2012 Tabbie Awards open for nominations

The Tabbies, the editorial and design awards program run by Trade, Association and Business Publications International (TABPI), is again partnering with the Magazine Publishers Association of South Africa (MPASA) and SAFREA, as well as the United State's American Society of Business Publication Editors (ASBPE), New Zealand's Magazine Publishers Association (MPA), and Australia's Society of Editors NSW.

Paul J Heney, TABPI president, said that this ninth iteration of the awards has some changes in store.

"We've made some changes in the categories, and have responded to some of the requests that have come in for more focus on online areas," Heney said. "And I think that magazine staffs have begun to get excited about what they're doing again, after a few years of difficult times for media. People want to be excited about b2b professionalism again."

All-new this year are two online categories, Best Use of Social Media and e-Newsletter.

The Tabbies international b2b magazine competition encompasses 18 categories, and is open to English-language business-to-business publications around the world that are published at least quarterly, as well as b2b online-only publications. Unlike some more restrictive programs, publications are not required to maintain membership in any particular organisations in order to be considered for the Tabbies.

Categories in the Tabbies' editorial division include: Best Single Issue, Department, Editor's Column, Feature Article, Focus/Profile Article, How-To Article, Regular Column, Special Section, and Technical Article. Categories in the design division include: Feature Design, Front Cover, Digital Imagery; Front Cover, Illustration; Front Cover, Photograph; Front Cover, Special Issue; and Opening Page or Spread. The online division recognises the most interactive, informative b2b websites, e-newsletters and the best use of social media.

The 2012 Tabbies are also supported by companies that have an interest in working with b2b editors and publishers - as well as supporting editorial and design excellence. The Gold Sponsor for the 2012 Tabbies is Proximity Marketing and this year's Silver Sponsor is Business Strategies Group Asia.

The deadline for entries to be postmarked is 20 March 2012. A late fee applies after that date. An electronic version of the Call for Entries is now available at the TABPI website, www.tabpi.org. Judges for the competition are culled from suggestions of regional editorial groups across the globe.

Winners will be announced on or about 16 July 2012.