Two new magazines launched last year won top awards at the 2017 Magazine Media Awards last night at a black-tie gala dinner at Motat that celebrated the excellence and innovations of the industry’s foremost achievers.
Nadia magazine, described as “an innovative new entry that ticks all the boxes”, won the supreme Magazine of the Year Award, with the judges awarding full marks for “editorial vision, journalistic craft and a smart business and distribution model”. Nadia also won Best Magazine in its category, Lifestyle.
New Auckland weekly title Paperboy won the Best Rising Brand Award, with the publisher of both titles, Bauer Media, being recognised for its innovation.
In announcing the Best Rising Brand Award, the judges said: “Bauer made a gutsy move in creating a magazine for an audience that no longer consumed magazines. It’s paid off, and the rising brand that is Paperboy has quickly integrated itself into Auckland culture with smart content and an innovative distribution strategy.
“Bauer made a gutsy move in creating a magazine for an audience that no longer consumed magazines.”
One of the publishing industry’s captains, John Baker, won the Life Time Achievement Award for outstanding services to the media. “John has made a decades-long contribution to the industry that has helped drive and, at times, re-invent the shape of our market presence, conversations and success,” said the judges. “He has clearly been a big part of MPA strategy and output of numerous committees over the years.”
Three new awards celebrating commercial success in the industry included Best Digital Brand, won by Bauer Media’s Homes to Love, “a great example of using content from multiple magazines in an effective manner with its own brand identity”, while Woman’s Day won the new Gordon & Gotch Exceptional Retail Sales Award with its top-selling Ritchie and Gemma: Wedding of Our Dreams issue.
The inaugural MPA Award for Excellence in Magazine Retailing was won by Relay.
The Pluto Group took out the Best Publishing Innovation/Brand Extension and Best Content Marketing Campaign with campaigns by homestyle. Judges said homestyle’s entry in the Best Publishing Innovation was a clear winner in the category, “a brilliant example of extending the skill of the editorial team beyond the page to deliver a strong commercial result”.
The winner of Best Magazine – Home and Food was Healthy Food Guide, which “clearly dominates its category in the traditional way and is now extending its footprint via Health TV into the health sector”. Judges admired the Healthy Life Media team’s ongoing commitment to providing nutritional information for every recipe.
Last year’s supreme winner New Zealand Geographic, published by Kowhai Media, won Best Magazine – Current Affairs and Business, and once again impressed the MPA judges.
“NZ Geographic is a remarkable success story, built on true commitment to quality and innovation in all areas”
“NZ Geographic is a remarkable success story, built on true commitment to quality and innovation in all areas”, they said. NZ Geographic’s Richard Robinson, whose work the judges said was “consistently of international quality” won Best Photography in the same category.
The Editor of the Year was NZ Marketing and StopPress editor Damien Venuto [M+AD does not enter awards].“This editor is embracing today’s multi-platform publishing environment and fast-paced digital culture,” said the judges.
NZ Marketing, published by Tangible Media, also won Best Magazine – Industry and Trade.
Among the other 47 winners on the night were Best Magazine Media Salesperson Awards, with the award for Consumer category going to Rachel McLean, and Current Affairs and Business category going to Guy Slater, both from Bauer Media.
“The overall standard of entries this year was extremely high and this led to some robust debate in deciding the winners of many categories,” said the judges. “It was great to see innovation, flair and an increased quality in the entries.”
“There is nothing more celebration-worthy than creativity and the magazine industry continues to perform time and time again.”
The judges
Health Informatics ceo Kim Mundell was the 2017 Judging Convener. The MPA has not identified the other judges.
- See the full list of winners here: www.mpa.org.nz
Share this Post
