Association of Online PublishersHelping media owners build better digital business
2 Jun 2009
AOP Award Winners 2009 in full
Congratulations to all the winners at 2009's AOP Awards! Digital publishers proved once again that they are consistently delivering innovative, high-quality content to their audiences. Pictures and video highlights of the night are here.
With a large, diverse array of entries this year, all the entrants who made it onto the shortlist should be proud:
Read the AOP Awards Book of the Night
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Winner - BNET UK - CBS Interactive
UK business professionals are arguably facing the biggest challenges to their careers and companies in living memory. Responding to this need, 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.”
Winner - Farmers Weekly - RBI
This fully integrated team, with true ‘muddy boots’ credentials, works across all media to deliver content for print, web and face-to-face activity. A creative approach, and use of social media have expanded its readership beyond its core audience, while imaginative changes to working practices have lifted efficiency and given greater flexibility and immediacy online. Respecting existing journalism skills while learning and developing new ones have both been key.
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.”
The judges would also like to highly commend the TES Connect editorial team.
Winner: Comment is Free - Guardian News & Media
Through social media outreach and tracking, combined with a sophisticated approach to moderation and community management, plus consistently high-quality, stimulating editorial, Comment is Free is raising the visibility of important debate and is getting people talking about things that matter. With around 50 posts every day, from an army of writers dotted around the globe, CiF Editors ensure engagement with readers is maintained.
Judges’ Comments: “This editorial team brings traditional editorial rigour and values to the future of online citizen journalism – it rocks!”
Winner - The Brand Aid Panel - Guardian News & Media
Proving return on online media investment is all the more important during a recession, as every penny of marketing spend comes under increased scrutiny, and advertisers must be convinced of display’s positive brand impact. With this in mind, GNM developed a panel-based solution to provide insightful feedback on cross-media campaign performance, building a database of online brand ad effectiveness, against which other ads can be benchmarked.
Judges’ Comments: “A timely research project for these recessionary times which delivers effective R.O.I. information to advertisers.”
Winner - RBI Job Sites – RBI
With a team of people who think, live and breathe recruitment media (and nothing else) during their working day, customers receive an unrivalled level of service and experience. Product development is linked very closely with feedback from sales and customers, and the team’s integrated approach to selling means that it can put the customer’s individual requirements at the heart of the business.
Judges’ Comments: ”This is a strong operation delivering solid results. They are selling efficiently and doing everything they can in the classified space.”
The judges would also like to highly commend the. Guardian News & Media Digital Ad Sales Team
Winner - The Economist Debate Series - Economist Group
The Economist’s founding aim is to take part in ‘a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress’, and The Economist Debate Series aims to further this mission online. Providing a forum for independent, intelligent and reasoned discussion -and inviting its readers to participate through an immersive online experience, the debates have also provided a unique and premium opportunity for commercial sponsorship.
Judges’ Comments: ”The debates in this series have engaged The Economist’s audience in a new and compelling way, and the commercial success it has generated in the last year is extraordinary.”
Winner - Corduroy Mansions - Telegraph Media Group
In an online first, the best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith’s latest novel was published exclusively on Telegraph.co.uk, chapter by chapter, for 20 weeks. Users could access each chapter via web, spoken word podcast, or direct to desktop through a dedicated widget. Readers could also contribute to the novel’s storyline, or even enter a writing competition judged by the author himself.
Judges’ Comments: ”A cross-media literary first, combining well-executed reviews, comments and a retail channel. Taking something all too ‘offline’ on to the web showed great ingenuity, involving a new audience of readers in the process.”
Winner - Mirror Cashback in partnership with V A C Media - Trinity Mirror
By partnering with V A C Media, Trinity Mirror was able to move quickly and launch a differentiated, stand-out product, owning the cashback concept in the eyes of its readers and users. 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.”
Winner - Car Tech on CNET UK - CBS Interactive
Treating the car as the ultimate gadget - a home for the latest, most innovative and stylish consumer technology, it was clear from early on that Car Tech on CNET UK was ideally suited to an online video series. CBS Interactive produced something unique, 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.”
Winner - FT Mobile: m.ft.com - Financial Times
m.ft.com maintains the design ethic of FT.com: clear, uncluttered design and an easy to read, ‘need to know’ briefing. Different interfaces for touch screen and non-touchscreen phones, combined with automatic reformatting for different screen sizes mean the site looks its best on all phones. 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.”
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!”
Winner - Julian Gairdner - Farmers Weekly Interactive / RBI
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.”
The judges would also like to highly commend David Moynihan, for “a superb entry and strong editorial track record.” NME.com
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.”
Winner - FHM.com - Bauer Media
With a substantially upgraded site, seamlessly integrating gaming, video, and social networking, the FHM team is making the most of its international brand online - effectively and profitably syndicating content across its worldwide sister sites, and those in turn contributing to its ‘incoming news’ channel. To cap it all, FHM.com now even ranks first for Kama Sutra in Google (after Wikipedia, of course).
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.”
Winner - Econsultancy
With its stated vision to provide a leading global resource for training, research and events on digital marketing and e-commerce, Econsultancy capitalised on its international audience in the judging year with the opening of a US office, and an increase 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.”
The judges would like to highly commend eCancermedicalscience from Cancer Intelligence.
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. TSL’s websites celebrate the skills, energy and creativity of teachers, no matter what their discipline or where they teach.
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.”
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.”
The judges would also like to highly commend IPC Media - “Achieved strategic objectives and understood the market really well. Their strategy showed great insight.”
View the digital paparazzi's photos from the event.
Read the AOP Awards Book of the Night
Join the AOP group on LinkedIn - open for all Members to join
Subscribe to AOP's e-newsletter.
With a large, diverse array of entries this year, all the entrants who made it onto the shortlist should be proud:
AOP Awards 2009 Shortlist Showreel
Read the AOP Awards Book of the Night
Full list of AOP Awards 2009 winners
Congratulations to the following winners and special mentions. Winners are invited to download a copy of the winner's logo.Download Type: GIFDownload Size: 9k
Launch
Sponsored by SapientWinner - BNET UK - CBS Interactive
UK business professionals are arguably facing the biggest challenges to their careers and companies in living memory. Responding to this need, 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
Sponsored by Brand RepublicWinner - Farmers Weekly - RBI
This fully integrated team, with true ‘muddy boots’ credentials, works across all media to deliver content for print, web and face-to-face activity. A creative approach, and use of social media have expanded its readership beyond its core audience, while imaginative changes to working practices have lifted efficiency and given greater flexibility and immediacy online. Respecting existing journalism skills while learning and developing new ones have both been key.
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.”
The judges would also like to highly commend the TES Connect editorial team.
Editorial Team - Consumer
Sponsored by Brand RepublicWinner: Comment is Free - Guardian News & Media
Through social media outreach and tracking, combined with a sophisticated approach to moderation and community management, plus consistently high-quality, stimulating editorial, Comment is Free is raising the visibility of important debate and is getting people talking about things that matter. With around 50 posts every day, from an army of writers dotted around the globe, CiF Editors ensure engagement with readers is maintained.
Judges’ Comments: “This editorial team brings traditional editorial rigour and values to the future of online citizen journalism – it rocks!”
Research & Insights Project
Sponsored by OlswangWinner - The Brand Aid Panel - Guardian News & Media
Proving return on online media investment is all the more important during a recession, as every penny of marketing spend comes under increased scrutiny, and advertisers must be convinced of display’s positive brand impact. With this in mind, GNM developed a panel-based solution to provide insightful feedback on cross-media campaign performance, building a database of online brand ad effectiveness, against which other ads can be benchmarked.
Judges’ Comments: “A timely research project for these recessionary times which delivers effective R.O.I. information to advertisers.”
Digital Advertising Sales Team
Sponsored by SolbrightWinner - RBI Job Sites – RBI
With a team of people who think, live and breathe recruitment media (and nothing else) during their working day, customers receive an unrivalled level of service and experience. Product development is linked very closely with feedback from sales and customers, and the team’s integrated approach to selling means that it can put the customer’s individual requirements at the heart of the business.
Judges’ Comments: ”This is a strong operation delivering solid results. They are selling efficiently and doing everything they can in the classified space.”
The judges would also like to highly commend the. Guardian News & Media Digital Ad Sales Team
Innovation
Sponsored by DeloitteWinner - The Economist Debate Series - Economist Group
The Economist’s founding aim is to take part in ‘a severe contest between intelligence, which presses forward, and an unworthy, timid ignorance obstructing our progress’, and The Economist Debate Series aims to further this mission online. Providing a forum for independent, intelligent and reasoned discussion -and inviting its readers to participate through an immersive online experience, the debates have also provided a unique and premium opportunity for commercial sponsorship.
Judges’ Comments: ”The debates in this series have engaged The Economist’s audience in a new and compelling way, and the commercial success it has generated in the last year is extraordinary.”
Cross-Media Project
Sponsored by NsteinWinner - Corduroy Mansions - Telegraph Media Group
In an online first, the best-selling author Alexander McCall Smith’s latest novel was published exclusively on Telegraph.co.uk, chapter by chapter, for 20 weeks. Users could access each chapter via web, spoken word podcast, or direct to desktop through a dedicated widget. Readers could also contribute to the novel’s storyline, or even enter a writing competition judged by the author himself.
Judges’ Comments: ”A cross-media literary first, combining well-executed reviews, comments and a retail channel. Taking something all too ‘offline’ on to the web showed great ingenuity, involving a new audience of readers in the process.”
Commercial Partnership
Sponsored by MadgexWinner - Mirror Cashback in partnership with V A C Media - Trinity Mirror
By partnering with V A C Media, Trinity Mirror was able to move quickly and launch a differentiated, stand-out product, owning the cashback concept in the eyes of its readers and users. 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
Sponsored by InSkin MediaWinner - Car Tech on CNET UK - CBS Interactive
Treating the car as the ultimate gadget - a home for the latest, most innovative and stylish consumer technology, it was clear from early on that Car Tech on CNET UK was ideally suited to an online video series. CBS Interactive produced something unique, 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
Sponsored by RealityWinner - FT Mobile: m.ft.com - Financial Times
m.ft.com maintains the design ethic of FT.com: clear, uncluttered design and an easy to read, ‘need to know’ briefing. Different interfaces for touch screen and non-touchscreen phones, combined with automatic reformatting for different screen sizes mean the site looks its best on all phones. 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
Sponsored by Platform-AWinner - 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
Sponsored by MSNWinner - Julian Gairdner - Farmers Weekly Interactive / RBI
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.”
The judges would also like to highly commend David Moynihan, for “a superb entry and strong editorial track record.” NME.com
Website - Business
Sponsored by Abacus eMediaWinner - 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
Sponsored by PluckWinner - FHM.com - Bauer Media
With a substantially upgraded site, seamlessly integrating gaming, video, and social networking, the FHM team is making the most of its international brand online - effectively and profitably syndicating content across its worldwide sister sites, and those in turn contributing to its ‘incoming news’ channel. To cap it all, FHM.com now even ranks first for Kama Sutra in Google (after Wikipedia, of course).
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
Sponsored by ABCEWinner - Econsultancy
With its stated vision to provide a leading global resource for training, research and events on digital marketing and e-commerce, Econsultancy capitalised on its international audience in the judging year with the opening of a US office, and an increase 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.”
The judges would like to highly commend eCancermedicalscience from Cancer Intelligence.
Digital Publisher - Business
Sponsored by BigKidWinner -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. TSL’s websites celebrate the skills, energy and creativity of teachers, no matter what their discipline or where they teach.
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
Sponsored by CerosWinner - 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.”
The judges would also like to highly commend IPC Media - “Achieved strategic objectives and understood the market really well. Their strategy showed great insight.”
View the digital paparazzi's photos from the event.
Read the AOP Awards Book of the Night
Subscribe to AOP's e-newsletter.
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