This year the Awards had been separated from the flagship day conference: Digital Publishing Summit to be held in October, and given a new venue.
Alison Reay, AOP Chairman and Digital & Multi-Media Director, Telegraph Media Group said, “I’m delighted with the enthusiasm of entrants this year and thrilled that, even in these economic times, we can showcase examples of innovation and highlight publishers who provide consistent high-quality, entertaining content for its audiences. At the AOP we feel it is even more important to recognise and reward businesses and individuals in the publishing sector that contributed to and made a real difference to our industry this year.”
Reed Business International won three awards: Best Editorial Team Business (Farmer’s Weekly); Best Digital Ad Sales Team (RBI Job Sites) and via Julian Gairdner/(Farmer’s Weekly) under Best Digital Editorial Individual, which was one of the new awards introduced this year.
TSL Education picked up two coveted awards for the Best Website Business (TES Connect) and Best Digital Publisher Business. While Telegraph Media Group snapped up two awards under Cross-Media Project (Corduroy Mansions) and Best Digital Publisher Consumer.
Guardian Media Group picked up two awards for Best Editorial Team Consumer (Comment is Free) and Best Research and Insights Project (Brand Aid Panel). While CBS Interactive also won two awards for Best Launch (BNET) and Best Video (Car Tech on CNET UK).
Bauer Media walked away with the Best Website Consumer category (for FHM.com).
The other two new categories introduced this year were won by Alex Outlaw/IPC Media for Best Digital Commercial Individual and eConsultancy for Best Specialist Digital Publisher.
Below is a full list of all 17 category winners, submission summary, judges’ comments and special commendations follows:
Best Launch Winner: BNET/CBS Interactive
CBS Interactive launched BNET UK as the first comprehensive, free destination where UK managers and executives can find a wealth of practical information, insight, advice and resources.
Judges’ Comments: “An innovative and unique new launch with proven commercial viability, which lifts digital publishing standards to a new level. Audience growth within the judging period was phenomenal, given the conservative marketing budget.”
Editorial Team Business Winner: Farmer’s Weekly/Reed Business International
This fully integrated team, with true ‘muddy boots’ credentials. A creative approach, and use of social media have expanded its readership beyond its core audience to embrace consumers passionate about rural matters, while imaginative changes to working practices have lifted efficiency and given greater flexibility and immediacy online.
Judges’ Comments: “FWI’s editorial team demonstrated a great knowledge of their market and passion for their subject and audience, with whom they showed deep engagement in the past year.”
Editorial Team Business Special Mention: TES Connect
Commercial Partnership Winner: Mirror Cashback in partnership with VAC Media/Trinity Mirror
Through strong editorial support and sustained in-paper and online promotion, the partnership has brought cashback to the mainstream, a valuable, timely service which in turn strengthens the Mirror’s ‘Peoples’ Champion’ credentials.
Judges’ Comments: “In exploring new commercial activities, this partnership provided a fundamental understanding of the consumer and the potential for longevity.”
Use of Video Winner: Car Tech on CNET UK/CBS Interactive
CBS Interactive produced something unique for Car Tech on CNET UK, stretching itself both creatively and technically in the process, and presenting the technology in the most visually exciting format possible.
Judges’ Comments: “A combination of high production values, enthusiasm and expertise worked seamlessly together, using video to really bring out the personality of the site’s writers. Original, fun and high quality content which is relevant to its audience, with a clear commercial underpinning.”
Mobile Site Winner: FT Mobile/Financial Times
m.ft.com maintains the design ethic of FT.com: clear, uncluttered design and an easy to read, ‘need to know’ briefing. Commercially, web and mobile are increasingly integrated, while personalised content is delivered to the user without the need to log in.
Judges Comments: “Clear, clean, easy to use, with good use of personalisation while staying true to the brand. Overall, a thoroughly effective mobile site.”
Digital Commercial Individual Winner: Alex Outlaw/IPC Media
Through a range of innovative projects, Alex Outlaw has been responsible for phenomenal growth both in terms of traffic and engagement in the judging year, in addition to an array of profitable eCommerce partnerships.
Judges Comments: “Hugely innovative. Alex’s work stayed in your mind long after reading his entry. Excellent performance figures and admirable dedication to the job in hand. Truly enterprising!”
Digital Editorial Individual Winner: Julian Gairdner – Farmer’s Weekly Interactive/Reed Business International
Julian Gairdner has led a significant organisational change within the Farmers Weekly Group, resulting in fully integrated editorial, production and sales functions across web and print, as well as a research and redesign process which is paying dividends in traffic and diversified commercial results.
Judges Comments: “Clearly a natural digital editor, Julian displays a strong understanding of his target market, producing innovative editorial devices outside the traditional core pillars of web journalism. He has demonstrated a highly skilled approach to both strategy and execution.”
Digital Editorial Individual Special Mention: David Moynihan/NME.com
The judges would also like to highly commend David Moynihan, NME.com for “a superb entry and strong editorial track record.”
Website Business Winner: TES Connect/TSL Education
Following 18 months of research, development and testing, TES Connect was relaunched as the first real application of networking technology for the UK teaching community. Social networking tools have been applied to the education vertical with a strong, useful professional purpose.
Judges’ Comments: “A vibrant and optimistic site which empowers its users. With high quality UGC at its heart, TES Conntect has harnessed the power of the community in a slick and professional way, and is clearly respected and valued by its users. With fantastic design and usability, it has enabled teachers to make a beneficial impact on the lives of their peers.”
Website Consumer Winner: FHM.com/Bauer Media
With a substantially upgraded site, seamlessly integrating gaming, video, and social networking, the FHM team is also effectively and profitably syndicating content across its international sister sites, and those in turn contributing to its ‘incoming news’ channel.
Judges Comments: “Bauer has transitioned the FHM brand successfully across video, social networking and community on and off the site, seeing fantastic growth in the judging year. The FHM.com team understands its audience, knows what it wants and gives it to them with both barrels.”
Specialist Digital Publisher Winner: eConsultancy
eConsultancy capitalised on its international audience in the judging year with the opening of a US office, and an increased focus on social media through its relaunched website.
Judges’ Comments: “The winner showed a strong performance, effectively diversifying its revenue streams at a key moment to include internationalisation.”
Specialist Digital Publisher Special Mention: eCancermedicalscience/Cancer Intelligence
Digital Publisher Business Winner: TSL Education
TSL Education’s aim is to ‘drive up the quality of UK education’, and over the last year it has done so not just through an innovative recruitment service, but also social networking and resource-sharing tools tailor-made for the education sector.
Judges’ Comments: “TSL is delivering value to its audience through shared knowledge and a clear grasp of the digital space. The site provides not just a viable business model, but a personal experience to its users. In this, they have achieved exactly what they set out to do.”
Digital Publisher Consumer Winner: Telegraph Media Group
Building on its digital presence and profitability, TMG has positioned technology internally as a strategic enabler for growth, and to improve working practices. Telegraph Labs acts as a focal point for this, encouraging experimentation across editorial, technology and commercial departments, and taking TMG to the forefront of innovation.
Judges’ Comments: ”With a comprehensive transformation of digital activity examining every part of their business, TMG showed impressive growth and innovation, working effectively with partners to explore all possible avenues.”
Digital Publisher Consumer Special Mention: IPC Media
The judges would also like to highly commend IPC Media - “Achieved strategic objectives and understood the market really well. Their strategy showed great insight.”
A downloadable “book of the night” will be available on www.ukaop.org.uk. The AOP Digital Awards are supported by New Media Age, as the media sponsor; the online partner is Brand Republic; and ABCe, Deloitte, Nstein, Revolution Jobs, Sapient and Solbright.
About Hugh Dennis
Hugh Dennis (pictured above) is a comedian, writer and actor, who began his stage career as one half of the duo Punt & Dennis. They still appear together on the Now Show, whilst Hugh also captains his team on Mock the Week and stars in Outnumbered, the wonderfully inventive semi- improvised BBC sitcom.
After working as a brand manager for Unilever for six years, Hugh turned his talent for impressions to better use and began to provide voices for Spitting Image. He then became a regular on the Jasper Carott Show, and joined the ground-breaking team on The Mary Whitehouse Experience. After the original Radio 1 show received a Sony Award, Hugh and the team moved to television and attracted a huge cult following. Punt & Dennis appeared in several series of their own, including The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show, and Me, You and Him. Hugh then went on to star with Ardal O’Hanlon in My Hero.
About AOP
AOP says: “The UK Association of Online Publishers (AOP) is the industry body representing online publishing companies that create original, branded, quality content. AOP champions the interests of companies from newspaper and magazine publishing, TV and radio broadcasting, and pure online media. The AOP raises awareness, lobbies and addresses concerns relating to all areas of online publishing to industry and Government; covering topics such as paid-for-content, online subscription models, data protection, copyright, content management, new technologies and audience measurement. AOP publishes original research including the annual Census now in its seventh year. It also hosts forums, conferences and events, where members can debate issues, meet peers and network.
The AOP hosts two annual flagship industry events, the AOP Digital Publishing Awards and the AOP Digital Publishing Summit scheduled for 7 October 2009.
AOP Members include AN Digital, Bauer Consumer Media, BBC, BBC Worldwide, BSkyB, CBS Interactive, Channel 4 New Media, Condé Net UK, Dennis Publishing, Economist Group, Financial Times, Future, Global Radio, Guardian Media Group plc, Guardian News & Media, Haymarket Media Group, Hearst Digital, Incisive Media, Independent New Ventures, IPC Media, ITV, News International Ltd, PPA, Reed Business Information, Telegraph Media Group Ltd, Thomson Reuters, Trinity Mirror, TSL Education, Which?”
