International News Media Association announces 40 Global Media Awards winners

INMA has presented industry awards for excellence since 1935. The 2016 competition generated 699 entries from 264 news brands in 40 countries. The competition was judged in February and March by an international jury of 41 executives from 19 countries representing the worlds of media and marketing.

The awards honour the world’s most innovative initiatives to grow audience, revenue and brand in the emerging multi-platform ecosystem. Overall, 40 first place awards in 20 categories across two audience groups were presented to 34 news media companies, with Sweden’s Svenska Dagbladet taking home the competition’s top prize.

Association President Mark Challinor presented the INMA Global Media Awards at the closing dinner of the 86th Annual INMA World Congress at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London before more than 300 media executives. The V&A is considered the world’s leading museum of art and design, and the awards dinner was held in its Raphael Gallery.

“It was an amazing spectacle to behold — the world’s top media industry innovation initiatives presented amid the splendour of the world’s leading museum of art and design,” said Earl J Wilkinson, executive director and CEO of INMA on the dinner’s venue. “Despite enormous transformational challenges, media companies are finding new ways to connect with audiences and advertisers across platforms. It is an honour for INMA to be front and centre at the pinnacle of achievement for these companies.”

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

Regional awards

The judges picked top entries in five world regions:

• Best In Asia/Pacific: Fairfax Media New Zealand for ‘News Rewired - Writing Our Next Chapter’
  
• Best In Europe/Middle East/Africa: Svenska Dagbladet, Sweden, for ‘The Pyramid’
  
• Best In Latin America: Vanguardia, Mexico, for ‘#Soy Noticia’ (I Am News)
  
• Best In North America: The Globe and Mail, Canada, for ‘The Globe and Mail Federal Leaders’ Debate on the Economy’
  
• Best In South Asia: Mumbai Mirror, India, for ‘Mumbai Heroes’

From these regional winners, judges selected the ‘Best In Show’ award, signifying the top initiative among the 699 entries in the INMA Global Media Awards 2016 competition. It went to Schibsted-owned Swedish media company Svenska Dagbladet for ‘The Pyramid,’ a sophisticated road map boldly designed to thrive in the news media ecosystem. The initiative delivered in-depth insights on customer segmentation and the implementation of a smart paywall. Its new design with customised areas conveyed excellent brand positioning and outcomes, according to judges.

Six companies won two first-place awards: Aftenposten of Norway, Fairfax Media New Zealand, Mumbai Mirror of India, The Straits Times of Singapore, VG of Norway and Zero Hora of Brazil.

Below are the first place winners per category. Group one represents regional/local brands. Group two represents global/national brands.

Category one: Best Brand Awareness Campaign

Group one:
The Advertiser, The Courier-Mail, The Daily Telegraph, and Herald Sun, Sunny Hills, Australia, ‘News Corp Australia Project Icon’
Group two:
Aftonbladet/Svenska Dagbladet/Schibsted, Stockholm, Sweden, ‘Yellow Boats’

Category two: Best Public Relations or Community Service Campaign

Group one:
Mumbai Mirror, India, ‘Mumbai Heroes’
Group two:
The Independent, London, UK, ‘#Refugeeswelcome — Independent Online and Print’

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

Group one:
The Arizona Republic, Phoenix, US, ‘The Arizona Storytellers Project’
Group two:
The Globe and Mail, Toronto, Canada, ‘The Globe and Mail Federal Leaders’

Category four: Best New Print Product

Group one:
Gazeta do Povo, Curitiba, Brazil, A Brand-New Newspaper
Group two:
The Economist, London, UK, The World If from The Economist

Category five: Best Use of Mobile

Group one:
Newsday, Melville, US, ‘Newsday Mobile App’
Group two:
Helsingin Sanomat, Helsinki, Finland, ‘Nyt Chat App — Media is Talking to You’

Category six: Best Use of Video

Group one:
Waikato Times/Stuff.co.nz, Wellington, New Zealand, All In
Group two:
VG, Oslo, Norway, VG’s 70th Anniversary

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

Group one:
North-West Evening Mail, Barrow-in-Furness, UK, ‘Choose South Cumbria’
Group two:
Il Giornale.it, Milan, Italy, ‘Crowdfunding for War Reporting’

Category eight: Best Idea to Encourage Print Readership or Engagement

Group one:
Mumbai Mirror, India, ‘Mumbai Mirror Girls Soccer League’
Group two:
Gazeta Wyborcza, Warsaw, Poland, ‘Travelling Museum of Polish History’

Category nine: Best Idea to Grow Digital Readership or Engagement

Group one:
Correio, Salvador, Brazil, ‘The Silence of the Innocents’
Group two:
Politiken, Copenhagen, Denmark, ‘How to Get Users to Register’

Category 10: Best Use of Social Media

Group one:
Vanguardia, Saltillo, México, ‘#Soy Noticia’ (I Am News)
Group two:
VG, Oslo, Norway, ‘Bieber Coverage on Snapchat’

Category 11: Best New Paid Content or Subscription Initiative

Group one:
Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brazil, ‘ZH Tablet + Digital Newspaper’
Group two:
Svenska Dagbladet, Stockholm, Sweden, ‘The Pyramid’

Category 12: Best Idea to Grow Advertising Sales or Retain Advertising Clients

Group one:
Zero Hora, Porto Alegre, Brazil, ‘Destemperados’
Group two:
The New Zealand Herald, Auckland, New Zealand, ‘NZME Advertising Challenge

Category 13: Best Marketing Solution for an Advertising Client

Group one:
The Des Moines Register, US, ‘YMCA of Greater Des Moines — Summer Campaign’
Group two:
The Australian, Surry Hills, Australia, ‘GE’

Category 14: Best Execution of Print Advertising

Group one:
Courrier Picard, Paris, France, ‘Pedometer Inprint’
Group two:
The Straits Times, Singapore, ‘The Interactive Newspapers’

Category 15: Best Execution of Native Advertising

Group one:
Montreal Gazette, Canada, ‘Montreal Gazette/Concordia University: Rethinking Montreal’
Group two:
Quartz, New York, US, ‘Davos and Bank of America’

Category 16: Best Use of Data Analytics

Group one:
Winnipeg Free Press, Canada, ‘Winnipegfreepress.com Data Collection and Data Use’
Group two:
Aftenposten, Oslo, Norway, ‘Churn Prediction Model’

Category 17: Best Use of Consumer Research

Group one:
Fairfax Media, Auckland, New Zealand, ‘Communities Refresh’
Group two:
The Wall Street Journal, New York, US, ‘WSJ Customer Knowledge Program’

Category 18: Best New Corporate Innovation Initiative

Group one:
The Dallas Morning News, US, ‘GuideLive.com’
Group two:
Fairfax Media, Auckland, New Zealand, ‘News Rewired — Writing Our Next Chapter’

Category 19: Best New Concept to Incubate Products or Ideas

Group one:
Calgary Herald and Edmonton Journal, Toronto, Canada, ‘Capital Ideas’
Group two:
The Straits Times, Singapore, ‘The Straits Times Innovation Lab’

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

Group one:
Toronto Star, Canada, ‘Your Money Matters! Financial Literacy Program for Teens’
Group two:
Aftenposten, Oslo, Norway, ‘Loyalty Program – From an Anti-Churn Tool to a Profit Generator’