AOP awards winners announced

The gala event was opened by a “beat-box” set by Beardyman who has spent a hectic summer playing at various festivals including Glastonbury and hosting Fatboy Slim’s Big Beach Boutique in Brighton. 

The awards were presented by comedian Hardeep Singh Kohli, who wrote the comedy sitcom “Meet the Magoons”.

Highlights of the 16 award winners included:

Reed Business Information which showcased its business mettle by picking up the most gongs, four, across the board for Online Publisher – Business (the second year running), Website – Business, Online Community for B2B site Farmers Weekly Interactive and Online Advertising Sales Team – Business. 

IPC won three awards for Cross-Media Project, Research & Insights Project (one of the AOP’s new categories), and Editorial Team – Consumer.

BSkyB took both Online Publisher - Consumer and Website – Consumer accolades.

Ruth Brownlee, Director of AOP, said: “We’d like to congratulate all of this year’s winners – the standard of entrants has been extremely high and competition tough! Our awards aim to reward and celebrate the best work in digital publishing. This year’s winners have produced work that shows real creativity, smart use of technology and commercial acumen. All of the winners have shown great passion for the industry and exceptional talent. We’re delighted to be able to support it.”

A full list of winners, special mention awards and judges comments follows: 

Launch 2008

Winner: Guardian News and Media 

guardian.co.uk/katine

“An innovative new launch, which takes a single issue and adds an unprecedented level of depth and breadth.”

Special mention: James Publishing Ltd 

World Reviewer

 "A small team punching above their weight, a well-designed and involving site and great use of google maps - look forward to future developments."

Editorial Team - Business

Winner: Incisive Media 

Accountancy Age

”The judges were impressed by the microsegmentation of content and the excellent use of innovative technologies to address these niches.”

Editorial Team - Consumer 2008

Winner: IPC Media

nme.com

“This editorial team has a clear sense of commercial acumen coupled with a strong passion for the industry. The team has thought long and hard about what its audience is looking for and it has delivered.”

Special mention: BBC Worldwide                    bbcgoodfood.com

“A website that has taken an offline brand and cracked web 2.0.”

Research & Insights Project 2008

Winner:IPC Media 

The Origin Panel - Women's Space

”They had clear objectives that were sustainable and achievable. They’ve created a ground-breaking research community that they can use as a vehicle to open new doors and drive revenues.”

Online Advertising Sales Team - Consumer 2008

Winner:

Future Publishing PLC 

Future Publishing - Digital Agency Team

”Innovative use of ad formats, great execution and good revenues – put digital strategy at the heart of their business.”

Online Advertising Sales Team - Business 2008

Winner:Reed Business Information

RBI e-Newsletters

“Identified a gap in the inventory and successfully exploited it. Having a clear focus on a simple proposition has delivered some very successful results.”

Innovation 2008

Winner: Financial Times 

Mockingbird Model

”The Mockingbird Model showed a great understanding of usage patterns, smart use of technology and enabling significant growth whilst preserving their premium positioning.”

Special Mention: Guardian News and Media

Guardian Publisher Network

“Creates a revenue opportunity for the Guardian and enables bloggers to monetise their own activity. Potentially enabling a whole new generation of online publishers!”

Cross-Media Project 2008

Winner: IPC Media 

The WKD Nuts Football Awards

”A fantastic level of submissions that clearly shows the level of commitment to cross-media projects. This project delivered impressive numbers, demonstrating the impact of channels working in unison. A truly cross-media project that utilised print, online and TV.  

Commercial Partnership

Winner: Channel 4  

Ford Bite

”A tough brief which they responded to in a creative way. Results are persuasive, and the project has been recommissioned. A complex, multi-layered relationship with clear commercial success.

Use of Video 2008

Winner: Financial Times 

FT.com  

“They have shown total commitment to putting video at the heart of their communication. With watchable video content that does more than simply extending their brand online, they have gone that extra mile, with an impressive ROI.”

Special Mention:Channel 4

Embarrassing Bodies

”Innovative content distributed in the right way, with impressive viewing figures.”

Mobile Site 2008

Winner: News Group Newspapers

Sun Mobile

“A brilliant translation of the brand into the mobile space: easy to navigate, snackable content – perfect for consuming on the go.”

Online Community 2008

Winner: Reed Business Information

Farmers Weekly Interactive

”FWI demonstrated there can be a light-hearted approach to a b2b site, providing social interaction and community tools relevant to its members and pushing the business media boundaries with ‘muddy matches’”

Website 2008 - Business

Winner: Reed Business Information

XpertHR.co.uk

“As a great example of the success of a paid subs model XpertHR.co.uk has had a tremendous of driving highly impressive traffic growth and increasing its revenues by more than 50 per cent and gaining significant market share, whilst improving its overall product functionality.”

Special Mention: Faversham House Group Ltd

www.edie.net

”Really impressive entry that has undergone a complete redesign in the judging year. With effective integration of video and building up a strong community, the site is allowing users to communicate in different ways.”

Website 2008 - Consumer

Winner: BSkyB 

Sky News

”Maximised site optimisation opportunities, particularly in video, with a creative approach driving a fantastic increase in revenue growth and time spent online.

Special mention:  The National Magazine Company youandyourwedding.co.uk

“With effective personalisation and community features, this entry showed strong integration with the magazine.”

Online Publisher 2008 - Business

Winner: Reed Business Information

Reed Business Information

”Building on last year’s performance, they continued to grow and innovate, maximising the power of their portfolio.”

Online Publisher 2008 - Consumer

Winner:BSkyB                                                                  

”A powerhouse publisher building on television and interactive strengths. They have taken EPG and incorporated this into their online vision. They have worked hard to make access easy for users. Great results in a number of areas.”

Special mention:  Associated Newspapers Ltd

Associated Northcliffe Digital

“They have taken on learnings in the past 12 months and have delivered, taking areas they are strong on in print and developing them online.”

Source: www.ukaop.org.uk