SPH wins six awards at Asian Media Awards 2013

SINGAPORE - Singapore Press Holdings Ltd (SPH) has won six awards at this year's Asian Media Awards held in Bangalore, India, on Sept 11.

Now into its 12th year, the Asian Media Awards is organised by WAN-IFRA, which represents more than 18,000 publications, 15,000 online sites and over 3,000 media companies in more than 120 countries.

SPH clinched two Gold awards. The first was for "Best in Newspaper Marketing" by My Paper's marketing campaign when it underwent a revamp in 2012. Besides a major trade launch, My Paper's marketing campaign included creative advertisements on print, online as well as via outdoor advertising. The paper also rolled out its revamped edition with events such as distributing free coffee to executives and even a flash mob featuring 40 cyclists dressed in executive wear reading the bilingual freesheet in the heart of the busy Central Business District.

The second Gold award was for "48 Values From The News: The Straits Times Guide To Building Character", a teachers' handbook produced by The Straits Times' Schools team, which won in the "Best in Community Service" category. The award recognises the newspaper's efforts in going beyond the traditional roles of educating and entertaining readers to becoming an active player in leading and implementing social service campaigns for the community. Earlier on 9 September, the initiative took the top award for the WAN-IFRA World Young Reader Prize in the "Learning With News" category.

On the win by My Paper's marketing campaign, Mr Tommy Lim, Head, Creative Services & Product Branding and Promotions, Marketing Division, said: "We are deeply honoured by the accolade. It is a nice recognition of the team's creativity and tremendous effort in the project, and the decision makers who believed in us. More importantly, the win shows that creativity and innovative ideas continue to be the key to getting results. While the media space may become more crowded and competitive, creativity in communication, advertising and events is still the key differentiating factor in creating the intended impact in the marketplace."

Commenting on the win by the "48 Values From The News" handbook and its other recent accolade, Mr Warren Fernandez, Editor of The Straits Times, said: "We are delighted with this double honour for our Schools team. This enterprising team strives to keep coming up with creative and interesting ways to help teachers in the classroom and engage our younger readers. Winning these international awards will be a strong encouragement to the team to keep innovating."

Commenting on the award for the Delhi rape case, he added: "This heart-breaking story of an innocent young victim touched Singaporeans and people around the world. Our Straits Times team of correspondents in Singapore, India and around the region, stayed with it throughout, filing not only for our print edition, but also for our main website straitstimes.com, and our Asia-focused vertical ST Asia Report, www.stasiareport.com. When something significant like this happens in Asia, The Straits Times will be there to bring the story home to our readers in Singapore and beyond."

"Father and Son", a photograph of a two year old boy pushing his father's wheelchair, was published in The Straits Times in June 2012. The heartwarming picture won the paper's photojournalist Nuria Ling the Silver award in the "Best in Photojournalism - Feature Photography" category.

There was a tie for Silver in the "Best in Editorial Content - Newspaper Breaking News Article" category. The Straits Times won for its report on the Delhi gang-rape tragedy, while The New Paper won for its coverage of Former Speaker of Parliament Michael Palmer's extra-marital affair.

Chinese luxury lifestyle magazine ICON Singapore won a Bronze award in the "Best in Design - Magazine Overall Design" category for its April 2012 issue. It is published by SPH Magazines Pte Ltd (SPH Magazines), a wholly-owned subsidiary of SPH.

The design concept of the winning issue featured strong, attention-grabbing images using different photography techniques, complemented with the creative use of typographic treatments on its cover as well as its feature pages inside the magazine. The result conveyed an elegant and ultra luxe lifestyle feel to the entire magazine and ensured that the overall look resonated with ICON Singapore's high net worth women readers.

A full list of the awards received by SPH and SPH Magazines can be found below:

BEST IN NEWSPAPER MARKETING - GOLD
- My Paper Revamp Campaign 2012

BEST IN COMMUNITY SERVICE - GOLD
- The Straits Times (48 Values From The News: The Straits Times Guide To Building Character)

BEST IN EDITORIAL CONTENT - SILVER (TIE) Newspaper Breaking News Article
- The Straits Times (Delhi gang-rape tragedy)
- The New Paper (Source. Messages. Scandal)

BEST IN PHOTOJOURNALISM - SILVER Feature Photography
- The Straits Times, Nuria Ling for "Father and Son"

BEST IN DESIGN - BRONZE Magazine Overall Design
- ICON Singapore (April 2012), SPH Magazines Pte Ltd