Let's Talk Fertility”

 

Category 15: Best Execution of Print Advertising

Group 1

• First Place: News Regional Media, Fortitude Valley, Australia, “OMO Front Page Wrap”
• Second Place: Russmedia, Schwarzach, Austria, “Shopping — Preferably in Vorarlberg”
• Third Place: The Oklahoman Media Company, United States, “The Oklahoman's Print Advertising Campaign”

Group 2

• First Place: Times of India, New Delhi, India, “No Honking Drive”
• Second Place: Metro Toronto, Canada, “Big Friendly Giant”
• Third Place: Singapore Press Holdings, Singapore, “The Animated and Interactive New Paper”

 

Category 16: Best Execution of Native Advertising

Group 1

• First Place: Russmedia, Schwarzach, Austria, “The Gams Story”
• Second Place: Domain, Pyrmont, Australia, “Domain and National Australia Bank Commercial Content”
• Third Place: USA Today Network - Gannett, Indianapolis, United States, “Banner CORE”

Group 2

• First Place: The Irish Times, Dublin, Ireland, “The Irish Times and The Audi Q7 – The Best of Both Worlds”
• Second Place: Forbes Media, Jersey City, United States, “Forbes with KPMG – The Great Rewrite”
• Third Place: News UK, London, United Kingdom, “News UK Video”

 

Category 17: Best Use of Data Analytics

Group 1

• First Place: Toronto Star, Canada, “Toronto Star Touch”
• Second Place: News Corp Australia, Bowen Hills, Australia, “More Valuable”
• Third Place: Newsday, Melville, United States, “Newsday’s Predictive Data Analytics Driving Subscriber Retention”

Group 2

• First Place: Aftenposten and Schibsted, Oslo, Norway, “Aftenposten Subscription Purchase Prediction”
• Second Place: Fairfax Media, Sydney, Australia, “Fairfax Media – Independent News for Independent Thinkers”
• Third Place: Fairfax Media, Auckland, New Zealand, “Driving Audience Growth and Consumption Using Data Analytics”

 

Category 18: Best Use of Consumer Research

Group 1

• First Place: Leader Community News, Melbourne, Australia, “Your Neighbourhood Research”

Group 2

• First Place: The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, “Context Matters”
• Second Place: Independent News & Media, Dublin, Ireland, “The Book of Evidence”
• Third Place: Trinity Mirror, London, United Kingdom, “Modal Britain - Life Outside the Bubble”

 

Category 19: Best New Corporate Innovation Initiative

Group 1

• First Place: La Voz del Interior, Córdoba, Argentina, “La Voz del Interior Shifting to Innovation”

Group 2

• First Place: Schibsted Media Group, Stockholm, Sweden, “Schibsted Creation Suite: Eliminating Legacy Workflows and Empowering Innovation”
• Second Place: Folha de São Paulo, Brazil, “Journalism for the Experienced”
• Third Place: Dainik Bhaskar, Bhopal, India, “A Newspaper's Quest to Unleash the Power of Comics”

 

Category 20: Best New Concept or Innovation to Create New Profit Centers

Group 1

• First Place: News Corp Australia, Surry Hills, Australia, “delicious.100 - Creating Tasty New Revenue Streams ”
• Second Place: Toronto Star, Canada, “Headline Coffee: Because Coffee and the Newspaper Just Make Sense”
• Third Place: Stadsporten Citygate, Stockholm, Sweden, “Repositioning the Local Media House as a One-stop Shop for Local SME Marketing Needs”

Group 2

• First Place: 24sata, Zagreb, Croatia, “Going Where No Croatian Media Has Gone Before”
• Second Place: Ekstra Bladet, Copenhagen, Denmark, “Programmatic Print – Revolutionizing the Trading of Print”
• Third Place: Fairfax Media, Sydney, Australia, “The Store”

The next Global Media Awards competition deadline is Friday, January 26, 2018.

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