The awards programme champions talent and excellence across 26 categories, says the AOP. Judged by a panel of digital industry leaders, under the guidance of co-chairs, Robin Shute, Operations Director of Incisive Media, and Hayley Cochrane, Head of Digital for Mail Metro Media, the winners will be announced during an afternoon ceremony on 16th September.
Now in its 19th year, the Digital Publishing Awards – in association with headline sponsor PubMatic – is celebrating those who have both adapted and thrived in the challenging conditions of the pandemic, while delivering first-class journalism, innovation, and all-round digital excellence. This year, say the organisers, has seen a 37% increase in entries compared to 2020 across b2b, b2c, national and regional publishers, as well as from supporting teams including ad ops, sales and editorial.
Richard Reeves, Managing Director at AOP comments: “I am blown away by the number of inspiring and innovative entries we received for the Digital Publishing Awards this year. In these trying times, the resilience and creativity of publishers has shone through and while there will be more hurdles for the industry to overcome, it’s important to stop for a moment to not only recognise and celebrate publisher brilliance, but also gain inspiration and learn from those who have demonstrated exceptional agility and determination.”
The shortlist:
INDIVIDUAL EXCELLENCE
Editor of the Year
- Vijay Pattni, TopGear.com, entered by BBC Studios
- Gideon Spanier, Campaign, entered by Campaign [Haymarket]
- Lily Barclay, bbcgoodfood.com, entered by Immediate Media
- James Murray, Business Green, entered by Incisive Media
- Alastair McLellan, Health Service Journal, entered by Wilmington Healthcare
Journalist of the Year
- Matt Mace, edie, entered by Faversham House
- Jennifer Savin, Cosmopolitan, entered by Hearst UK
- Shaun Lintern, The Independent, entered by Independent Digital News and Media
- Simon Akam, 1843 Magazine, entered by The Economist
- Lawrence Dunhill, Health Service Journal, entered by Wilmington Healthcare
Rising Star (sponsored by Lewis Silkin)
- Lisa Walden, House Beautiful and Country Living, entered by Hearst UK
- Emily Robinson, The Independent, entered by Independent Digital News and Media
- Miles Cooper, The Independent, entered by Independent Digital News and Media
- Roberto Sanha, entered by Red Ventures
Sales Person of the Year
- Dean Evans, entered by Brand Advance
- Margot Stokes, entered by Dezeen
- Richard Potton, entered by Haymarket Media
- Molly Matthews, entered by News UK
The Local Hero Award (sponsored by Google News Initiative)
- Natasha Meek, Bradford Telegraph & Argus
- Caroline Wilson, The Herald
- Geraldine Scott, The Yorkshire Post
- Will Hayward, WalesOnline/Western Mail
TEAM EXCELLENCE
Advertising Operations Team of the Year
- Autovia Ad Operations Team, entered by Dennis Publishing
- Delivery Team Dennis Demand Gen, entered by Dennis Publishing
- Global Media & Entertainment
- Octave Operations Team powered by Bauer Media & News UK, entered by Octave Audio
- Twitch
Audience Development Team of the Year (sponsored by UKOM)
- edie, entered by Faversham House
- The Independent, entered by Independent Digital News and Media
- The Sun, entered by News UK
Editorial Team of the Year: B2B
- Campaign, entered by Campaign [Haymarket]
- Insurance Post, entered by Infopro Digital Services
- Computer Weekly, entered by TechTarget
- Health Service Journal, entered by Wilmington Healthcare
Editorial Team of the Year: Consumer
- TopGear.com, entered by BBC Studios
- BT Sport, entered by BT
- Digital Spy, entered by Hearst UK
- Cosmopolitan UK, entered by Hearst UK
- The Independent, entered by Independent Digital News and Media
- VICE
Product Development Team of the Year
- Dennis Product Development Team, entered by Dennis Publishing
- Fabric 2.0 – BBC Good Food Migration, entered by Immediate Media
- The Telegraph Media Group Commercial Innovation Team
Sales Team of the Year
- Bloomberg Media Europe Commercial Sales Team
- Dennis Group [Dennis + Autovia]
- Dezeen
- Mail Metro Media
- News UK Publishing Sales Team
PUBLISHING EXCELLENCE
Best Creative Solutions Led / Content Marketing Campaign (sponsored by Unruly)
- British Vogue & BMW “A Mile With”, entered by Conde Nast
- Dezeen & Samsung Out of the Box Competition, entered by Dezeen
- Electrifying Interest In Nissan LEAF During Lockdown, entered by Haymarket Automotive Studio
- Feeding Britain For MediaCom & Tesco, entered by Mail Metro Media
Best Digital Publishing Innovation (sponsored by Xandr)
- Virtual Design Festival, entered by Dezeen
- HR Grapevine Virtual Events Platform, entered by Executive Grapevine International
- Owning The Technology Stack, entered by Future Plc
- Deskflix, entered by Incisive Media
- Telegraph Unity, entered by Telegraph Media Group
- Ozone Marketplace, entered by The Ozone Project
Best Diversification of Commercial Strategy (sponsored by Deloitte)
- Autovia Limited, entered by Dennis Publishing
- Decanter, entered by Future Plc
- The Independent, entered by Independent Digital News and Media
Best Media Technology Partner
- Demonstrating The True Value of Brand Advertising With AOP Publishers, entered by Brand Metrics
- Permutive & The Guardian, Future-Proofing For A World Without Third-Party Cookies, entered by Permutive
- Piano Grows Revenue 400% By Helping Publishers Launch & Optimise Subscription Businesses, entered by Piano
- PwC Marketing & Media Assurance, entered by PwC
- Readly
- Sourcepoint
- Trackonomics & Forbes: A Custom CMS For E-Commerce Content, entered by Trackonomics
Best Publisher-led Social Good Initiative or Campaign
- Future Planet, entered by BBC Global News
- Project Body Love, entered by Hearst UK
- 50 Best, entered by William Reed Business Media
Best Research / Insight Project
- The Generation Factor, entered by Mail Metro Media
- ISBA / AOP / PwC Programmatic Supply Chain Transparency Study, entered by PwC
- The Changing Face of Gaming – Reach & Diversity In The Gaming Market, entered by Red Ventures
Best Use of Audio
- The Week Unwrapped, entered by Dennis Publishing
- Small Steps, Big Impact for Mindshare UK & Dove, entered by Mail Metro Media
- VENT, In Partnership With Brent 2020, entered by VICE
Best Use of Data (sponsored by LiveRamp)
- The Independent, entered by Independent Digital News and Media
- Bauer Media & News UK Data At The Heart Of Octave, entered by Octave Audio
- How Piano & Mediahuis Transformed a 12-Month Experiment Into Supercharged Advertising ROI, entered by Piano
- ISBA / AOP / PwC Programmatic Supply Chain Transparency Study, entered by PwC
Best Use of Video (sponsored by Unruly)
- Cyclist Videos, entered by Dennis Publishing
- Hearst UK
- International Exclusive: World’s First Open Water Sanctuary Created For Beluga Whales, entered by PA Media
- VICE World News, entered by VICE
The AOP Employer Excellence Award
- Dennis Publishing
- Faversham House
- Transforming News UK’s Employee Experience, entered by News UK
- Sift
GRAND PRIX
Best Online Brand: B2B
- Dezeen
- Global Dating Insights
- Computing, entered by Incisive Media
- The Grocer, entered by William Reed Business Media
- Health Service Journal, entered by Wilmington Healthcare
Best Online Brand: Consumer
- Chapter Z Magazine
- bbcgoodfood.com, entered by Immediate Media
- The Independent, entered by Independent Digital News & Media
Small Digital Publisher of the Year (sponsored by Google)
- BusinessBecause
- Dezeen
- Russell Publishing
The finalists for Digital Publishing Company of the Year B2B and Digital Publishing Company of the Year Consumer will be announced on 1 July.
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