The shortlist nominations across the 17 categories represent consumer and business publishers. The most shortlisted nominations were received by IPC and Reed Business Information with 13 nominations each, across 7 categories each.
They were closely followed by Guardian News & Media with 10 nominations across 6 categories. News International received 7 nominations across 6 categories; while Incisive Media picked up 7 nominations across 5 categories; and UBM received 6 nominations across 5 categories.
The broadcasters include 6 nominations for BSkyB across 6 categories. The BBC scored 5 nominations across 4 categories; BBC Worldwide gained 3 nominations across 2 categories, Channel 4 received 5 nominations across 4 categories, and ITV is nominated in one category.
Alison Reay, AOP Chairman and Digital & Multi-Media Director, Telegraph Media Group comments, “The entries for this year’s AOP Digital Awards highlight the breadth of our membership: small, medium and large businesses targeting consumer through to pure B2B. In a challenging business year, it is even more important to recognise and reward businesses in the publishing sector that dare to innovate. We’re pleased to showcase the exacting calibre of entries - businesses, case studies and individual achievements - celebrating, even more critically this year, those publishers and individuals that contributed to and made a real difference to our industry.”
The AOP introduced three new categories to the awards this year. The Digital Editor Individual was hotly contested, with a final shortlist of 11 entries for this award to reward the individual contribution of online journalists, editors and community managers, working in both consumer and B2B environments. Digital Commercial Individual applauds an individual working in digital advertising, digital marketing or business development. Specialist Digital Publisher, recognising the success of smaller media owners with an annual turnover of less than £5m, from both business and consumer publishing.
The Launch category has 9 shortlisted entrants. Other continually popular categories include Website Consumer also with a shortlist of 11 nominees – Website Business; Cross Media Projects and Innovation.
The winners of the AOP Awards, will be announced at a gala dinner, on 2 June 2009, at Old Billingsgate, EC3.