SPH wins nine awards at Asian Publishing Awards 2014

Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) wholly-owned subsidiary, SPH Magazines Pte Ltd (SPH Magazines), together with SPH's Chinese flagship newspaper Lianhe Zaobao, won nine awards at the Asian Publishing Awards 2014. Two were Gold Awards and seven were Excellence Awards.

SPH Magazines won two Gold Awards for the following publications:

- ICON Moments 2013-2014 for Best Use of Design, Layout & Presentation

- SilverKris May 2014: "Echoes of a Master" for Best Feature on Asian Travel

ICON Moments is a brand extension of the prestigious ICON magazine, a Chinese luxury lifestyle magazine for Singapore's social elite and leading women in business. The annual ICON Moments highlights the most coveted timepieces and jewellery.

The life and work of Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa formed the framework of the destination story that won SilverKris a Gold Award for Best Feature on Asian Travel.

Instead of going the usual route, the SilverKris team wanted to explore a novel approach - presenting the destination through the architectural legacy of Sri Lanka's foremost architect, and a visionary in his time.

The "father of tropical modernism" left behind a prolific stable of buildings and resorts that has since inspired copycats throughout the Asian continent. Pegged to Bawa's 10-year death anniversary, the article was all the more relevant.

"Echoes of a Master" encapsulates what good travel writing is about. The main focus of the story - the architectural gems that Geoffrey Bawa bestowed on Sri Lankan capital, Colombo and its surrounds - are interwoven in a compelling narrative with fascinating sound bites about his life, quotes from other architects, and insights into the surroundings that may have influenced Bawa.

The seven Excellence Awards (six from SPH Magazines publications and one from Lianhe Zaobao) were for the following categories:

- ICON June 2014 for Best Cover Design

- SilverKris.com for Best Multimedia Integration

- SilverKris February 2014 for Best Use of Design, Layout & Presentation

- The Peak Selections: Timepieces for Best Feature on Timepieces

- The Peak Selections: Gourmet & Travel for Best Use of Design, Layout & Presentation

- Female April 2014 for Best Use of Design, Layout & Presentation

- Lianhe Zaobao's I Report for Best Use of UGC (User-Generated Content)

Ms Joanna Lee-Miller, Group Editor of Luxury Titles and Custom Publishing, SPH Magazines, said: "It is extremely gratifying for the winning teams at SPH Magazines to be acknowledged by industry experts for their constant and tireless efforts to raise the editorial and design bar. ICON and SilverKris which clinched gold awards prove they stand at the vanguard of luxury and travel in their respective magazine categories."

Female's fashion-forward positioning puts it way ahead of the fashion magazine pack.

Every month, Female delivers to its trend-and brand-conscious readers the most cutting-edge looks from the fashion capitals of the world, and profiles exciting local and international designers, cool hunters and tastemakers. It breaks the latest beauty news, from the most revolutionary products and services to the most up-to-the-minute trends.

Besides being Singapore's go-to publication for what's trending with insiders, it also offers coverage on the world of design, art and pop culture. Female also has editions in Malaysia and Indonesia.

From factory fires to water spouts to workers trapped in a gondola, Lianhe Zaobao's readers have been supplying the newsroom with crucial information from the front lines through the "I Report"（我来报新闻）function embedded on the daily's mobile phone app.

"I Report" encourages citizen journalism by enabling users to submit news tip-offs to the paper at their own convenience. Since its launch in late February this year, the app has crowd-sourced close to 200 notifications from readers, out of which about 60 photos and videos have been published online or in the paper.

Mr Goh Sin Teck, Editor of Lianhe Zaobao, said: "Lianhe Zaobao has always emphasised on the importance of the paper's relations with our readers. "I Report" uses digital media to create content for our various platforms including print, and is another successful innovation from our team and an important milestone on our efforts to strengthen our relationships with our readers."

These awards are the latest awards that SPH Magazines' publications have won this year. In particular, The Peak Selections: Gourmet and Travel has won a total of six local and international awards in 2014. Besides the Asian Publishing Awards, the quarterly spin-off title of The Peak has also won accolades at the MPAS Awards and the ICMA or International Corporate Media Awards.

This year's Asian Publishing Awards saw a total of 184 projects from 22 publishing companies in seven countries vying for the awards, making it a real challenge for the judges to evaluate the entries.